So after a long 1,200 mile trip I got home and noticed the driver side rear wheel was wet. Knew right away what it was and was not surprised, as my axle seals are original with 230k miles. Been crazy busy with work and 2 kids under 2, so decided to hire this one out. Took it down to my local and trusted mechanic and they call back saying brakes are totally screwed on driver side due to immersion in gear oil, and bearing is on its way out too. They advised new axle seals on both sides, in addition to both bearings and new brakes. I said what the hell, go for it, I didn't want to screw with it in future. All said and done, $710 out the door.

I must have grown used to the bearing noise, because the vehicle is much quieter going down the highway now. Anyhow, just thought I'd share my experience if anyone is wondering how much it costs to hire this one out (i'm hoping I didn't get ripped, but to me it seems a fair deal given the labor with bearings etc.)

Thanks for reading!

It would be helpful to break that into labor and parts to give better feedback.

That would be an awesome price for the California Bay Area. My local dealer charges around $1500 for the same job.

Not a bad price at all. Now do the rear diff breather mod so it doesn’t happen again.


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Select OEM bearings, else expect to replace those wheel bearings in less than 100K miles.
Oil seals got to be OEM. Other brands will deform during the installation and won't last long. Bad thing about installing aftermarket parts in the rear axle is when it leaks again, you'll have to buy another set of rear brake shoes. I go with OEM and that is again $60-70.

That was a good price for what it is. I had a rear axle seal done by a shop on my 91, was just north of $1000. Doing it yourself is much cheaper obviously, and it's not very hard. You just need a machine shop to press the bearings on/off. So when the other side blows (trust me, it will) try giving it a shot. It's literally just 5 bolts and a couple of nuts and the whole axle comes right out.

It's pretty straight forward if you have the press and the jig/puller. My local shop wanted $1,200 to do the job, I said no way as I only paid $1,500 including tax/fees for the truck. Watch Timmy Tools video !!

That was $350 labor and $325 parts + tax. All toyota OEM except brake pads and wheel cylinders.

Yep. Definitely a good price.

he got both sides done.

Wheel cylinders? Probably unnecessary. Really good price though assuming he used OEM parts and actually did it right. Very easy to mess this job up.

As the boards leading expert in rear axle seals I'm going to now throw cold water on your excitment, you need to pop out the ABS sensors and look inside the cavity. No doubt the mechanic missed the mark and the seals are leaking already. I promise you its already failed.

Read this: A possible solution to leaking axle seals

I tend to agree with you. This has got to be the #1 repair dealerships, independent shops, machine shops and DIYers screw up. Let's hope the mechanic the OP used is an exception to the rule and actually knows what he's doing when it comes to this repair.

Now, as to your self-proclaimed status as the board's leading expert on this repair, I don't know. You were the one that came up with the inner retainer flip technique which I do agree is genius. But, I'm a student of your method and I've now done 8 axle seal jobs at my home in San Jose. And, @infamousRNR and I have made a video showing people how to complete the entire job on their own provided they are willing to buy the necessary tools. Who knows, maybe @infamousRNR and I are the leading experts for this repair on this forum :-) I'm just kidding around though and if you want to claim you're the authority on this repair, go right ahead. I won't challenge you for your self-proclaimed status.

Tim, After 20 years of 3rd gen T4R leaking seals with no solution until ME, sorry I hold the title of resident expert. Like bigfish, Doing 8 jobs makes you a better mechanic using my procedure. It does not elevate you to genius.

I'm not denying your fix was genius and has helped a ton of people including me. There's just a lot more to this repair than pulling the axles and trusting a shop to get the press work right. I think knowing how to do the job A to Z on your own and understanding all the little nuances of the repair make you an expert.

And since we're on the subject, I reckon the videos Sean and I made for this repair may as well live in this thread too. Somebody you mentioned loves that fact I post our videos all over the place so I figured I wouldn't fail them by not posting here as well.