Deciphering Toyota Hiace VIN Plates

Below is a picture of the VIN plate from a 1994 Toyota Hiace Cruising Cabin. We can learn a lot about this van from the information provided. We can see that we have a 3L engine. We can also find information about the transmission and gearbox installed from the factory. This is on the lower left hand portion of the plate, labeled as "TRANS/AXLE". This one came with an automatic 4 speed made by Aisin Warner known as the A45DL. The most common automatic transmission used are the A45DL and the A340. Manual transmissions include the G52 and G55. I have included a chart of internal gear ratios for each below.

From the VIN plate we can also learn what gear ratio is in the rear differential as well as the size of the ring gear and the carrier type. Open or LSD (limited slip differential).

In the picture above the gear code reads "G145". By using the chart below we can decipher "G" meaning the ring gear is an 8 inch gear. I have not seen a 7.5 inch ring gear in the rear differential. This size gear shows up in the front differential as well as the rear of other Toyota models.

Using the first 2 numbers in the gear code we find that the ratio is 4.875. this means the driveshaft must turn 4.875 times for the wheels to complete one full turn. This is a fixed number that cannot be changed without rebuilding the differential with a new ring and pinion. Also, the front differential must have the same ratio to operate correctly.
*I have included the most common gear codes. There are quite a few more but they are somewhat uncommon.

The last number of the gear code is the type of carrier (the part that holds the ring gear).
There are small pinion gears inside of the carrier. You will have either 2 or 4 of these.
There are 2 types of carriers installed at the factory. Either an open diff or an LSD (limited slip differential).

We can see that, the last number being "5", we have a 4 pinion limited slip differential.