my rear axle blew a seal!!!

[4x4Runner09]

My rear drivers side axle blew a leak. I guess it leaked all over the left brake too. So its at the dealer getting fixed.

Sooo why me?? Its got 75k miles on it and its a 2000 limited 4x4. Its gona cost around $650... bummer!!

What do you guys have to say??

 

[Kramer420]

i blew mine around 65K and spent 23 bucks on seals and did it my self its not relly a hard job. the hard part is packing the outseal back in . but anyway Def a bummer

 

[apache]

I had Mine blow at around 70000 miles cost about 700 to fix the seal blew destroyed mt breaks failed inspection .
took 12 hours to fix they needed a welding torch to get the rear axl off

 

[Kramer420]

so you got your Axle replaced?

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Both my rears went out around 90k and I had 'em done at Brakes Plus and it cost me just under $700 but that also included front and rear ceramic brake pads and included a system flush also.

In the future avoid the dealerships with simple fix-its and find a reputable shop and save money if you can't do it yourself.

 

[Jason B]

Happened to me too. Cost me about $15 to fix myself and some time.

Here is the inner seal removed.

How pretty.

On jackstands:

This was the best write-up I found, but I read them all. This is specifically for models with ABS, which makes a little difference, well, it's just a little trickier to get the inner seal out on models with abs.

http://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech/dcrim1_oilseal/dcrim1_oilseal.htm

It wasn't bad at all. I took my time and had a friend help me pull the axel out. I wanted to make sure I kept it real steady when pulling it out.

All the time as spent on cleaning up all the oil soaked stuff, wheel, drums, etc.

Some other tips that worked great.

Make a note of these:

1) "I did find out if you put the new axle seal in the freezer for about 10 minutes, it shrinks just enough to easly slide back in the place of the old one. The seals are very hard to fit back in if you dont do this and they have to go in perfect or you might damage it."
by Jataga

2) "You'll need to bleed the wheel cylinder on that side. That's probably my least favorite part of the job.

You can try gravity bleeding it by just leaving the bleeder screw open and draining into a cup while keeping an eye on the master cyl. to make sure it doesn't run dry. It doesn't drain very fast, but keep an eye on it.
Gravity bleeding usually works, but if not you can have your friend step on the brake pedal an hold it, while you crack open the bleeder to let the pressure out, then close the bleeder, and have your friend let back off the brake. A few cycles of that after gravity bleeding should do the trick.

Don't let the master cylinder run dry and don't let your buddy let off the brake while you have the bleeder open. Either one will introduce more air into the system instead of get it out.
If you're going to be working on your (or a buddies) truck and bleeding/flushing brakes, buy a motive products power bleeder. Its worth it."
by Erik

3) Buy some rubber vacuum caps from Advance auto to plug your brake line after you disconnect it.
7/32in. part # 47392, about $2.

I just had a a friend bleed it at the back when I stepped on the brake pedal. This whole process for the bleeding took 1 min exact, very easy with two people.

 

[servo_fan]

Uh oh, I hope we don't all have to expect this to happen to our rigs. It's bad enough I just had to replace the clutch at 73k, ($600), looks like it's just about time for the rear axle to go too huh?

 

[Jason B]

It's pretty common, but it's the only thing that's ever gone wrong in mine. If that's the only thing that ever happens, then that's pretty good.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

It's also the only issue my truck has ever had in 107k so far.

 

[uluafishing]

My '97 had the passenger seal go at 5k and 35k miles. My cousin's '96 just replaced his rear passenger seal @ 100k, and my friend's '98 rear passenger seal let go @ 90k miles.

I'm surprised there isn't a recall about this...kinda disappointing that so many of us are encountering this issue. Other than that I think 4runners are rock solid!

Aloha!

 

[Jay]

Just replace it yourself if its not covered by the warranty.

 

[uluafishing]

Luckily, mine was replaced under warranty (first time by Servco Toyota in HI, second time by Irvine Toyota in CA)...Irvine Toyota even went so far as to replace the brake shoes (both sides free of charge) because the pass. side was fouled with gear oil.

It's been good to me since then (that was 5 years and 25k miles ago).

Maybe if it leaks again, I'll have an excuse to install the ARB airlocker in the rear...since the axles will have to be pulled anyway...

Aloha!

 

[bmanning]

I'm a tick over 150k, and the previous owner (who kept records of everything) blew a rear axle seal at 67k.

Glad this got posted; I think it's time for new rear axles seals BEFORE they go...83k on this set.

Need to look at Jason's post & decide if I can do this or if I'll farm it out...

 

[bmanning]

Just read the thread more closely; rear axle seal replacement is the perfect time (& excuse) for ARB air lockers.

Brilliant!!

 

[Lexusbstrdchild]

so the seals just go without warning? this worries me as i have 85k on mine, and no records from the previous owner as to if they have been changed or not. would it be a good idea to just change them out? and if so, should i change all 4 or just the rears?

 

[bflooks]

i think many of you will find that they go as a result of dirt/grime blocking up the rear diff breather. for those of you who take these trucks any where off-road, you know how important it is to extend that breather out of harms way. on yotatech, gangus (those of us in ne4roc know who he is) took his runner swimming and what not without extending the breather. needless to say, water get's in, mud get's in, etc. etc. what happens is that the breather get's clogged and can no longer allow the gas (pressure) out of the diff. so...it blows the seals instead. he just replaced both of his at the dealer, and it cost him over $800.

before anyone goes and replaces seals just to replace them, i think it would be smarter to prevent the issue by replacing the breather. i would consider that as preventative maint. it is right on the top of the rear diff. it bolts in, and has a free floating cap on it. this unscrews out of the diff, and just screw a new one in. super simple to do. search on the diff breather extension mod and you will see what i am talking about. as for the part number of the stock replacement....not sure. but! the dealership should know. i think it costs about $14 if that and takes less time than dropping and raising the spare tire.

 

[bmanning]

Good advice, bflooks.

I knew of the existence of the breather, but I guess I hadn't really stopped and thought about its importance, and its potential to cause blown seals if uncared for.

I was set to replace the seals based only on the fact that this set has 83k; now, I think I'll just check &/or extend the breather tube and cross the fingers. Preventive maintenance is a great thing, but if I can avoid the expense or hours on my back in the driveway, why not?

If I towed a lot, I'd go ahead and replace them, but I don't currently...

 

[vegask]

I just picked up a 97 limited 4x4. I got the parts to do the breather mod but I think the seals may have already gone. The backs of the drums are covered in a dark sludge. No drips, just an even coating. Is that a sign that they need replacing?

 

[madubose]

Hey ya'll, I've done a lot of research on these forums about the rear axle seals and appreciate everything I've read so far. However, I have a problem that I could not find an answer to......

Last winter Midas replaced my left rear inner and outer axle seals in order to pass inspection (brakes and everything were covered in fluid). About 6 months after the inspection date I did my typical 90k tuneup and my mechanic discovered that again, the left rear seal had blown and my brakes and drum were covered. Needless to say I was not happy about this because I had the right rear seal replaced 2 inspection dates ago and everything is still bone dry. With much reluctance I had only the left rear outer seal replaced. Now that my inspection date is once again coming up I took the rear wheel off on my own to see if the seal was still leaking, and it is. So I'm going to clean everything off before my state inspection and then figure out what to do after that.

My question to everyone is if they've have a RECURRING problem with the axle seals leaking? I've been told I might have to replace the entire axle but I'm not interested in this option considering I have a '98 and according to Toyota there have been no recalls/defects, etc. There is also the outside potential that the axle was damaged in a collision that occurred over 2 years ago, but how do I prove this to the insurance company? All they did at the time was assess and fix the obvious body damage. Could it be possible that the rear axle was damaged during that collision (mustang hard in to the left rear wheel/tire, slashed the tire) or is there another potential problem I have not discovered/thought about?

I also do not believe this is a case of a clogged diff breather since the right rear has been fine since replacement over 2 years ago. I appreciate any help provided, I'm not as mechanically inclined as a lot of you, but a co-worker is helping me through this and I should be able to do some stuff on my own now, like replace the seal if I have to (AGAIN!). Thanks so much in advance.

 

[vegask]

I'd replace the valve on your breather, I think they are like $5 or so and you can do it in a few minutes with a simple hand wrench. If you offroad then you should re-located it.

Also the seals are very easy to mess up. I've replaced the seals 3 times on mine till I got it right. The seals bend easy and need to be drived in with a seal driver. Also when putting your axle back in its really really easy to put the weight of the axle on the new seal and bend it.