3 seals and still leaking front axle seal!!!

[Mountain Fun]

Hey guys I need some help with a front axle seal on a 1999 Toyota 4Runner. I have a 3" Toytec ultimate lift and a 1" drop diff kit. About 2 weeks ago I noticed the passenger side axle seal was leaking. I figured now big deal, I bought a new seal from Toyota and installed it. Next day it was leaking again. I figured I either installed it wrong or had a bad CV so I picked up a new seal and CV and reinstalled both. Still Leaking!!! The service manual says to install the seal about .22" from the edge of the axle, there is a little lip there so that is where I have been installing it. Am I doing something wrong? I'm about ready to just install a second seal against the first one, flush with the axle edge. Oh yeah, I also pulled off the little diff breather end, figured it might be clogged but that didn't make any difference. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm getting sick of pulling that CV off and installing seals.

 

[krenaud33]

If I recall correctly you don't want it all the way in. It should be slightly(maybe the .22" you say the FSM states) out from being flush with the lip. Make sense? It sounds like you pushed it in a little too far. Hope that helps

 

[98OzarksRunner]

Check your CV axle. I have gotten 2 rebuilt axles that had a slight groove worn right where the seal contacts and they both leaked.

 

[krenaud33]

I would like to see Marlin Crawler come out with a HD seal.

 

[mountain mike]

I had the same thing happen. After studing the parts diagram I noticed that I had seal installed backwards. I'm sure you are more dillent than I was but it's something to check. It helped to put the seal on the CV to make sure it was going to seal prior to installing. It gave me a better understanding of how everything went back in. Best of luck!

 

[Mountain Fun]

Here's an update. Installed another seal. I really took my time and greased the cv shaft and seal lining. I pushed the seal in by hand flesh with the axle opening. I was very careful installed the cv shaft. I drove 2 miles down the road and back and it's leaking again!

When I took out the old seal it did look slightly malformed. I'm pretty convinced now that the output shaft bearing has gone bad. The truck has over 100K on it and the leaks started after 2 weeks of on and off snow where I was using 4 wheel drive a lot. I think because of the lift the bearing has developed play in it which is keeping the seal from sealing.

I'm going to buy the bearing tomorrow, install it and replace the seal again. I will keep you posted about what happens.

 

[Mountain Fun]

Okay, well I think I finally resolved my leaking issue. After a lot of frustration I tore the front axle apart and replaced the front intermediate shaft bearing in the differential tube. This was not an easy repair. It does require removing the CV, dropping the differential (I didn't completely remove mine, just dropped it about 4 to 5 inches), removing the add shifting fork assembly, and removing the differential tube assembly. If you haven't ever taken your front diff axle assembly apart before you will need to drop the front diff completely because Toyota puts locktite on the bolts and it sometimes requires a torch to break the locktite loose. Luckily for me I had the axle totally apart before when I re-geared it.

I did have to take the differential tube to a shop to have the clips removed, the old bearing pressed off, and the new bearing pressed on. The bearing was $40 and the shop charge was $50.

This is the old bearing:
<a href="http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Robert_Harris32/media/DSC06427.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p31/Robert_Harris32/DSC06427.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC06427.jpg"/></a>
This is the new bearing:
<a href="http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Robert_Harris32/media/DSC06436.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p31/Robert_Harris32/DSC06436.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC06436.jpg"/></a>

This will give you an idea of how far the seal needs to go into have a good surface to bond to:
<a href="http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Robert_Harris32/media/DSC06429.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p31/Robert_Harris32/DSC06429.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC06429.jpg"/></a>

It took me a few tries to get the seal in straight, it's very easy to put it in crooked. This is how I finally installed my seal which seemed to work. I'm posting these photos because I couldn't find any pictures online to help me out when I was doing mine. I hope this helps spare some of my fellow Toyota drivers the frustration I went through.
<a href="http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Robert_Harris32/media/DSC06438.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p31/Robert_Harris32/DSC06438.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC06438.jpg"/></a>
<a href="http://s124.photobucket.com/user/Robert_Harris32/media/DSC06437.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p31/Robert_Harris32/DSC06437.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC06437.jpg"/></a>

 

[stevets]

Thanks for the pics and info. I'll be having a go at this seal in a few days and a visual reference is always helpful.

 

[spongerx]

I'm having the same issue with my 4runner. Seal after seal are still leaking. A very reputable shop has been doing the work. The owner called me today and said he will refund me the money they charged for the original "fix" and that he didn't know what to tell me. They have replaced the seal four times now. So I'm wondering if it's this bearing that needs to be changed. I'll see how much it'll cost for them to do the job...