Blown Rear Axle Seal!!

[fightman80]

Hey man...now you did it to me! You posted just as I was posting mine! HA HA HA! Bigfish....can you read my last post above yours....and let me know what parts I need???

Thanks man!

 

[fightman80]

That's twice now.....ha ha ha!

 

[BigFishAllDay]

It's all in the write-up Fightman. Nothin' but love for ya, but you can either read it thoroughly and reap the benefits of hours and hours worth of research....

Or.... go with the advice you get in this thread. I can say nothing more than what I've already put out there. Really, I can't. Good luck man.

BTW, the only reason I chimed in so heavy with the advice on this thread is because I respect you as a member of T4R.org, if you were some newb, I'd just let the wolf pack toss you flippant advice....

 

[the great him]

fightman, you can do it! this is how you build confidence... hell your lights in your lower valance too more skill and know how to do than measly axle seals, if you can do that you can do this! dont let us down we are counting on you!

 

[J-money$$$]

It's all in the write-up Fightman. Nothin' but love for ya, but you can either read it thoroughly and reap the benefits of hours and hours worth of research....

Or.... go with the advice you get in this thread. I can say nothing more than what I've already put out there. Really, I can't. Good luck man.

BTW, the only reason I chimed in so heavy with the advice on this thread is because I respect you as a member of T4R.org, if you were some newb, I'd just let the wolf pack toss you flippant advice....

Maybe you could understand that everyone reposts things to try and back up what you said, but instead i sense some sort of sorness about the whole deal. Taking everything all wrong. and that is what i love about the internet. No one can hear the tone of voice... Maybe you want full claim of helping the OP. honestly idc.

ill stick to my original statement. axle seals are a diy job. There are two reasons for failure- mileage, or a messed up breather which is about $5. And jfyi if your breather is clogged and ends up causing oil to come out of the seals it doesnt mean you have to replace the seals... just clean up the oil and put a new breather on. The rear axle on our trucks is not that sensitive....

 

[fightman80]

Thanks for the confidence guys! I'll definately give it a go, but will most likely try what JMoney said, and wait to see if the oil seeps out again.

BigFish, thanks for all the info brother! I'll definately heed your advice, should the seal be fubar!

Thanks again guys for all your comments! It was great to hear all of the positive comments on this job!

 

[BigFishAllDay]

Just replace it. its not a big job. just pull the axle, and pry the old seal out. and no reason to buy new brake shoes. Just soak them in acetone over night and they should be good as new. Or a can of brake parts cleaner... thats what i did when mine blew a year ago.

Ok, so you repeated what I said here, to "back me up". Great.

the "special too" is a slide hammer, or a flat screwdriver could do it as well. And $200! wow.. I have helped with the job now, but when i was in high school and mine blew i had mine done at a mechanic for $220 for both sides with toyota seals, and new diff fluid. It took him about 2 hours. Best wast of money ever. Its really simple. Just undo the brake line (do not pull the drum apart), take the 4 bolts holing the axle/bearing to the housing, then pry the old seal out. Just tap the new one in. If it seems tight to where you may damage it try putting it into the freezer

Now here, you forgot to mention the e-brake cable, which has to come off, and you didn't mention bleeding the brakes afterward. You are giving incomplete advice... FLIPPANT advice. Unless you're giving advice to someone who has experience with this job, you're really not helping. And freezing the seal doesn't work... just try it someday. It warms back up in a matter of minutes. But let me guess, it only takes you a few seconds to get a seal in right?

Yeah that is really no huge deal. Maybe to you, or maybe you had a special case of a frozen seal. Pulling the axle is a 10 Minute job.... Then getting the seal out (possible pita) but doable and then re insert the seal, replace the outer o-ring (or use grey rtv) then put the axle back. Its a DYI job for most, say what you want and discourage people thats cool.

I didn't have a frozen seal, I just took my time and did everything right because I don't want to have to mess with it every 20k miles. I never discouraged anyone... didn't you see my first post? I STRONGLY encouraged him to tackle it himself. I made the write-up so that people would have COMPLETE information so that they CAN tackle it themselves.

I never discouraged anyone... But I do encourage them to understand the job and the reasons for the failure of the seal. Sure, any monkey can hammer a seal in, but understanding what you're doing is what prevents mishaps during the job and future recurrences of the problem.

Well mine went out due to mileage. They can just go out. Its not always a clogged breather The breather was fine . I would say its the breather if both blow at the same time...

okay ill add this. IF YOU THINK YOU BREATHER IS MESSED UP pick up a new one at the dealer when you get the seals. They are cheap and super easy to change

OK. I don't know where you're getting the correlation between a clogged breather and both seals leaking at the same time... Your opinion I guess, and you're entitled to it.

Maybe you could understand that everyone reposts things to try and back up what you said, but instead i sense some sort of sorness about the whole deal. Taking everything all wrong. and that is what i love about the internet. No one can hear the tone of voice... Maybe you want full claim of helping the OP. honestly idc.

ill stick to my original statement. axle seals are a diy job. There are two reasons for failure- mileage, or a messed up breather which is about $5. And jfyi if your breather is clogged and ends up causing oil to come out of the seals it doesnt mean you have to replace the seals... just clean up the oil and put a new breather on. The rear axle on our trucks is not that sensitive....

Again, incomplete advice. There are more than two possible reasons for failure of the seal. The bearings could be worn, the mechanic that did the seals last could have used low quality aftermarket seals, maybe at some point the retainers were replaced and weren't pressed on to the correct depth, maybe they re-used a retainer and scored it up in the process, damaging the sealing surface, maybe a prior owner jumped the truck and bent an axle shaft. There are other things to consider.

The only thing I'm sore about is the way people on this board often respond to a thread with "Dude, it's so easy, it takes 10 minutes, just hit it with a BFH and squirt some RTV on it and you're golden!"

If you really give a crap about helping someone out, then give them a complete and detailed response to their question. Educate them. Not everyone has worked on automobiles before. Not everyone has experience. You can't even bank on everyone having common sense! Don't just regurgitate the bits of information you've taken the time to read on all the forums.

That's my beef.

 

[J-money$$$]

Ok, so you repeated what I said here, to "back me up". Great.



Now here, you forgot to mention the e-brake cable, which has to come off, and you didn't mention bleeding the brakes afterward. You are giving incomplete advice... FLIPPANT advice. Unless you're giving advice to someone who has experience with this job, you're really not helping. And freezing the seal doesn't work... just try it someday. It warms back up in a matter of minutes. But let me guess, it only takes you a few seconds to get a seal in right?



I didn't have a frozen seal, I just took my time and did everything right because I don't want to have to mess with it every 20k miles. I never discouraged anyone... didn't you see my first post? I STRONGLY encouraged him to tackle it himself. I made the write-up so that people would have COMPLETE information so that they CAN tackle it themselves.

I never discouraged anyone... But I do encourage them to understand the job and the reasons for the failure of the seal. Sure, any monkey can hammer a seal in, but understanding what you're doing is what prevents mishaps during the job and future recurrences of the problem.



OK. I don't know where you're getting the correlation between a clogged breather and both seals leaking at the same time... Your opinion I guess, and you're entitled to it.



AGAIN, incomplete advice. There are more than two reasons for failure. The bearings could be worn, the mechanic that did the seals last could have used low quality aftermarket seals, maybe at some point the retainers were replaced and weren't pressed on to the correct depth, maybe they re-used a retainer and scored it up in the process, damaging the sealing surface, maybe a prior owner jumped the truck and bent an axle shaft. There are other things to consider.

The only thing I'm sore about is the way people on this board often respond to a thread with "Dude, it's so easy, it takes 10 minutes, just hit it with a BFH and squirt some RTV on it and you're golden!"

If you really give a crap about helping someone out, then give them a complete and detailed response to their question. Educate them. Not everyone has worked on automobiles before. Not everyone has experience. You can't even bank on everyone having common sense! Don't just regurgitate the bits of information you've taken the time to read on all the forums.

That's my beef.

WOW! im glad you got so offended Your post cracks me up just because its an essay, which i didnt read. Remind me to never help you.

And fightman, its worth the try right?

 

[BigFishAllDay]

You are a 19 year old kid... I guess I couldn't expect much more than that.

 

[fightman80]

Alright, so a little update, I checked the Diff fluid level today, and found it full with slightly darker than stock (in the jug), color. Looks like whenever the seal failed, I didn't drive it enough to have it leak out a whole bunch! I'm going to drive it for a week or so, and see if the drums get saturated again, if not....then I'll most likely just swap out the shoes! Might try what JMoney suggested, and just soak the shoes in some brake cleaner......we'll see.

As an FYI, BigFish made an interesting point about the dirty brakes and them getting stuck on the drums. When I brought my truck in the 1st time, I had already cleaned them once, and tried to drive the truck like that. (First time, I thought that I maybe got some Motor Oil in there, after spraying the undercarriage). When I returned to the mechanic's shop to pick up my truck, he told me the brakes had seized and then cracked from the heat! At the time, I thought it was because I had tried to adjust my E-Brake by driving backwards and then engaging the E-brake! (read it somewhere on here...) Anyway, now I'm thinking it might have had something to do with having the dirty shoes! Who knows.....could have been a combination of both!