my rear axle blew a seal!!!

for some reason this really worries me... how do i tell if mine is blown? is there an easy way to tell or can i take a picture of something and post? where do i locate these seals?
 
Jack the truck up and put the rear on stands. Take the rear tire off (make sure the ebrake is off) and pull the cover off of the drum brake. If it drips oil or if there is oil in there you have a bad seal.

If you go to home depot and get a couple M8 metric bolts, you can thread them into the drum cover to make taking it off super easy.
 
I just got my state inspection and the guy said I had some leakage in my back axle... he said I should take it to a dealership. Would that be a seal? When I got new tires, the guy also said the same thing, that there was something wrong with my rear brakes....?
 
You're lucky they passed your state inspection, both of mine failed because the brakes were caked in fluid (i.e. I failed because of the brakes, not the leaking seal). You can tell if the seals are leaking the easiest by looking at the drum, if the drum has black "gunk" on it you most likely have a seal leaking.
 
After semi-long drives my rear tire area smells like burning rubber. Yes...no...? I know its bad but I don't have time to get it checked.
 
RunnerUp said:
your axle prob isnt screwed, its prob just a few seals.... here is when i did my axle seals... keep in mind you have to cut off about 90$ worth of retainer clips and abs rings to replace the bearing and outer seal

http://www.yotatech.com/showthread.php?t=110243

I didn't see you clipping any abs stuff in the write up. Did you just not get any pics? How much did it cost you in parts to fix?


Is the only way to tell if the axle is screwed is driving it and see if the seal breaks again? The mechanic said the axle may be done for. But he didn't even take off the brake drums or anything. So he didn't get a very good look at it. Seems like it would be ridiculously noisy if it was going out.

Also are my brakes going to be messed up as a result of the gunk from the axle?
 
i just had a machine shop cut off the rings and old bearing and replace it with the new hardware, which is why there are no pics of that part.

if i were you, i would take my truck to a different mechanic, seems like you are about to be wearing a nice dark red lipstick if you go back to him
 
Yeah I don't like how he automatically jumped to getting a new axle. That is kind of upsetting.

I was looking throug the records and it said that an axle seal was previously changed, but I don't know which side it was on. Is there any way to figure this out? If it is on the same side I am probably going to change the axle.
 
kingbiscuit said:
Yeah I don't like how he automatically jumped to getting a new axle. That is kind of upsetting.

I was looking throug the records and it said that an axle seal was previously changed, but I don't know which side it was on. Is there any way to figure this out? If it is on the same side I am probably going to change the axle.

Even if it was done on the same side why would you automatically be willing to shell out the $1200 or more to swap it out? The breather could be clogged cauing the seal to go, seal could have been put in incorrectly, etc. I did mine on both sides myself since I had to do the bearings on both sides. Very easy. 4nuts, brake line and e-brake pin and the axle slides out. I took it to the machine shop and had them replace the bearings, seal, ABS rotor and retaining rings. I have the receipts with part number and prices if you want. Machine shop charged me $60.00 for labor. If all you need is the seal then you are looking at like $8.00 from the toyota dealer. Might want to consider a new breather while your there.
 
gapboi210 said:
Even if it was done on the same side why would you automatically be willing to shell out the $1200 or more to swap it out? The breather could be clogged cauing the seal to go, seal could have been put in incorrectly, etc. I did mine on both sides myself since I had to do the bearings on both sides. Very easy. 4nuts, brake line and e-brake pin and the axle slides out. I took it to the machine shop and had them replace the bearings, seal, ABS rotor and retaining rings. I have the receipts with part number and prices if you want. Machine shop charged me $60.00 for labor. If all you need is the seal then you are looking at like $8.00 from the toyota dealer. Might want to consider a new breather while your there.

I would do it in an instant if I had a garage. Unfortunately I don't have one right now.

Where do you go about finding a machine shop?? Is this an auto specific machine shop? What would I look up on google local? Also do you purchase parts and give them to the machine shop to attach to the axle? If I could get a copy of the receipt that would be briliant. I need to go buy a repair manual so I know what all these things are you are talking about. What exactly is a breather?.

Sorry for 20 questions.
 
Still at work when I get home I will get you a prt number. If it is just your inner seal then thats the only part you will need to buy. If you can't do it your self any auto mechain will be able to. The reason I had to take my axle splines to the machine shop was becasue I was doing my bearings at the same time since it was howling.
 
gapboi210 said:
Still at work when I get home I will get you a prt number. If it is just your inner seal then thats the only part you will need to buy. If you can't do it your self any auto mechain will be able to. The reason I had to take my axle splines to the machine shop was becasue I was doing my bearings at the same time since it was howling.

Yeah no howling just leaking axle fluid. So I guess that would make the job quite abit easier.
 
okay it appears to have happened to me now

Well I was hoping to get to this in a preventative effort but too late!

I go out to the garage this evening and my drivers side rear seal has puked all over the inside of the wheel /drum assembly.

Suggestions for a holiday weekend repair?

This is not something I would attempt on my own.

I am always amazed how cheap the parts actually are-but it appears to need
new shoes likely, and these fasteners and bleeding the brakes.

I am presuming a Midas or similar type brake shop could handle this type of repair-with Toyota parts of course.

Would you agree?

I was hoping to have a little bit of a weekend with my newly lifted ride....:bugeye:
 
I didnt read this thread from the beginning so I dont know if its been said but, when you do this job, there is an updated part # to use for the inner axle seal. The old # is 90310-50001. Use part # 90310-50006. It has an improved rubber lip and so far that i've seen, a MUCH better sealing quality
 
thanks toytech

thanks yes-

I did get that part number a few days back and was just getting ready to get it ordered.

Dealership opens at 8am tomorrow and I have 10% off for parts and labor so I think this is about the best I will be able to do.

Will it be hurt anything to drive it 5 miles to the dealership? low speed better than high speed I presume?

thanks for your reply toytech-it's reassuring to talk to people who know what they are talking about....
 
nah, it wont hurt to drive it normally like that. If you drove for weeks like that then yah, it can do some damage. If your axle seals just went, you might be ok just replacing the inner seals and the brake shoes. Ive done several, including my own that way. The bearing was ok so I just replaced the inner seals, cleaned everything off really well on the axle, replaced the shoes, turned the drums and called it good. Its been about 2 years or more since I did mine and havent had any problems, even with the lift and 33's
 

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