NWFL4Runner
Member
Remember you are pressing the ABS ring and retainer on as one unit. Press a bit, grease test, rinse/repeat until it's good to go.
Rear Axle Seal replacement? - 3rd Gen
- Thread starter edough
- Start date
Remember you are pressing the ABS ring and retainer on as one unit. Press a bit, grease test, rinse/repeat until it's good to go.
mtbtim
Elite Member
Just like [MENTION=143667]NWFL4Runner[/MENTION] said, you press on the inner retainer and ABS gear as one unit. When you pull your axles, you'll see that the inner retainer and ABS gear are married together. Now, if you choose to not flip the inner retainer orientation and choose to just press it on not as far as before to make up the 2mm for the new seal design, you will now have the ABS gear 2mm more inboard also if you press the inner retainer and ABS gear at the same time. With the ABS gear 2mm more inboard, maybe this will affect the ABS sensor's reading.
Flipping the retainer (bevel facing the ABS Gear) keeps the retainer and ABS gear in the same spot as before on the axle (5mm of polished axle showing).
If you don't want to flip the orientation and plan on pressing the inner retainer with only 3mm of polished axle showing, I think pressing the ABS gear on first by itself and possibly using the trick that was mentioned above by finding a good center by putting a sharpie through the ABS sensor hole and spinning the axle would be a good idea. So, you'd end up with a gap between the inner retainer and the ABS Gear.
Like the [MENTION=138943]thegipper[/MENTION] said, the parts are a press fit. Also, the inner retainer and ABS Gear have no load on them. The axle and bearing obviously have a load on them and that's why there's an outer retainer and retaining clip to prevent the axle from working it's way outward out of the bearing.
Older thread but just wanted to update...after 10 months, the aftermarket seal my local shop installed on my truck last October started leaking again. Brought it back to them yesterday and they installed new parts today; all Toyota OEM free of charge. Lets hope this holds up.
Did you tell them about the seal design change/retainer flip fix?
Last edited:
mtbtim
Elite Member
Do yourself a favor and pull your ABS sensors after around 1000 miles and see if your seals are holding. Jack up the rear end. Support the rear axle with jack stands. Remove your wheels. Remove the 10mm bolts that hold the sensors on. Grab a flashlight and shine it into the ABS hole so you can see the ABS tone ring. Now turn the axle with your free hand and see if the ABS tone ring is lapping up any gear oil. If there's gear oil on the tone ring, the seals aren't holding.
If you read up above and check out the video I linked, you'll understand why just replacing the seals often doesn't work to fix this problem. Also, your wheel bearings might be compromised because the gear oil that was leaking past the seal can get into the bearing and slowly wash out the grease. Once enough grease has washed out, the bearing can overheat and implode in a pretty dramatic way destroying your axle and gouging the inside of your axle housing.
In regards to Toyota Techs, many of them don't know shit about this repair and what makes it work. My local dealer botched the job on my 2000 and the mechanic doing the repair was one of their top guys for this job.
Damn...good to know man...Thx for the heads up!
Mudeprived
New member
I agree that Toyota techs are not familiar with the flip or even the different seal. The dealer that was going to do mine said they never heard of this flipping of the retainer and guaranteed that the seal will work. I decided not to let them do it.
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
.
mtbtim
Elite Member
You can get away with axles seals that are mildly leaking for a while especially if it hasn't affected your brake shoes. But the leak isn't going to get better, it will get worse. Right now, the gear oil is slowly washing out the grease out of the bearing. As long as differential fluid level doesn't fall too low, the bearing will be lubricated with the gear oil even if all the grease has been washed out. If the fluid level does drop too low to lubricate the bearing and you go on a long enough drive, you will overheat the bearing and then bad things happen. The bearing will explode ruining the axle and cheese grate the inside of the axle housing and most likely destroy the ABS sensor as well.
If you don't first have a big problem with the bearing, the gear oil eventually soak the brakes shoes, makes them expand and then you get sticking brake shoes. Your braking will also be unequal because brake shoes coated with gear oil obviously won't grab as well.
Long story short, don't let this go unaddressed for too long. You've got time but I wouldn't just ignore. Ignorance isn't bliss in this situation, it's dangerous.
You might want to take up the challenge of doing your own mechanic work. You'll save a bunch of money and learn a lot in the process. The Harbor Freight press and the special axle tool required to do the the axle seal job will pay for itself in one use.
hamsandwiches
New member
From what I have gathered and had to deal with on my 2000 it seems
When you see seepage at bottom of drum/drip - just do bearings/retainers/seal and be done with it. Threw 2 seals at mine which did nothing. I used a KOYO kit from ebay and a local shop cost me $65 to press on one side. Thousands of miles later - dry drum.
Also, replace axle breather or do breather mod.
When you see seepage at bottom of drum/drip - just do bearings/retainers/seal and be done with it. Threw 2 seals at mine which did nothing. I used a KOYO kit from ebay and a local shop cost me $65 to press on one side. Thousands of miles later - dry drum.
Also, replace axle breather or do breather mod.
mtbtim
Elite Member
I prefer OEM and would suggest you go that route. Make sure you read the video description in Part 1 because I discuss how you can save money by reusing parts. You can reuse each ABS gear and both retainers on each axle saving yourself around $150. You'll have to get the bearings, axle seals, dust seals, snap rings, and the large o-rings that go on the ends of the axle housing.
weekendclimber
New member
Camelback has OEM for $110 and you can probably find it cheaper from some other online toyota parts stores. The consensus has always been OEM for lower ball joints. No exceptions for such a critical component.
turbodudey2
New member
I just finished doing the bearings and axle seals on my truck. I got all OEM Toyota parts from partsouq. The total was less than $100. Pretty good deal for OEM parts I thought (bearings, inner and outer seals, o-rings, snap rings).
I also found that the seals and bearing retainers had been improperly installed by the PO or whoever worked on the truck in its former life.
Initially I had assumed everything was original, and the gear oil leak was merely a function of high mileage (260k). Turns out the rear axles had been worked on at some point in the past, and the retainers were pressed on so far they did not even meet the oil seal.
The axle bearing press tool made this job really quite easy. Should be good to go for a many more miles now, especially since the seals actually meet the retainers now!
I also found that the seals and bearing retainers had been improperly installed by the PO or whoever worked on the truck in its former life.
Initially I had assumed everything was original, and the gear oil leak was merely a function of high mileage (260k). Turns out the rear axles had been worked on at some point in the past, and the retainers were pressed on so far they did not even meet the oil seal.
The axle bearing press tool made this job really quite easy. Should be good to go for a many more miles now, especially since the seals actually meet the retainers now!
Last edited:
4Runner4Leon
Senior Member
That's my favorite parts source ! I get stuff delivered from UAE in two days, faster than from Camelback, which is 20 times closer to me.
turbodudey2
New member
Yeah, they have very good prices. And are often way cheaper than local, even considering shipping.
I'm here in Phoenix, and could simply stop in at Camelback Toyota if I wanted. It's still cheaper and easier to have parts delivered from the UAE versus driving across town.
mtbtim
Elite Member
You lost me a bit. I thought you were going to do the job yourself and replace the bearings. Did you pay a shop to do it for you?
mtbtim
Elite Member
Gotcha. Make sure you tell them specifically how you want them to do the press work. There's no guarantee they will know the axle seal has been redesigned. If you don't give them specific instructions, they might press the inner retainer onto the axle in the OEM orientation (bevel facing the seal) and also put the retainer in the same OEM spot (apprx. 5mm of polished axle showing above the retainer). If this happens, the axle seal will be riding fairly close to the bevel which isn't good for the long haul. If I were you, I'd tell them to flip the retainer (bevel facing the ABS tone ring), and have them press it onto the axle shaft with 5mm of polished axle showing above. This will put your axle seal close to dead center on the 10mm polished shoulder of the retainer.
