rear end problems
 

Okay my wife was driving her 2001 Toyota 4 Runner the other day and it stopped driving and had to get a tow home.

When I got home I found that it was making a crazy noise coming from the left rear tire.

Today I tore it apart and found the left axle shaft on the tip of it the spline was sheared off, decided to look deeper I pulled the gear assembly and found that the splines on the carrier on the RHS had split into 2 pieces (still intact).

So now my problem is, where can I find those parts?

How hard is it to pull the gears apart and just replace the spline?

How do I know what gear ratio it has?

It is a 2001 4 Runner V6 4wd with ABS and Traction control and factory towing package.

I dont' know what caused this, but she was driving straight downa road normally.

I have driven it recently and did not notice any problems, heck it drives like it is brand new.