Axel seal replacement
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Tyler James Inc
Senior Member
mtbtim
Elite Member
Replacing just the seal is pretty easy. Doing the job right which includes replacing the bearings and getting the inner retainer in the right position is a lot more involved if you do the work yourself. You also have the choice to farm out the press work to a shop. The only problem with letting a shop do the work for you is you need to figure out if they first know what they are doing. Shops botch this job all the time. The video below will show you what this job entails.
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AVhSDnw2ugo" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
MStudt
official vendor
Like what Tim said. The seals are the easy part.
Keep in mind, if your seals are leaking that's due to another issue. That other issue are the wheel bearing getting play in them. Replacing just the seals will stop the leaking short term, but in a couple months they'll be leaking again.
Keep in mind, if your seals are leaking that's due to another issue. That other issue are the wheel bearing getting play in them. Replacing just the seals will stop the leaking short term, but in a couple months they'll be leaking again.
Friday88
New member
Tims video will tell you everything you need to know, but you can also read these threads thoroughly to get an idea of what you'll be doing.
How to replace the seals: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...e-information-replacement-thread-3rd-gen.html
How to correctly position the retaining ring. Your shop will need to know this information if they are to do this work correctly: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/114743-possible-solution-leaking-axle-seals.html
How to replace the seals: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-g...e-information-replacement-thread-3rd-gen.html
How to correctly position the retaining ring. Your shop will need to know this information if they are to do this work correctly: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/114743-possible-solution-leaking-axle-seals.html
mtbtim
Elite Member
People have done it without the right tools, but it's Hillbilly Mechanics and probably not advisable. To do it right, you need a press and the appropriate tools. And no, you can't rent these tools. If you want to save money, you're best bet is to pull the axles yourself and find a shop that knows what they're doing to do the press work for you.
Ghostrider
Registered User
Respectfully disagree - at least based on my experience. My 01 started leaking at about 60,000 and I caught it early. Did the seals and no more issues - my neice has it now and at 180,000 on original bearings.
I agree that if they get long term exposure it is the correct move but maybe I got lucky by catching it early.
Ghostrider
Registered User
I will second the need for a press. In the late 80's I did the bearings on an Isuzu trooper by using 2x4's and a big hammer to get the old bearing off. Never again - my hands hurt for days. Paying 100 bucks even then would have been a bargain
MStudt
official vendor
To each their own.
It's really hard to say. Some might be said about driving styles, or maybe a batch that said part was run on.
I have access to a press and I hope to be putting in a different axle when I do a leaf spring conversion next spring/summer.
I think I’ll just do the seal for now and hope for the best. I still need to watch the video from above and do some reading.
Also, the breather is just a little cap/ filter thing on top of the axle housing. How would I know if it’s clogged? I may take it off and run it through an ultra sonic cleaner just because I have access to one of those as well.
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I think I’ll just do the seal for now and hope for the best. I still need to watch the video from above and do some reading.
Also, the breather is just a little cap/ filter thing on top of the axle housing. How would I know if it’s clogged? I may take it off and run it through an ultra sonic cleaner just because I have access to one of those as well.
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octanejunkie
Elite Member
The seal swap is easy, albeit possibly messy if it's your fist time. You'll need a slide hammer/puller that you can get from AutoZone or O'Reilly and you can knock out both sides in about 2 hours.
When reinstalling the axles into the housing, be careful not to drag them on the new seals, the seals damage easily.
This is also a good time to refresh your rear diff fluid, rear brakes and brake fluid.
The breather is cheap to replace. If you are gonna do the extension mod, now is the time, if not, just get a new one and call it good - don't try to diagnose a 20 year old stock breather.
Got my old axle seal out it was torn at the bottom it looked like, I wonder if I did that pulling the axle out.
I got the new seal in and wish I had a drop indicator so I could tell if the seal is seated all the way. It looks like it is so tomorrow morning I’ll do the grease test and hope for the best.
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I got the new seal in and wish I had a drop indicator so I could tell if the seal is seated all the way. It looks like it is so tomorrow morning I’ll do the grease test and hope for the best.
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Many thanks to [MENTION=44220]BigFishAllDay[/MENTION], @MBTIM, and [MENTION=78997]Drcoffee[/MENTION] for all the great info and video. Completed passenger side and at 1K miles with no issues. Have passenger side leaking on the 1999, so am glad I bought the HF 20T.
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Video and information is awesome, if I planned on keeping this particular rear end in my 4Runner I would have replaced all parts. It was pretty easy to get to this point and the video and write up were great to look at prior to starting
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Got axle in and noticed the chamfer was on the seal side so I assume the seal had never been replaced. Noticed a little slop in the wheel bearing but didn’t replace anything besides the seal. Used the grease method and the seal sat a good 1/8” past the chamfer. I think It’s going to seal.
Put new lube in the diff and ran it on jack stands in low gear for about a mile per the odometer and no obvious leak yet and also pulled the abs sensor out and didn’t see it slinging lube so crossing my fingers it’s good to go for a little while.
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Put new lube in the diff and ran it on jack stands in low gear for about a mile per the odometer and no obvious leak yet and also pulled the abs sensor out and didn’t see it slinging lube so crossing my fingers it’s good to go for a little while.
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