How long can I drive with a leaking rear axle seal......

[maxspeed96ct]

Know its a silly question, but I noticed it started leaking about 2-3 weeks ago.

And of course I just spent a **** ton of cash on my house past few weeks, and just did both cv's and a clutch in my other car.

I'd really like to put this off for a few more weeks untill I get my other car in order just incase the bearing/ seal takes me more then a day. Plus im just low on cash and I just priced out the parts and its not a cheap fix. both seals, bearing, 4 retainers and the abs ring realy added up fast. :jaw drop:

Do you guys think i should at least top off my diff or just let it be ?

Or should I really bite the bullet and fix this asap....

 

[LittleCaesar]

Replace the inner seal only and see if that fixes the problem. The sooner you fix it, the better the chance that the inner seal is the only thing you have to replace.

 

[Singtoe]

Drive it till the wheels fall off. :lookout:


It be ok for a while, at least until you get some more money.

 

[bgmac]

drive it till the wheels fall off. :lookout:


It be ok for a while, at least until you get some more money.

x2...

 

[Mr. Leary]

Drive it till the wheels fall off. :lookout:


It be ok for a while, at least until you get some more money.

Just keep adding fluid for a while... just understand that it will booger your rear brakes as they get saturated in the diff fluid. It takes a long time for your diff to become damaged from low fluid levels... bearings will go first.

 

[trailmix]

The seal is only like 5 or 6 bucks And it takes less then an hour to do it.

 

[maxspeed96ct]

The seal is only like 5 or 6 bucks And it takes less then an hour to do it.

ya but at 125k , im wondering if I have it all apart if I should replace the bearing wether it needs it or not.
Also seems like 90% of guys that get a leak have to replace the bearing....

 

[habanero]

The axle is so easy to remove (6 lugs, 4 bolts, a brake line, a screw iirc) if you can't afford it now and don't have noise it's no biggie to do the bearings later if you have to and a seal costs less than new shoes. Oil soaked shoes have a tendency to lock up when you brake. Have some brake clean handy to clean the drum and shoes when you're buttoning up. Check to make sure a clogged diff breather isn't the culprit to your leak while you're at it.

 

[Opi]

mines been leaking for a while i really need to fix it... i gotta get a motor in the turbo cop car first i think haha.

 

[maxspeed96ct]

The axle is so easy to remove (6 lugs, 4 bolts, a brake line, a screw iirc) if you can't afford it now and don't have noise it's no biggie to do the bearings later if you have to and a seal costs less than new shoes. Oil soaked shoes have a tendency to lock up when you brake. Have some brake clean handy to clean the drum and shoes when you're buttoning up. Check to make sure a clogged diff breather isn't the culprit to your leak while you're at it.

A clogged diff breather can cause a axle seal to leak ?
Or is that another spot it can leak from ?

Im just not looking forward to the job cause so far nothing has been easy on this truck since everything is extremely rusty.

Looked up all the parts tonight and it comes to jsut over 200$ for everything. Might order it all soon..

 

[habanero]

A clogged diff breather can cause a axle seal to leak ?
Or is that another spot it can leak from ?

Can cause it to leak.

 

[jeeper1]

Are there other symptoms to the brakes like vibration in the rear when braking if the seal is about to give out?

Reason why I ask is my bro in-law's 97 is giving him vibs in the rear while braking and he told me that he see's grease/oil on the wheels and thinks its coming from the axle. Think it could be rear axle seal leaking?

 

[zcruiser]

Are there other symptoms to the brakes like vibration in the rear when braking if the seal is about to give out?

Reason why I ask is my bro in-law's 97 is giving him vibs in the rear while braking and he told me that he see's grease/oil on the wheels and thinks its coming from the axle. Think it could be rear axle seal leaking?

If it looks like this, it's the rear axle seal:

 

[jeeper1]

Thanks zcruiser, Seen that on the buyers guide thread by rip. Its tough to diagnose a problem over the phone, but am waiting for that picture as I instructed him to give me a shot of the inner tire to see if it looks like that to justify the rear seal leakage. I will see the 4runner by the end of this month and will be able to see what it is, but until then, I just wanted to know if the braking system would give a vibration if the seal is broken due to the grease not letting the shoes do work. IDK but he keeps telling me about the vibration that he gets in the rear when applying the brakes.

 

[maxspeed96ct]

O yeah my tire looks like the picture above, have all the parts on ther way. Ill keep you guys updated on how the swap goes when I get to it.

Parts totaled around $200

 

[zcruiser]

Thanks zcruiser, Seen that on the buyers guide thread by rip. Its tough to diagnose a problem over the phone, but am waiting for that picture as I instructed him to give me a shot of the inner tire to see if it looks like that to justify the rear seal leakage. I will see the 4runner by the end of this month and will be able to see what it is, but until then, I just wanted to know if the braking system would give a vibration if the seal is broken due to the grease not letting the shoes do work. IDK but he keeps telling me about the vibration that he gets in the rear when applying the brakes.

I had lockup on my rear brakes when they got contaminated. Mine wasn't from leaking rear axle, but something else. Had the brake drum cleaned up and new rear brake shoes installed, and the grabbing went away. Should work for your buddy, too.

 

[jeeper1]

I had lockup on my rear brakes when they got contaminated. Mine wasn't from leaking rear axle, but something else. Had the brake drum cleaned up and new rear brake shoes installed, and the grabbing went away. Should work for your buddy, too.

Thanks Z! What was it that contaminated your rear drums? We are trying to find the culprit and would like to know where we can start. I told him to already break down the rear drums to see where its coming from. He told me that they did the rear shoes about 2 years ago and never had an issue. The brake fluid is not getting lower, so its not the brake lines. So I really dont have any idea as to what it could be. Thanks again bud!

 

[zcruiser]

Thanks Z! What was it that contaminated your rear drums? We are trying to find the culprit and would like to know where we can start. I told him to already break down the rear drums to see where its coming from. He told me that they did the rear shoes about 2 years ago and never had an issue. The brake fluid is not getting lower, so its not the brake lines. So I really dont have any idea as to what it could be. Thanks again bud!

Well, I was trying to save myself some embarrassment, but apparently I did a sloppy job when I painted my rear drums with caliper paint (brushed on) and it oozed into the inside of the brake drum and got on the shoes. That's the only thing the tech could determine by looking at it. He cleaned up the drums and replaced the shoes, and no more problems since.

 

[Jason B]

Know its a silly question, but I noticed it started leaking about 2-3 weeks ago.

And of course I just spent a **** ton of cash on my house past few weeks, and just did both cv's and a clutch in my other car.

I'd really like to put this off for a few more weeks untill I get my other car in order just incase the bearing/ seal takes me more then a day. Plus im just low on cash and I just priced out the parts and its not a cheap fix. both seals, bearing, 4 retainers and the abs ring realy added up fast. :jaw drop:

Do you guys think i should at least top off my diff or just let it be ?

Or should I really bite the bullet and fix this asap....

Did you ever fix it?

 

[kolelt]

I heard the rear axle seal is pita. But idk. Unless people replace the bearing while in it. Can anyone confirm?