That's not quite correct. Toyota redesigned the seal to improve it by adding compliance. Many of the aftermarket suppliers, even the name brand ones, supply the old seal design. It may be fine (it was fine to begin with, right?), but there's a reason Toyota redesigned the seal, and it makes no sense to not use the improved design.



Axle seal TSB

Having seen this method work successfully multiple times, including on my own vehicle, I would like to encourage you to take a harder look at this.

Flippant statements like this don't help our vibrant DIY community. The "backyard wanna bees" I know are well-informed, careful, and competent. There is also a difference between Toyota engineers and Toyota mechanics.

You guys are probably both right. Many seals have been redesigned to compensate for synthetic oils. That may very well have been one of the drivers for Toyota to respec this seal.

And indeed, seals are made by seal companies like NOK, Timken, etc. and not by auto manufacturers. But that's a good reason to use OEM seals anyway because they will demand the best materials.

From the markings on the seal in a picture I have, I believe this is the one that is being used: NAK Type C, TC

You can see the profile has two lips, one inboard and one outboard.

Didn't mean to start up a debate on this. Personally, I trust the experience and results that @mtbtim has proven to be reliable. Pictures are worth a thousand words and Tim's video are invaluable.

thank you for your input on this. My 12 ton has been a push for me in some projects, and I like that more of the 20 ton is wielded together rather then a lot of bolt together. The 12 ton has smaller "feet" and have had it try to lean on a big job we did.. I might just opt for the 20 ton and then sell my 12 ton. My son might help me out, because I am moving far ( Alaska) and was going to leave the press for him. He does lots of big diesel stuff as well as motorcycle stuff so he might want the bigger press anyway

Figured with the axel tool, I can resell it. the price of the new press and the tool is only 150 more than the local shop wanted just to do the press work. we only have one in our town and he charges up the wazoo and never meets deadlines , at least for small guys and walk ins.

thanks again for your thoughts on how the 12 ton worked for you

thanks agan

I just remembered what I hated about the 12 ton press - the part they call the Press Apron (on which the two black plates are laying in the picture below) was not wide enough to allow the special axle tool to slip through! The cylinder part of the tool was narrow enough, but the flanges were too wide to fit through the opening of the Press Apron.



So I had to sawzall the Press Apron into two pieces, then every time I wanted to reposition it up or down, I had to take the two pieces off individually, then put them back on the two pins. My hands were full with heavy axles and tools as it was, so this made for a royal PITA, I know I dropped things more than a few times.

If you have that option, I'd definitely step to the 20 ton press for this job.

Well Buddy Ol' Pal, I agree that the key is to get the seal riding correctly on the retainer. If you can do that, you are doing pretty good.

Sounds like you're saying lots of seals will work just as good as the Toyota OEM seals and this is where I disagree. The seal was redesigned in such a way to be much more pliable than the original seal design. Aftermarket seals DO NOT have the same pliability built in.

The reason for the flipped retainer is to get a better mating of the axle seal with the inner retainer without risking having the retainer rub the inside of the axle housing. Due to the re-designed seal, the seal lip now sits 2mm for inboard and thus you have to either readjust the inner retainer 2mm more inboard (risking the retainer rubbing inside the axle housing), or you can flip it like we show in the video and leave the retainer in the same OEM spot on the axle (5mm or polished axle showing above the retainer). Because the bevel is 2mm wide, when you flip the retainer putting the bevel facing the ABS tone ring, you compensate for the seal re-design because now the seal doesn't have to first push past the bevel to get up onto the polished shoulder of the retainer.

302k on original seals. Ok Bro. I bet you've never pulled your ABS sensors and taken a peak into your axle housing. Pretty much every one of these rigs that has 200k+ miles on it will have some leaking. I've seen it on way too many rigs. The gear oil hasn't found it's way into the brakes yet or is leaking out making a mess on the inside of your wheels but I guarantee your seals are leaking at that mileage. Pull your tires off, pull out the ABS sensors, and then rotate the axles while looking at the ABS tone ring. If there's gear oil in that cavity, the ABS tone ring works like a water wheel picking up the gear oil that has accumulated in there. I'd bet Big Big money you have quite a bit of gear oil in there that's slowly washing away the grease inside your bearings.

In closing, I take offense to your backyard wannabe bullshit statement. Us DIYer mechanics quite often know a hell of a lot more than the paid guys at the dealerships. The reason being is we are wrenching on these rigs day in and day out and we share information with each other on forums like this one. I guarantee you that myself and anyone else that has watched my videos and have read through the T4R threads for this rear axle seal job know more than most paid technicians at Toyota dealerships around the country. Dealerships, private shops, and machine shops botch this job on a regular basis. There's a ton of knowledgeable guys on this forum that contribute everyday. If you think we're all full of shit, why the hell are you on here then?

From here on out, it doesn't matter what you do. You could walk on water, cure cancer, create world peace, and I'd still think you're an as*hole.

thanks again, that was helpful, I am going to go for the 20 ton. On sale right now for 189, if I only had a coupon that would bring it down even more

Here's everything you ever wanted in HF coupons: Harbor Freight Tools Coupon Database - Free coupons, 25 percent off coupons, 20 percent off coupons, No Purchase Required coupons, toolbox coupons

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thanks all,

got duanes tool Friday , new harbor freight coupon came in mail ( also one listed above). so am gonna get the 20 ton for 139 and sell the smaller one, waiting for price quote from aryana for parts, but might not have time to wait, on a tight time line now

anyone know what size the seal is, I have a harbor freight seal driving kit ranges from 44-81mm

@3bears Is that the aluminum/metal seal driver kit you have? If so, I don't remember which one it was, but one of the middle ones worked perfectly for me.

In closing, I take offense to your backyard wannabe bullshit statement. Us DIYer mechanics quite often know a hell of a lot more than the paid guys at the dealerships. The reason being is we are wrenching on these rigs day in and day out and we share information with each other on forums like this one. I guarantee you that myself and anyone else that has watched my videos and have read through the T4R threads for this rear axle seal job know more than most paid technicians at Toyota dealerships around the country. Dealerships, private shops, and machine shops botch this job on a regular basis. There's a ton of knowledgeable guys on this forum that contribute everyday. If you think we're all full of shit, why the hell are you on here then?

From here on out, it doesn't matter what you do. You could walk on water, cure cancer, create world peace, and I'd still think you're an as*hole.

I think that's the quote of the year there!!! I've got a ton of info from this guy and I am a master tech,,,I don't think anything I've seen Tim do would lead anyone down the wrong path to a correct repair...for me, if I haven't done something it's never fun being the first guy doing it...seeing a quick video of a guy that takes the time to do the whole youtube thing makes it that much easier...keep kickin it strong Tim.

yep it is