Three problems related to differential unit have been reported for the 1997 Toyota 4Runner. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Serious corrosion on rear differential casing at below fill bolt, leaking fluids. Dealer unable to do anything because part is not a cover as in most vehicles. Dealer only solution is to replace entire rear differential with all parts. This situation presents a serious threat to life as these components are severely and unusually rusted.
Rear differential rust out, Toyota using inferior metal in production resulting in thousands of dollars of repair for fluid leakage.
Complaint received via email. The brakes failed many times on my car and they were in the repair shop four times. Each time they fixed it temporarily. Also, they indicated that oil or grease was leaking from the differential and coating the brake pads, rendering them ineffective. The symptoms included the anti lock brakes kicking in too often/ loss of braking power, and jolting at slow speeds. Last time in the repair shop they guaranteed that problem was fixed, yet the same problem recurred. This was very dangerous. They told me this was not the only incident, and that new models were designed to fix this flaw. What about the safety of those driving 1997 models ?.