front differential leak

[cmoua]

Today I saw oil stains on the driveway. After looking for the leak I found it coming from the axle next to the front differential on the driver side. I also notice the axle is a bit loose and come in and out of the differential easily. Not sure if the locking clip still doing its job to secure the axle in the differential. I have not use the 4runner that much in the last couple of weeks and the leak was all of a sudden. With 135K I know it's maybe it's time to replace the seal. Here's a pix of the leak. Do you think the new seal will fix the problem?


axle leaks by xotom, on Flickr

 

[bradentyrer]

Mine had the same problem... I took it into the shop that I have all my work done at (not the dealer) and apparently it is a split gasket. You can replace it, but they just cleaned they area and doused that sucker in Permatex, which did the job!! Was cheap and quick, and held up on some decent off-roading.

Hope that helps

 

[pearlj10]

You should definitely replace the oil seal. If I were you, I'd get the oil seal and c clip for cv axle from toyota and buy a reman cv half shaft from napa ($80 if I remember correctly, and its a rebuilt OEM shaft). I've never been fond of excessive play in cv shafts on my vehicles. May be overkill, but for $80 I'd replace that axle any day of the week with that kind of mileage if there was an obvious oil leak issue. Be advised, if you do the oil seal yourself they have to be tapped in to an exact depth and, yes, you can tap them in too far. Consult the factory manual or search on here for guidance. Being well informed will lead to a successful job the first time around. Good luck.