Front leak

carlodonz

carlodonz

Member
Hi all,

I was just doing some maintenance while looking under the truck when I noticed a dark are on the front skid and after closed inspection I believe I found the source of the leak, see attachment.

This is happening on the front passenger, the driver side looks fine. Can anyone help me identify what could cause this and which is the part leaking?

Thanks!
 

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Make sure the front differential vent is venting. Otherwise as the gear oil heats up, pressure builds, and seals leak. It could also be the seal is leaking, even with the vent not plugged. It's a relatively easy seal to replace for a mechanic or skilled DIYer.
 
Should be this one. It'll be your front diff fluid leaking past the seal.

Had the same dripping experience a month or so later after I swapped my driver axle a year ago. Guess I damaged the seal putting the new one in. Had a shop change both seals for me since I needed other work at the time. No more leaking since.
Yours may just be wear and tear. All part of the maintenance.
 
02SE said:
Make sure the front differential vent is venting. Otherwise as the gear oil heats up, pressure builds, and seals leak. It could also be the seal is leaking, even with the vent not plugged. It's a relatively easy seal to replace for a mechanic or skilled DIYer.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Can you point out where I can find the front diff vent?
 
MyanRagahis said:
Should be this one. It'll be your front diff fluid leaking past the seal.

Had the same dripping experience a month or so later after I swapped my driver axle a year ago. Guess I damaged the seal putting the new one in. Had a shop change both seals for me since I needed other work at the time. No more leaking since.
Yours may just be wear and tear. All part of the maintenance.
Click to expand...

Thanks this helps. Do you remember approximately how much they charged for replacing both seals?
 
carlodonz said:
Thank you! Can you point out where I can find the front diff vent?
Click to expand...

Vent tube bolts to the top of the front differential carrier assembly. The tube terminates with a vent as shown in this image. Go to YouTube and search "clean check differential breather Toyota". Front differential breather check or clean is similar to servicing a rear differential breather.
 

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carlodonz said:
Thanks this helps. Do you remember approximately how much they charged for replacing both seals?
Click to expand...

I don't, sorry. Majority of the work was to weld on the total chaos alignment tab gussets. The shop had to remove the LCAs and axles anyway so while I bought the seals on my own, I just had them swap it out.
 
Hammer0313 said:
Can someone provide the part numbers for the front diff breather vent/tube and the axle seals? Please!
Click to expand...

Seal part numbers are "LH Front Axle Seal P# 90311-47027 or P# 90311-47013 for RH Seal" as published here in this DIY 5th Gen 2010-2018 Front Axle Seal DIY

A search for "front differential breather tube", "breather" or "differential breather vent" doesn't yield anything for my 2011 Trail on the Camelback Toyota website.

Toyota 4Runner Plug, breather (for front differential) - 9093003136 - Genuine Toyota Part shows a breather and tube assemblies. I found it using this Google search "2011 4Runner front differential breather vent".
 
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DougR said:
Seal part numbers are "LH Front Axle Seal P# 90311-47027 or P# 90311-47013 for RH Seal" as published here in this DIY 5th Gen 2010-2018 Front Axle Seal DIY

A search for "front differential breather tube", "breather" or "differential breather vent" doesn't yield anything for my 2011 Trail on the Camelback Toyota website.

Toyota 4Runner Plug, breather (for front differential) - 9093003136 - Genuine Toyota Part shows a breather and tube assemblies. I found it using this Google search "2011 4Runner front differential breather vent".
Click to expand...

Thank you Sir:thumb:
 
Do your rear diff breather too while you're at it, it's a good idea to use a coupler, fuel hose and zip ties to extend it up behind the fuel filler so it's protected. Since it's the driver side you could replace the needle bearings with the ECGS teflon bushing sleeve as some preventative maintenance while doing that oil seal.

EDIT: nevermind about needle bearing I see it's the passenger side leaking.
 
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And if you don't already, after you get it fixed remember to run 4H for a few miles on straight or dirt road every month to keep the diff nice and lubed.
 
repo said:
Do your rear diff breather too while you're at it, it's a good idea to use a coupler, fuel hose and zip ties to extend it up behind the fuel filler so it's protected. Since it's the driver side you could replace the needle bearings with the ECGS teflon bushing sleeve as some preventative maintenance while doing that oil seal.

EDIT: nevermind about needle bearing I see it's the passenger side leaking.
Click to expand...

If you mean to add a breather line to read diff, I have done that already!
 
I just recently had that exact seal replaced. Same leak. 43k miles.

First I took it to the dealership to get it diagnosed to make sure I wasn't missing an obvious but they confirmed it was the front passenger seal. They then quoted me 1k for the job lol and I said no thanks.

I don't have the knowledge to do it myself so I found a shop with a certified Toyota tech and it costed me 250 in total.

Hope that helps.
 
I say this as someone that has been working on things since I was kid. Also, I'm an aircraft mechanic and love tinkering. That said, working on your 4R is very straight forward. You don't need a lot of tools and there is info everywhere online. If you don't have much mechanical experience, find a friend that does, buy him a case of beer, and fix something. Replacing a front diff seal seems hard because of all the stuff in the way. It's not! You have a bunch of simple tasks in front of another simple task. It might take you all day but you'll learn so much about your truck and gain confidence in it and your abilities.

I'm not dense. I get it's daunting the first time you consider disassembling yor $40k truck. My recommendation comes from years of watching people learn how to fix things and the satisfaction it brings. Either way - happy wheeling!

Rant over :)
 
HighOnRice said:
I just recently had that exact seal replaced. Same leak. 43k miles.

First I took it to the dealership to get it diagnosed to make sure I wasn't missing an obvious but they confirmed it was the front passenger seal. They then quoted me 1k for the job lol and I said no thanks.

I don't have the knowledge to do it myself so I found a shop with a certified Toyota tech and it costed me 250 in total.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

It should be covered under the 5 year, 60k mile powertrain warranty. If your 4Runner still falls within that range.
 
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