[Ofg]

Hello all. I just bought a 2004 king cab se 4wd with 95000 original miles. Drives great, no noise or leaks, 4wd works fine. I would like to know if diff failure is iminent, or do some trucks never have those problems? As far as i can tell, this was a grocery getter and saw very little hard use. Carfax has a ton of scheduled maintenance and some minor stuff but no major service. Is it possible to prevent diff failure front or rear? Yes i searched and most threads are complaints of the failure and or service actions taken. I would like to prevent it. On a toyota the prevention is to replace a needle bearing with a bushing. Any such fix for a titan that is still in good shape? Thanks for any advice.

 

[cajun56]

My Titan was used to haul large air-boats from Louisiana to Michigan by original owner. I replaced one axle seal, added a locker to rear and still have it's 2.94 gears in rear. Truck has almost 208,000 miles on it. I myself tow a trailer just about everyday. I bought truck across the street from me, my neighbor. That was two years ago.

 

[vector6]

at 95K on a "new to me" truck

I would service both diffs myself, and remove the rear diff breather and check its condition, or add a hose barb/vent hose to the rear axle so it can breath.

(new gear oil is cheap compared to repair/replace on a rear Titan differential.)

 

[HRTKD]

On the earlier models the differential had only two spider gears. Newer design (in '07) had four.

Maybe a competent axle expert could take the differential cover off and inspect the guts, looking for issues.

My '07 towed up to 8000 lbs and had no axle problems other than the axle seal.

 

[PRJ]

I believe the problem was limited to 4x4 off road with big tow, differential lock and 3.36 gear ratio.

 

[HRTKD]

I believe the problem was limited to 4x4 off road with big tow, differential lock and 3.36 gear ratio.

2004 was a strange year. I think you could get some of the option packages without having 4x4. The off-road and big tow packages would both get you the 3.36 axle ratio.

 

[PRJ]

Yes. Those with 4 x 2 and 4 x 4 and 2.94 gear ratio and no big tow and no off-road package and no differential lock didn't seem to have the exploding rear differential issue.

I'm kinda convinced that the differential lock feature combined with the 3.36 gear ratio were the cause of the exploding rear differentials.

 

[Jim Padget]

05 LE 2WD w/2.94 gears -no 'big tow', no 'off-road' package and no 'diff. lock' 255,xxx mi Never have touched the Diff. on mine.

 

[PRJ]

05 LE 2WD w/2.94 gears -no 'big tow', no 'off-road' package and no 'diff. lock' 255,xxx mi Never have touched the Diff. on mine.

Yes. That is to be expected on that configuration.

 

[Bluedevils16]

I guess I would be the "ideal candidate" for a trutrac. 2006 Off-road 4WD, rear diff lock, big tow pkg 3.36. I've done my maintenance though rear diff breather and full synthetic diff fluid.

 

[HRTKD]

I guess I would be the "ideal candidate" for a trutrac. 2006 Off-road 4WD, rear diff lock, big tow pkg 3.36. I've done my maintenance though rear diff breather and full synthetic diff fluid.

Before you go and buy everything, pull the diff cover and see what's in there. A very select few, late 2006 models, got the 4 spider gears. Possible Forum legend, but it's worth checking out. I never opened my differential, nor any other. I would likely be able to spot the spider gears, but would take pictures for confirmation.

 

[jdmartin]

If you have the 2.94 gears I wouldn't sweat it at all. Mine was at 155k when I traded it in back in January and mine was fine. Make sure you change the diff gear oil and put the heavier synthetic in there. The manual will tell you 90W but Nissan superceded that with 75-140 and the finned cover to dissipate heat. If you don't have the finned cover I would definitely be doing that and the breather valve mod.

Do all that, check your fluid level once in a while and keep an eye on your axle seals and you should be fine.

 

[Ofg]

Not sure what options this truck has Big Tow, or off road.... Its a 4wd se. So, whats the newest front diff I can put in it?" Im going to get under the truck and service the rear diff at least,, and put on a vent hose and tuck it up.

 

[HRTKD]

The '07 front differential was improved over the '04-'06 differential. Beyond that, I haven't kept track of improvements made after '07.

 

[PRJ]

The '07 front differential was improved over the '04-'06 differential. Beyond that, I haven't kept track of improvements made after '07.

Yes. My replacement front differential never failed again.

 

[Bluedevils16]

Before you go and buy everything, pull the diff cover and see what's in there. A very select few, late 2006 models, got the 4 spider gears. Possible Forum legend, but it's worth checking out. I never opened my differential, nor any other. I would likely be able to spot the spider gears, but would take pictures for confirmation.

I just may do this, but likely after I move next year, when I have more garage space and tools.
TY

 

[Steamguy]

I believe the problem was limited to 4x4 off road with big tow, differential lock and 3.36 gear ratio.

I remember all those threads, and you are spot-on here.

ANYTHING with an e-locker was guaranteed to fail. As far as I can remember, that e-locker was the one difference (other than stickers) in the off-road.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ofg]

So, it looks like I have off road and big tow. Truck has a skid plate, 4x4 off road stickers, trans temp gauge, large towing mirrors. As far as I can tell, no E locker, and I think it does have stability control. Im getting under there today and service the rear diff and will look for a tag on rear axle.

Now then, with the lower gear ratio, but no locker,, is this truck even more prone to front and or rear diff failure?

 

[jdmartin]

The stability control makes no difference whatsoever. The big tow rears were marginally more trouble than non big tow, but that's all anecdotal from the boards. If you don't have e-locker, I would change the gear oil to the proper synthetic, put the finned cover on it if it doesn't already have it, do the vent mod, and quit worrying about it from there. My big tow rear never failed when I had it.

 

[PRJ]

As far as I can tell, no E locker

You would know for sure, as there is an e-locker switch on the center of the console in front of the shifter.

Would look like this...