Blown axle seal...

[Bad Luck]

I also was under the impression that if the shoes are contaminated, and you drive like that, you can impregnate the metal in the drums, which even if turned, will re-contaminate new shoes.

I've never heard that one before. You just need to clean the drums thoroughly with brake clean before resurfacing or reinstalling.

 

[JohnMc]

+1 - there's no reason to replace the drums. Just clean well with brakleen.

And replace the shoes.

 

[Bad Luck]

Both seals are leaking now, so I drained the diff. This truck is gonna be parked until spring. As for pricing, I plan to replace both drums, which are $164/ea. The bearings are $88/ea. Brake shoes are $96 for a full set. So, it gets expensive quickly. I didn't realize a buddy of mine had a shop press, so he and I may take this on when I can afford to buy everything.

Cheers.

I would recommend replacing at least the bearing on the side that leaks. What happens is the gear oil that gets past the seal has to flow through the wheel bearing and that washes all the grease out of the wheel bearing. There's been lots of people that end up having to replace the wheel bearing shortly after just doing the axle seal. Here's the part numbers I have for doing the rear axle bearings/seals:

Rear wheel bearing 90363-40020-77 or Nachi 6308-2NSE (96-00) / 90363-40068 or NSK 40BW06CG50 (01-02)
Rear axle retainer42423-20010 (2 per side)
Snap ring 90520-36045
Outer seal 90313-48001 (96-00) or 90313-54001 (01-02)
Inner seal 90310-50006
O Ring 90301-88077

The Nachi bearings I listed are the exact same as OEM and only about $30/each

 

[brillo_76]

In one of mine. I ran thicker gear grease until I replaced the seal. I just cleaned the brake shoes with brake cleaner and still used them until it was all repaired and replaced.

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[Zhehan]

Thanks again everyone for the tips and alternate parts and pricing.

My mind is like a bad neighborhood: You don't want to go in there alone. :der:

 

[gamefreakgc]

My problem is I'm all doom 'n gloom when it comes to problems like this. It's a feature. hwell:

I'll take a look at the driver's side sometime this week and see if there is play in the bearing. It was leaking for a while before I could figure out where the smell of gear oil was coming from. I put some stop leak in the diff and it held for about 2 weeks and then it just let go the other day. So, the brake shoes are probably contaminated.

I also was under the impression that if the shoes are contaminated, and you drive like that, you can impregnate the metal in the drums, which even if turned, will re-contaminate new shoes.

At any rate, I'll take a look at things and re-assess.

Brake shoes, yes, the oil seeps in and even if you clean them really good with brake cleaner it doesn't get 100% out. My passenger's side seal blew, put on new brake shoes, and then it blew AGAIN a year later. I re-used the shoes after a very thorough brake cleaner blast but they were not the same after that for years. It's only now they are performing like new again. The drums though are solid steel, there's no risk of any oil contamination there. Same goes with the brake piston and other parts, gear oil won't hurt those either. Smell bad? Most definitely.

Take a look over your parts list so far and buy what only is necessary. I think you'll find both the scope and cost of this job is much less than expected. About the bearings though, if you've had a leak for some time on the one side you will want to replace the bearings. The new leak on the other side should be ok as the vehicle hasn't been driven much.

 

[Zhehan]

Ok, I pulled both the rear wheels and removed the drums. I'm going to have to replace the shoes on both sides. Additionally, if I grab the axle flange, I can move the axle in and out a little bit. Maybe 1/16th-1/8th of an inch. Both sides have the same amount of play. There isn't any lateral movement of the flange if I try to rock it side to side or up and down, just in and out a little bit. With that said, this seems like too much play, yes?

So, axle bearings, seals, O-rings, shoes? Get the drums turned? There are 76K+ miles on these brakes and bearings. I've only had to do brakes once on this truck @147K.

 

[Zhehan]

So, I bought some axle bearings, seals, o-rings, dust cover seals, etc. I still need to get some brake shoes. Does the amount of play I felt seem normal, or does it tell me the bearings are shot?

 

[octanejunkie]

Post 4
Easy Way to check wheel bearings?

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[T4R2014]

I wouldn't trust those bearings. The grease is likely contaminated. You will be redoing the job soon if you don't replace them. I wouldn't hesitate to go with Timken bearings, even if they are not necessarily the OEM on 3rd gen 4Runners. I notice they have a kit with retainers as well. If you end up receiving Japanese made parts then that is a score.

 

[Zhehan]

Thanks guys. I'll be looking for a shop to do the press work. Hopefully, there are reasonably priced options. So far, all the quotes for work on this truck I've gotten this year have been pricey. The only shop work I've had done this year was an alignment after I replaced all the things.

 

[mtbtim]

Thanks guys. I'll be looking for a shop to do the press work. Hopefully, there are reasonably priced options. So far, all the quotes for work on this truck I've gotten this year have been pricey. The only shop work I've had done this year was an alignment after I replaced all the things.

If you take the axles to a shop, make sure they have experience with this job and give them specific details on how you want the inner retainer pressed on. I've seen shops just bury the inner retainer and ABS tone ring against the outer retainer which will cause the inner retainer to be nowhere close to properly interfacing with the inner axle seal. I've seen how shops have used a cutter wheel to get the tone ring and retainers off and ended up cutting too deep scoring the axles shaft.

I hope you watched my videos so you can intelligently question the shop on how they plan on doing the press work. I hope you find a competent shop to do the press work for you. When you get the axles back, make sure you do a sharpie or grease test to make sure you have a good mating of the inner retainer with the inner axle seal before putting everything back together.

 

[Zhehan]

If you take the axles to a shop, make sure they have experience with this job and give them specific details on how you want the inner retainer pressed on. I've seen shops just bury the inner retainer and ABS tone ring against the outer retainer which will cause the inner retainer to be nowhere close to properly interfacing with the inner axle seal. I've seen how shops have used a cutter wheel to get the tone ring and retainers off and ended up cutting too deep scoring the axles shaft.

I hope you watched my videos so you can intelligently question the shop on how they plan on doing the press work. I hope you find a competent shop to do the press work for you. When you get the axles back, make sure you do a sharpie or grease test to make sure you have a good mating of the inner retainer with the inner axle seal before putting everything back together.

I did watch your videos Tim. So far, everyone's been an idiot that I've talked to. JFC.

Someone else recommended a shop in Gresham in this thread and I'm going to give them a call since they reported them doing things properly. The last shop I called wanted to cut the tone ring and retainers off and said I had to buy new ones...

I really don't want to buy a shop press...

 

[Zhehan]

I took my axles to Don's machine shop out in Gresham. I explained how I wanted them done, per Timmy's direction, and they did it right. That was 2 years ago. No leaks.

There's also a machine shop attached to the Napa at SE 9th and Morrison that's been doing them for decades. I was going to go to them but the place in Gresham was closer.

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I just called Don's and they know what's up. I'll be bringing the axles to them. They quoted me $65/axle to do the work.

Thanks for the tip, texadelphia!

 

[Zhehan]

Axles are out. Waiting for some new retainers to arrive, then it's a trip to the machine shop. Thanks again everyone who contributed. Thanks to BadLuck for the deal on the new bearings!

 

[Zhehan]

Got the axles back. I got the passenger side installed after work. I'll get the the rest of the job done tomorrow. I'm also installing new brake shoes while I'm in there.

 

[Zhehan]

Got everything thing back in today, including the new brake shoes. No leaks! And, it drives better with the new rear axle bearings. Once I got things apart, it was really apparent how trashed the bearings were. The inner lip of the seals were worn away from all the slop of the bad bearings allowing the axle to move.

Next project is to install the LC 7.5 wrap coils I bought from another forum member...

It never ends. :lmao:

 

[theriddler]

Glad your install went well, it can be overwhelming at first but Timmy's videos are a Godsend.

I just did mine a couple months ago but I messed up on the drivers side...i installed the oil seal backwards! I didn't realize it until it was installed so instead of fixing it then I decided to see how long it would hold up. It only took a couple weeks before I started seeing oil being slung onto the tire. Well crap, lessened learned.

So I replaced the oil seal a few weeks ago (put it in right this time) and a couple days ago I heard a squeaking in my drivetrain. When troubleshooting I noticed my driver side wheel has a slight slop in it again. No leaks but I can wiggle the wheel up and down enough to hear a slight noise. The axle oil washed away my wheel bearing grease so I get to go through the whole process again!

I'm my own worst enemy sometimes:doh:

 

[Zhehan]

:wow:

That sucks. I had one oil seal go in slightly crooked. I tried to straighten it, but had to yank it out and go get another one from the dealer. They are $13.50/ea at my local dealer. Not a huge loss, but still a bit of a pain.

Good luck and you have my empathy.

 

[T4R2014]

I used a rubber mallet and a cheapo amazon bearing driver kit to drive the new seals in. From what I recall there is no exact size in these standard kits. I put the new seal in the freezer and used the closest size and lightly tapped in circles to drive it in flat. Also greased it before driving. It went it pretty easily.