Hey Dudes,

This video shows you how to perform a Rear Axle Seal / Bearing Replacement on your rig using a SST (Special Service Tool) made by my buddy Duane who makes them out of his home in Omaha, Nebraska.

This is Part 1. Part 2 will be coming out soon.

PART 2

Nice


A couple years ago I developed a leaking axle seal on the drivers side. I ended up just purchasing a complete Dorman axle assembly and throwing it in.

Very affordable and easy. Took me about 45 minutes.

The only issue with your choice of fixing the issue is you tossed away an OEM axle for one made by Dorman. It is my assumption the quality of the steel used isn't the same as Toyota OEM. I know for front wheel bearings, it's common guys will buy prebuilt units with a Dorman hub and Koyo wheel bearing to avoid the press work.

An OEM rear axle for these rigs is $450. For $450, you could buy a Harbor Freight 20 ton press and buy the special service tools to do the job. The Harbor Freight press comes in handy for lots of jobs and will pay for itself after one use. The SSTs for this job are very specific but they can be used for other Toyota/Lexus models.

Anyway, good job doing the work yourself and avoiding the steep labor rates at dealerships and independent shops.

I completely understand your point and agree with you if time allows.

I needed it done asap and this vehicle 250,000 miles on it. It's been fine for two years now.

I've made a few SST for toyota wheel bearings. It's pretty easy to do if you have a welder. Just need a piece of 2" square tube, a few short pieces of 2x2 angle and a piece of 2" flat bar plus a 20 ton hydraulic bottle jack. I usually cut the good section of square tube out and throw the rest away after use though because I don't want to store it until the next time. I always do both rear at the same time. In my experience they almost always go out around the same time. Just easier to do both.

Would be really great if Toyota would re-engineer them to make the bearing a bolt on unit vs the press on! It really doesn't have to be this difficult to change them. On the plus side at least they last a long time.

Yep, lots of guys have made their own SSTs and it works. But, when you look at the SSTs I used in the video and others I showcase in Part 2 coming soon, it seems worth the expense. These tools are well-designed and they work perfectly. When you factor in the cost of the steel stock and the time to fabricate and weld it all together, the expense for the ready to use tools seems pretty worth it.

Part 2 is now live. Check out Post #2.