Rear Axle Seals: The Ultimate Information and Replacement Thread (3rd gen) - Page 2 - Toyota 4Runner Forum

denverunner · 06-10-2010, 10:11 AM

By far, one of the best writeups.....ever

Thank you for spending the extra time to include all of the pictures and detailed information. Nothing was overlooked. I'll definitely be referencing this later on down the road!

kball · 06-10-2010, 08:38 PM

Excellent job! Thank you!

CO_FlyFisher · 06-11-2010, 01:44 AM

GREAT write-up!!!

I wish this had been around 3-4 years ago when I had to redo MY seals! (I'm trying to forget that nightmare; I was in the process of moving from TX to CO when mine went) It would have saved me a ton of time. I didn't have nearly that much oil in my drums though, how long had yours been leaking?

One clarification: Even the NEW bearings will have a small amount of play in them becasue they are not a fully sealed design. If the backing plate wobbles a little bit it is OK (maybe 1/8" - 3/16" or so), however, if it can move perpendicularly wrt the axle shart (side-to-side or up and down in your P6040722.jpg picture), that's a really bad thing.

Again, GREAT job! Pictures are worth 1,000's of words!

BigFishAllDay · 06-12-2010, 08:14 PM

CO_FlyFisher,

I'm not sure how long my seals had been leaking. The truck was about 2800 miles into a 3000 mile oil change interval, and it was not leaking the last time the oil was changed, so I know it was less than 2800 miles. In the week prior to noticing the problem I put about 1000 miles on the truck and I suspect it happened during that period.

Also, thanks for pointing that out about the play in the bearings. You are exactly right. Once I got my axles back I checked the new bearings and found they had just a small amount of play (the type that allows the backing plate to wobble) but not as much as the old bearings.

To ALL, thanks for the compliments. I have learned alot from this site and I wanted to give something back that would be useful to others. Since this is such a common problem for 4Runners, and all the prior write-ups are on other sites, I decided we needed a good one here.

P.S. I've got 500+ miles on the truck since I completed the work, including 70+ miles on rough washboard roads, and no leaks! Looks like it's good to go.

Ron Helmuth · 06-13-2010, 03:04 PM

You might have referenced one of my own posts along the way-I knew the new correct seal part number ended in a digit 6, but you were nice enough to show us the part number bag and everything.

I liked the nature of the photographs such as before and afters and that one shot framing the lady in the newspaper photo gives some relevance to your hometown news of the time. Sorry to read about that car wreck.

Your mechanic's price of $1200 to do both sides and including inner and outer seals and bearings is a deal compared to this metro area. Honestly I would have let him do it. Very nice of you to show us how it can be done though. Mad props for your skill level and the shots down the holes are most helpful. This is just amazing to me that you could pull this off.

With regards to the cost savings-your price of $500 something was for all parts and tools correct? My only question with tools/parts used-is a 2.25 ton jack of sufficient strength for our rides? I don't know-I am asking. Clearly it must have been....

I am with johnsd90 -a good sub forum to create would be Technical Writeups-looked over and approved by the membership.

x8 on the sticky for the 3rd gen sub forum. This is a very common failure that if caught before it happens does not have to cost an arm and a leg to fix. edit I don't think even YOTA TECH has a writeup this detailed over there. Would you care to make them aware of it and have it posted up over there? It is stunningly valuable for all 3rd gen owners.

BigFishAllDay · 06-14-2010, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Helmuth

You might have referenced one of my own posts along the way.

My only question with tools/parts used-is a 2.25 ton jack of sufficient strength for our rides? I don't know-I am asking. Clearly it must have been....

I don't think even YOTA TECH has a writeup this detailed over there. Would you care to make them aware of it and have it posted up over there? It is stunningly valuable for all 3rd gen owners.

Ron, Yes, I have seen your post about the part # ending in 06. I even "favorited" the thread along the way. I was waiting for someone to make a comment on the newspapers and the current events in ABQ, NM. Those are actually old newspapers I've had stacked in my kitchen for tasks like this, so it's old news, but DWI is always a problem in NM.

RE the jack, the 4Runner weighs about 2 tons total, so a 2 ton jack supporting just one corner of it (1000 lbs. supported by a 4000+ lb. capacity jack) should be more than sufficient.

RE Yotatech, I could duplicate this thread over there. I wanted to post it here first though, since this site is dedicated to 4Runners. I've learned alot from that site as well, although I have not registered as a forum member.

Skybill · 06-23-2010, 02:37 AM

Well crap. Just went out to my 4Runner to unload some stuff and smelled something that was a strong oily smell.

Looked under the back and crap, the passenger side tire looks like the OP's picture.

Rear axle seal rebuild, here we come!

Skybill · 06-23-2010, 03:02 AM

OK, so here's a question.

After taking it apart, if I find that the axle bearings are OK, could I get away with just replacing the seals and brake shoes?

BigFishAllDay · 06-23-2010, 09:27 AM

Skybill,

Yes, you can get away with that. As long as you feel comfortable that your bearings are within specs, you can skip all the machine shop work, replace the O-Rings, Inner Axle Seals, and Shoes and you should be fine.

If you decide to do the shoes, get your drums machined as well. Also, you may want to dig through the link I provided in the write-up for the Toyota FSM and see if you can find a procedure for checking the bearings to make sure they are within spec. I'm sure this will require some type of SST, so you may want to take the axles to a Toyota shop and have them check the bearings for you.

Also, don't take a chance with aftermarket axle seals. Get the OEM seals from Toyota. Same with the brake shoes, aftermarket rear shoes have fitment issues in my experience.

salvaged · 06-23-2010, 11:40 AM

Well done. I love pictures to go along with these write-ups it makes it so much easier

Skybill · 06-23-2010, 12:52 PM

"Also, don't take a chance with aftermarket axle seals. Get the OEM seals from Toyota. Same with the brake shoes, aftermarket rear shoes have fitment issues in my experience."

100% agreed on the OEM parts! I've bought 5 vehicles and tons of parts from my local dealer and they cut me a great deal on parts! They actually have my discount (about 30%) set up in their computer system!!!

Thanks for the info. Bucks are real, real short right now and I need my 4Runner!

BTW, this is an EXCELLENT write up, thank you. I know that when I do mine, I'm going to print it out and use it as a reference!

Skybill · 06-23-2010, 04:07 PM

Got the quote from my dealer for the parts; $358.52 including tax, plus an hour labor per side to remove and reinstall the bearings and stuff. Total around $550.

One of the local salvage yards has the complete rear axle with the e-locker out of a '99 with 131K for $450.06! (mine doesn't have the locker)

I think I'm going to go that route depending on how it looks when I get there.

Blackdot · 06-28-2010, 12:02 AM

Just wanted to say thanks for this excellent write-up. Just did both sides on mine about a week ago and everything looks good still. Saved me $ and time with all the part numbers listed. To those of you that are not super mechanical but can change your own oil and are thinking about this repair.... Do it yourself, take it slow, and save yourself some money.