Oil residue on inside rear wheels/1998 4runner

C

californiak

New member
Just noticed my inside rear wheels are covered with streaks of some oily gunky substance, brake fluid level is OK. Suspect bearings or possibly seals on differential? What would leak on inside of rear wheels?

Towed a boat for the first time last week, however it could have been there already previously. Any chance of something overheating (seals) from extra load on tow hitch?

Does not look too good, does it? I will need experts on this one!!! :mad:

Thanks.
 
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I just went through this myself. How do your brakes feel? when I went to replace my rear drums and shoes (because i could tell that nothing was working back there and my ebrake was not working and i too had the oil inside my wheel wells) my entire rear brake assembly was covered in gear oil. Unfortunately I didnt have to time to fix it myself because my registration was going to expire, so I had the inspecting gas station replace the seals for me and I got ripped for $930.

let us know what you find.
 
Yeah, I just talk to my friend who is a mechanic and he said its probably "seals gone bad", LOL

Curious how much the parts cost, anybody knows?

Could do it myself and save a bundle or pat the man to do it. Guessing $500-800 at the dealer to have it done?

Any other ideas?
 
rear axle seals?

Hope I am wrong but you are describing failure or leakage of the rear axle seals. Left unattended can lead to failure of the rear axle.

Supposedly not all that difficult or expensive to replace-parts wise. Labor is the killer if you are not mechanically inclined.

Try a search "rear axle seals" also on YotaTech or IH8MUD forums.

Best of luck-I hope this is not what is occurring for two of you.
 
Rear axel seals for sure. Parts are pretty cheap - from the dealer $150 or so depending (the parts they offered for my 99 were all upgraded abs crap so I had to buy everything). The install is easy but requires a press. If you don't have access to one bring it in.
 
The 96-98s have a problem with rear axle seals.
Check out if there is a service bulletin on this problem, it might be covered.
 
"Seals Gone Bad"

Thanks for all the info, I think i can tackle this one myself to save some $$$. Read somewhere the hardest part is to take the old ones out, supposedly special tool is needed but it can be done without - just much harder.

Putting new ones in is simple if you put them in freezer for 30 min or so, they shrink just enough to fit in easy with the help of a bottle to guide them in straight.

However I may end up replacing the bearings also, don't know if special tool is required for that job. And of course may as well change the brakes.

Will check around this morning with dealers for cost of parts vs having them do the whole job.

Seems there should have been recall on this since it is such a common problem with this 3rd gen 4R. Also have 1984 toyota truck with 500K on it with no problems what so ever. Best truck ever made!

Thanks
 
If they fail around 100k then I wouldn't say it's a real problem,more of an annoyance since 100k is a long time. My rear seals failed on both my 4Runners at almost 100k.

It cost me about $350 out the door and I recommend you use OEM seals since I've seen aftermarket versions fail within 20k more than once.
 
i have a seal that failed on my rear axle... i made it 127K :)

and yes, that is what is wrong with your truck :)
 
Seals-Gone-Bad

It seems 100K - 130K is the max they can take.

Just got a price quote from local Toyota Dealer, replace seals, turn the rotor and new pads - both sides - $1582.00 +tax

Turn the rotors - $20 per/ local machine shop
New Pads - what? $50-60
New seals - $8-10 per/ local NAPA (they suppose to last longer then OEM

Maybe 2-3 HRS work 5 max, comon how long does it take to unscrew 4 screws x two?

So what is the other $1000.00 for?

Rip-off, doing it myself or use some small repair shop if I can find one for around $500-600

Thanks
 
Turn the rotor? are you getting the front brakes done as well? The rears are drum brakes and should just need a good cleaning or at most new pads..
 
Thats what they told my wife, it does have ABS so could it have rear disc brakes on some models?

I have not look at the rear brakas yet, in fact I have not done anything on this car so I am not familiar with it.

Just got the Hayes manual from local public library in case I need it. Did not know they are all there and available, surprise!

Anyway I had my wife call the dealer where she got the 4R and thats what they told her...
 
Yeah - all 3rd gens have rear drums as far as I know. Replacing the seals is pretty straight forward, you might want to check with a local shop to see if they can save you some $$. Good luck and hope it all turns out good!!
 
SealsGoneBad

Hey Kyle, you did a great job documenting this job. I saw it before when searching for info and I will follow it. I am not sure about the bearings, if they need change I will take it some local machine shop, same with brake drums. I figure may as well change all I can while I got it apart.

Few questions:

1) Put the seals in freezer for 1/2 hr to shrink for easier fit?
2) Did you use Toyota parts and do you happen to have #s for them (1998 4runner)?
3) Does the ABS present any major problems?
4) Should I get some cheap tool to pull the seals? Do they help?
5) Any extra helpfull hints?

Thanks
 
Re: SealsGoneBad

californiak said:
Hey Kyle, you did a great job documenting this job. I saw it before when searching for info and I will follow it. I am not sure about the bearings, if they need change I will take it some local machine shop, same with brake drums. I figure may as well change all I can while I got it apart.

Few questions:

1) Put the seals in freezer for 1/2 hr to shrink for easier fit?
2) Did you use Toyota parts and do you happen to have #s for them (1998 4runner)?
3) Does the ABS present any major problems?
4) Should I get some cheap tool to pull the seals? Do they help?
5) Any extra helpfull hints?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hey, since you are going to be in there anyways, I would recommend you changing everything you can ( inner and outer seals, and the bearing) so you dont have to touch it for another 100k.

You are only going to be able to put the inner seal in yourself, the outer seal needs to be pressed on when the bearing is replaced. you are going to need two new retainer rings, a new ABS exciter ring and a new C clip along with the new bearing and new seals.

I did use toyota parts but I dont remember the part numbers for them, but just tell them you need the parts mentioned above and you will be set.

The ABS doesnt cause any problems, just pull the axle yourself ( 4 bolts) and take it along with the new parts to a machine shop, they will press the old parts off and the new parts on for you, and then you take it and put it back in after you put the inner axle seal in.

If you want to go ahead and get the tools to pull the seal and replace the seal, i used two screw drivers and a can of electrical contact cleaner to pop in and out the inner seal.

Helpful hints, put a drip pan underneath your axle after you remove the wheel, keep a case of beer within reach, and call toyota and check with them which machine shop they use for bearings. Any more questions, just ask

stuff020.jpg~original
 
SealsGoneBad

Thanks again Kyle, hopefully I will get to it some time this week or next week, depending on my work load.

Will post results when I'm done,

Unless I need help while at it, LOL
 
If you've had substantial leakage, than you should really consider replacing the bearing (the side where leakage occured). These are sealed bearings with a lifetime supply of grease (bearing's lifetime, that is) contained within the seals.

When your axle seals leak, they allow gear oil to flow right through the seals on your bearings (they hold in thick grease well, but won't keep gear oil out. The gear oil going through the bearing will wash out some of the grease, and will usually cause bearings to fail shortly after.
 
Lol man the same thing happened to my 98, and I just noticed it's happening with my 02, my 22 is covered in oil! It's a pain to get off to..
 
To add to this thread, the main reason axle and pinion seals fail is because of clogged breathers that lead to pressure buildups in the axle. Extending your breathers to an area that doesn't see salt/mud/water will extend the life of your seals. Removing the breather altogether and replacing it with a small filter on the end of a hose run up to a dry location is even better.
 
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