So I saw the thread about the Cusco final drive gear kit and it got me thinking that I'd like to up my final drive ratio. However, I would also like to be able to swap the diff as a unit rather than replace the internals of my stock one. I figured it might help cut down on labor costs to have a shop just install the kit with the diff already out and I could install the diff myself.
My idea was to find a compatible one in a junkyard or eBay and install a final drive kit in that, probably the 4.556 ratio offered from autofactory.jp (provided someone over there speaks English and they actually ship to the US
). Price point is awesome and they use Toyota parts.
Does anyone know for sure, 100%, without a doubt, that the IS300 M85/M98 differentials can just be bolted on to our cars? I've read that they're supposed to be the exact same housing but haven't found any threads with anyone actually performing the swap. I've also seen IS300 owners speculating they could use our diffs for the same purpose but without anything conclusive.