When I was changing my oil I noticed that my front differential was leaking fluid at the driver’s side axle shaft input.

Looking at the Picture (not mine), where the prybar is jammed in, is where I am leaking diff fluid. Also I can grab the (coupler/tulip??) piece to the left for the prybar and I can move it about ¼” up and down and left to right. The Passengers side moves about 1/8” just up/down, left to right is minimal.



What all do I need to change out? I am going to pre-order parts and tear down/rebuild next weekend. Do I need to tear the 3rd member apart?

I am thinking about replacing the axle shafts since I am this far into a repair. I have an ’05 with 160k miles and assuming original CV boots.

had the same problem at 130k miles, the seals went out. The seals for the input shaft of the CV axles to be exact.

Wyanrard, did you replace the Axle Shafts as well? Is that seal included on the replacement? Or do you need to buy a separate 'Axle Shaft Seal' (Rock Auto)?

Does a worn out seal cause that much play?

please dont buy after market seals when OEM costs $20!! look at my thread here on chasing a vibration. part numbers and price paid for seals. also buy some diff fluid and change that out when you do the seals. in that thread there is some good info on verdict with chinese "new" axles vs rebuilt OEM

PSA: Are you trying to hunt down a vibration from your front end? Look Video inside!

play is normal
if you have tremendous amount of play then your needle bearing might be going out
from what you have described it sounds normal to me
as for seal remove cv....note how deep seals are installed and remove and re-install a new one
if you are going to replace the cv
then cvj is your only option in my mind

gshadow, that is exactly what mine looks like. I'll order some Toyota seals.

Anyone have any experience with Cardone HD shafts (p/n 665235HD)?

just a fyi
seals will not take up your "slack" / "play"
and for axles cvj is it.....
i would not use anything but or oem....
none of that cheap rockauto/ napa / crap
been running cvj's for over 100k

Then what item do I need?

FRONT AXLE HOUSING & DIFFERENTIAL. Fits: 2005 TOYOTA 4Runner LIMITED 4000CC 24-VALVE DOHC EFI, AUTOMATIC 5-SPEED | Village Toyota Parts

If you are wanting to fix the leak replace the oil seal
From your description i would say the amount of play you describe is acceptable

If you want to go further then i would recommend replacing the drive side needle bearing with a solid spacer
As for the pass side unsure what u need to do maybe
replace the needle bearing on it

It looks like the seals I need are Toyota P/N: 90311-47012 (left/driver) & 90311-47013 (right/passenger).

Yes those are the axle seals. The RHS is larger than the LHS.