My rear axle seals leaked, but I dont think they are leaking anymore

[thegipper]

97 206k miles.

After reading way to much about axle seals leaking, I decided to inspect mine even though i have no signs that they are leaking.

What i found was both seals leaked at some point. There was a thin amount of oil on the abs gear and the sensor. I used my inspection camera to see how much oil was in the housing and didn't find any pooling, just enough to coat everything. I also used a thin hose to try to see of it pooling in the bottom but there was none present.

About 2 months ago I did the extended differential breather mod. The old breather was completely rusted and totally plugged.

What I think happened was the seals started to fail because the old breather was shot. It allowed a small amount of oil to be pushed past the seals. The oil was extremely dark in color like the old diff fluid before I changed it at the same time I did the breather mod.

What I did was clean it all off the best I could. I also checked for play and noise in the bearing and they are perfect, no issue at all. I also inspected the drums and they are bone dry.

I am going to monitor the seals via the abs sensor port to see if new oil becomes present. Hopefully the small amount of old oil I saw was from that old breather being plugged, only time will tell.

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[Konkordmusk]

Or maybe you're out of diff oil

Just like an old Harley; if you're not leaking oil, you're out of oil!

 

[Tucson4runner]

My seals were shot when I purchased the runner from a used dealership. I requested it all get fixed before I purchased it and when I took it apart when I got home I saw they only replaced the seals and not the shot bearings or soaked drums. After arguing with them in person and not getting anywhere they decided to fix everything for me free of charge after being served papers to appear in court. In just a month's time 1 of my bearings locked up and left me stranded. Luckily I was only without for about a week before they agreed to fix it.

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[mtbtim]

Sounds like your thinking is sound. Due to the breather plug being blocked, pressure built up in the differential and pushed a little gear oil past the seal. Just continue to monitor it for additional leaking by pulling the ABS sensor every so often. If you start to see fresh gear oil in the ABS sensor area, you know you're going to have to do the axle seal repair soon.

 

[nobb]

In just a month's time 1 of my bearings locked up and left me stranded.

Your bearings literally welded themselves together and locked up? Usually they develop play and eventually the wheel might fall off. But that takes alot of time and usually there's alot of warning before that happens.

 

[Tucson4runner]

Your bearings literally welded themselves together and locked up? Usually they develop play and eventually the wheel might fall off. But that takes alot of time and usually there's alot of warning before that happens.

Could have been a problem before I purchased the runner or other factors that the dealer neglected to mention. I had stopped at a gas station and when I went to leave it felt like my e brake was on so I tried pulling and releasing it several times and realized only 1 side was pulling. Got it towed and that was the problem.

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[nobb]

Could have been a problem before I purchased the runner or other factors that the dealer neglected to mention. I had stopped at a gas station and when I went to leave it felt like my e brake was on so I tried pulling and releasing it several times and realized only 1 side was pulling. Got it towed and that was the problem.

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Ohhh haha that was probably your parking brake stuck. When the axle leaks, the gear oil soaks into the brake shoes which causes them to get "grabby". But it doesn't take much force to get going again...it just feels grabby/notchy when you brake and accelerate. Or for the wheel to seize completely it couldve been the bell crank that got stuck, which is unrelated to the leaking axle.

 

[thegipper]

Sounds like your thinking is sound. Due to the breather plug being blocked, pressure built up in the differential and pushed a little gear oil past the seal. Just continue to monitor it for additional leaking by pulling the ABS sensor every so often. If you start to see fresh gear oil in the ABS sensor area, you know you're going to have to do the axle seal repair soon.

That's exactly what I'm thinking, monitor for new leakage and if present, I'll have to repair it. If it was a simple job I would just order the parts and fix it right away but given the extent and cost of the repair, I'll wait until I know for sure it is still leaking.

 

[nissanh]

I too never heard about a bearing freezing up. It will make a huge play and oil will leak and eventually.... I mean at the very end and probably during a sharp turn the whole axle with the wheel will come out!, yes, I've seen these in my life.

 

[treverd]

These stories are making me worry, and I haven't even picked my 4runner up yet.

 

[nissanh]

Nothing to be worried

These stories are making me worry, and I haven't even picked my 4runner up yet.

Any car/truck with a solid axle in the rear have the same setup. I am at 206 K miles and still the bearings are perfect (knock on wood)! I just replaced the seals.

 

[diverscale]

Could have been a problem before I purchased the runner or other factors that the dealer neglected to mention. I had stopped at a gas station and when I went to leave it felt like my e brake was on so I tried pulling and releasing it several times and realized only 1 side was pulling. Got it towed and that was the problem.

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like another have said, its your drum brakes that swelled due to diff oil, not the bearing. A bearing does not do that. Happened to me when my axles were leaking, even happened once while rolling on the highway.

 

[thegipper]

SO I checked to see if the the seals are still leaking. The drivers side was essentially oil free, maybe a trace amount but when I was in there last, it is really hard to wipe it down obviously. The passenger side had a 1/2" section of oil on the abs gear every 1/3 of a rotation. Not a ton of oil but oil was present, none the less. I wiped it down the best I could and then took a skinny tube and pushed it to the bottom of the housing. I tried to suck up any oil in there but it was so low, nothing would draw up.

When I pulled the tube out, maybe an 1/8" of oil was on outside of the tube.

I also checked again for bearing play. If i pull and push very hard on the axles (both sides) I can maybe get .003"-.005" of movement. There is no "slop" in it at all, so I'm not sure the tiny bit of movement is even out of the ordinary. I was going to make a video showing how much "play" was in it, or lack thereof, but it moves so little that I'm not sure you could see it on a camera.

At this point, I'm going to still do nothing. I'll keep an eye on it and address it if it becomes an issue.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

I had a similar issue. All new parts ( seals, bearings,retainers, dig breather etc) oil free for over a year. Went wheeling/ mudding and as soon as I got home I pressure washed the chassis. About a week later, I was dealing with some dragging brakes ( one drum and one sticking caliper) and decided to pull my ABS sensor to take a peek and found a light coating of oil. I actually pulled one axle and found no pooling of oil just the coating. The other side was the same way. I checked my breather and sure enough it was completely restricted. I took it out and verified nothing was getting in or out of that thing. Cleaned it up and put it back in and promptly ordered all the parts for the breather mod. Since then I have taken it on a 3000 mile trip to Florida and I checked it when I got home and it is bone dry. The breather mod is a must if you do any 4 wheeling and since it's easy enough to do, I would just do it anyway especially if you live in the rust belt.

 

[White Stripe]

Even if they are not leaking, I would just replace them anyway. Its easier to replace them before they are leaking rather than after. The wheel bearings should last you until around 300k typically though from what Ive experienced.

 

[thegipper]

Are you saying to just replace the seals right away or to replace the everything (bearings, retainers ect)?