need some help with 94 4runner and rear end

[kritlyn]

any suggestions on what may be wrong would be great. I am slightly mechanically inclined, if i know what the prob is.
Other day i was driving and it felt like truck shut off. It did not. But a few seconds later it sounded like something fell off underneath, make clunking noise and both rear tires locked up. In the center of the axle there is a round looking drain (which i refer to as a punkin) and it was leaking what looked like black oil. tires would not move forward or backward. had to be towed. any suggestions on what may have happened, what and how do i check, and does anyone know the estimated cost to fix.

thank you so much.. I am new to this site and i have only had 4runner bout 8months.
thanks
Christine

 

[jonwilly2]

usually when a car part locks up and starts bleeding its dead so dont mean to be a smart ass but your diff is toast could be caused by a problem somewhere else in the axle like a worn barring or something.

long story short you need a new axle

 

[BucknutBob]

It sounds like the ring gear lost some teeth--the dead spot was probably where the teeth used to be, then the broken bits jammed the gears and stopped the truck. In other words, what jonwilly2 said--your axle is messed up. The damage probably stayed in the differential housing, so you may be able to swap out the diff and gears and get it rolling again. If you buy new gears (recommended, but you could go the junkyard route, too), you'll need a shop to install them--they require special tools and a trained eye to set properly. Best of luck!

p.s. Welcome to the forum!

 

[KidVermicious]

What Bob said - you'll need at least a new ring and pinion, more likely you'll need a whole differential rebuild, and might have damaged your axle splines as well.

You said it was leaking oil out the drain plug? Did you have the truck recently serviced? Have you noticed any oil underneath it when you park? It sounds like you ran the differential dry, and it overheated and seized.

 

[kritlyn]

thanks you all for your responses...