Drcoffee
Senior Member
I am sorry if you thought I meant that question for you. I know you were experimenting with the whole procedure. I simple meant "anyone" in a general sense. Not specifically you.
Rear Axle Seal Leak - Travails and Final Fix (I Hope)
- Thread starter RC57
- Start date
I am sorry if you thought I meant that question for you. I know you were experimenting with the whole procedure. I simple meant "anyone" in a general sense. Not specifically you.
Oops, I misunderstood. You're right, why would anyone do it the way I did?
Despite my success getting the seal to work with the retainer installed in the conventional orientation, I do not recommend doing it that way. If I ever have the, ahem, *opportunity* to do this procedure again I will reverse that retainer.I wonder how this is playing out with the non-ABS versions?
Drcoffee
Senior Member
Its not a problem for non-ABS axles because the seal abuts the bearing face. So its right in the middle of the shoulder. Toyota had a brain fart when they designed the ABS axle.
I am just reading up on 4Rs thinking of buying one.
Is it possible that the seal is driven in too far?
Toyota has specifications for how far the oil seal is driven in on RWD Corolla axles.
Axleshaft oil seal fitting depth is what it is called in the Haynes manual.
Different differentials have different depths.
Should be something similiar for the 4Rs.
regards
Is it possible that the seal is driven in too far?
Toyota has specifications for how far the oil seal is driven in on RWD Corolla axles.
Axleshaft oil seal fitting depth is what it is called in the Haynes manual.
Different differentials have different depths.
Should be something similiar for the 4Rs.
regards
No such spec for the T4R. The FSM shows the seal being driven in with a special tool and that's about it.
The bore where the seal rests is essentially the same depth as the height of the seal's metal body. Normally you drive the seal in til it stops. While it's possible to stop short of full insertion (and not have the seal cockeyed), It's much easier to reverse the retainer ring on the axle shaft.
I said if I saw oil I'd say so, so-
I'm seeing more oil on the right side. After 1500mi the ABS sensor has oil on the lower half when removed. No oil was visible on the tone ring. (A bigger leak or after more time the sensor would be totally covered and the tone ring will show oil.)
The right side continues to leak oil, although it appears to be at a slower rate. For review, the retainer was pressed on with 4.0mm machined surface showing on the axle, bevel inward. The axle had previously been scored badly and the shop had welded up the worst scratches and ground them down. The shop put bearing retainer and sealer on the axle before pressing on the retainer. The type used can fill gaps up to 0.005" and is oil resistant.
I pulled the axle and found about 1/4 tsp of oil in the cavity. 1/2 tsp at the most. That's not enough to contaminate the bearing imo. So I cleaned things up and applied a fillet of Permatex ultra-grey on the inboard side of the retainer. After 24hr I reassembled the axle and crossed my fingers.
Before assembly I inspected the seal closely and could see no nicks. I left it in place. If this continues to leak I'll pull the axle again and focus on the seal placement. The witness mark after 1500mi is _very_ close to the inboard edge of the retainer. The mark itself is about 0.6mm wide and is ~0.5mm from the retainer edge. That's very close. We'll see if that's too close.
I'm getting pretty good at r&r'ing this axle.
The other axle (left) was done the same way 3000mi ago and the cavity is still dry. The scratches on that side were not nearly as bad as the right side, however it was leaking worse before this second bearing replacement.
Verdict is still out on the right side. If it still leaks, it's definitely the seal. Even if it doesn't leak, the seal/retainer engagement is way too finicky. With 4mm of machined axle showing, the retainer barely engages the seal. At about 3.5mm the retainer was hitting the housing. I'd be more comfortable with 5mm of machined axle showing and the retainer reversed. I should know in a month or two if the rtv sealant fixed it or not. For the record I don't take this 4Runner wheeling, so it experiences less sideloads on the axle than most of the people on this list. No idea if that would move the axle enough to disengage the seal from the retainer.
2k miles after applying Permatex rtv to the right side, there's no trace of oil on the ABS sensor. The rtv fixed the problem. The stuff the repair shop applied apparently wasn't doing the job. The left side shows a trace of oil on the ABS sensor. The left side has 5k miles since the seal was done (no rtv on the retainer). At some point I'll probably apply rtv to the left side too.
sfhstsrezhao
New member
Two years ago my 99 Ltd w/ ABS,
