Removing front diff

[91_4x4runner]

How safe would it be to remove/drive without the front differential? I imagine I'd have to somehow cap off the inputs for the CV on the spindle so debris/water couldn't get in. Otherwise, could there be any other ill effects from it? Thanks, Eric.

[xcmountain80]

I know its not a FL thing but I have seen countless 2nd Gen 4Runners w/o the front diff. I thought at first they were 2wd but no they used to be 4wd, I dunno why the hell they would do that, other than it would works.

Aaron

[22REKid]

There are no ill effects of removing an IFS front differential. The front diff is not a main structural piece of the frone end. The only ill effect is no 4WD. I removed mine because I made long travel a arms and use a 2.5 coilover, the shock itself is too big in diameter for the front CV axles to fit through. Here is a pic of how I plugged off the spindle holes (please excuse the yellow circle, it was for another topic on a different forum). I took some pluming hardware and welded it to the stock seal. They fit cherry and no crap gets through the spindle.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j127/22rekid/22rekid1-1.jpg

[91_4x4runner]

Awesome. I was just curious if there might be any other things I'd overlooked. Thanks for the quick reply, Eric.