Rear Axle Seals: The Ultimate Information and Replacement Thread (3rd gen)

[hallcs]

Had mine done 1600.00

Had my rear axle done at Indiana Rack and Axle because of time constants. cost me 1600.00 and I supplied the brake components. 7 hrs for them to complete while I waited. labor was a 1000 for axle and brakes, 600 in Toyota parts. drums and shoes cost me 250 at NAPA so total of 1850.00 in rear axle because of leaky seals. When all done I asked the guy hey are you not going to top off the differential? He said it's was over filled, here I'll show you and took the plug out. It was right where it should be. He was like ya, the dealerships have idiots doing lube jobs, they overfill the rear ends all the time. That did not help but the wheel bearings was what killed my seals so I'm glad I have new.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

Had my rear axle done at Indiana Rack and Axle because of time constants. cost me 1600.00 and I supplied the brake components. 7 hrs for them to complete while I waited. labor was a 1000 for axle and brakes, 600 in Toyota parts. drums and shoes cost me 250 at NAPA so total of 1850.00 in rear axle because of leaky seals. When all done I asked the guy hey are you not going to top off the differential? He said it's was over filled, here I'll show you and took the plug out. It was right where it should be. He was like ya, the dealerships have idiots doing lube jobs, they overfill the rear ends all the time. That did not help but the wheel bearings was what killed my seals so I'm glad I have new.

How do you overfill the dif? The fill hole will leak leak out the excess fluid.

 

[infamousRNR]

How do you overfill the dif? The fill hole will leak leak out the excess fluid.

you can overfill the differential if its not level to the ground, on a slope, or your have your rear end jacked up and on jack stands so naturally it will have a forward rake....

make sure your car is level before filling and you should be fine.

 

[sambishop]

Quick Tip: Do only one axle at a time and lift only that side of the truck. You will essentially lose no gear oil.

 

[mtbtim]

Quick Tip: Do only one axle at a time and lift only that side of the truck. You will essentially lose no gear oil.

Gear oil is inexpensive. Just jack up the rear end, support the axle housing on two jack stands and drain the freaking gear oil. What are we talking about? $10 of gear oil. Plus, your 3rd member will appreciate the fresh oil.

 

[SDmtnbkr]

Had my rear axle done at Indiana Rack and Axle because of time constants. cost me 1600.00.....

:wow::wow: Good God. Ever thought of giving it a go yourself? For that much you could have bought the parts, send a couple hours on youtube, bought a brand new jack and tool needed to pull the rear axles, paid a local shop to do the bearings for you and still had almost $1,000 left over to do something else with.

If you don't know how to wrench, that's the perfect way to get into it. This is one of the easier jobs on the truck (with the bearing pressing being farmed out to a local shop). Hell, it would even cover a rental car if you needed one for a day or two while you did it.

 

[pluton]

Three quarts(w/diff lock) of non-syn at about $10 each, big city auto parts store price. Change it if it's old.

 

[theesotericone]

Quick Tip: Do only one axle at a time and lift only that side of the truck. You will essentially lose no gear oil.

Gear oil is inexpensive. Just jack up the rear end, support the axle housing on two jack stands and drain the freaking gear oil. What are we talking about? $10 of gear oil. Plus, your 3rd member will appreciate the fresh oil.

It's a good tip if you have recently replaced the oil. I changed out all my fluids when I got my rig. Then I threw my lift on. With 2 weeks I was rebooting the CV's because, you know, that shit happens. Anyway, I lifted and rebooted one side at a time. I cleaned up my gear oil "mess" with a q-tip. lol

 

[sambishop]

Gear oil is inexpensive. Just jack up the rear end, support the axle housing on two jack stands and drain the freaking gear oil. What are we talking about? $10 of gear oil. Plus, your 3rd member will appreciate the fresh oil.

Whoa someones a little cranky. I changed out my diff fluid 2 months ago. Why dump it all out when I don't have to, Tim?

 

[mtbtim]

Whoa someones a little cranky. I changed out my diff fluid 2 months ago. Why dump it all out when I don't have to, Tim?

Well, I guess if you just changed the fluid and you want to save it, do it the way you suggested. I'd just rather jack it up once under the 3rd member and settle the axle on jack stands and be done with that part of it. Instead, you're jacking up one side, settling it on a jack stand. Doing the work on that side. Jacking it up again on that same side and removing the jack stand. Then jack it up on the other side and getting that jack stand in place. It's just more steps. A lot of times I'm looking for economy of movement. Something that was driven into me in my fire training. Economy of movement saves time.

So, if you have somebody that has newly replaced gear oil, your advice is good advice. I just don't like all the extra steps to save a little gear oil but that's just me, and I don't use the fancy expensive synthetic oils, I use conventional which isn't that expensive. But, I'd have to spend extra time filling the differential so I guess it's a wash.

 

[Roamed YT]

So, I noticed my leak on Sunday, and ordered my parts last night. It's nice to see that some of the online resources have brought the parts pricing down significantly!

Parts: $273.00 Canadian
Labour: $200 Canadian (a local machine shop that does exceptional work charges about an hour per axle on these and has experience with them)

So long as I can hold out until freight arrives and time things right, I should be done for under $500! I've already got fresh oil on hand as a fluid change was on my maintenance list.

Let's see how this goes!

 

[Roamed YT]

So. I'll play a game of good news, bad news! The good news is that I got the leaking side replaced. The bad news is that I short-ordered the ABS ring retainers by two so I could only have one side pressed.

I replaced and relocated the diff breather so I should be able to survive for another week or so...

 

[Renegade_Medic]

So. I'll play a game of good news, bad news! The good news is that I got the leaking side replaced. The bad news is that I short-ordered the ABS ring retainers by two so I could only have one side pressed.

I replaced and relocated the diff breather so I should be able to survive for another week or so...

Hey, do you have a before picture to compare that to? It looks like the bearing is really far out and the retainer seems really far in. Just want to make sure its right before you put it all back together.

Here's where mine is in relation to the smooth area of the axle.

And the bearing is sunk in there pretty good.

 

[Roamed YT]

Hey, do you have a before picture to compare that to? It looks like the bearing is really far out and the retainer seems really far in. Just want to make sure its right before you put it all back together.

I did. And I panicked when I saw it and went to bolt things up. The bearing was sitting out by about 3mm. Thankfully, everything was taken care of.

 

[Negra]

Im new to this forum and just bought a 99 4runner 4x4 5spd.
The rig has 160k on it. When Im cruising down the highway I get a drone from 50-60. I narrowed it down to Rear End Seals (as found in the handy t4r 3rd gen maintenance guide). However, I also get this stutter, that seems to be coming from the rear end. It doesnt happen constantly, but every 15 minutes, maybe longer, and Im wondering if thats the diff ?? or what?? Going along at 80 on the highway and then feeling a slight jaunt tug from the rear end, every so many revolutions... I dont know. Im not very savvy navigating forums, and havent seen much prelude/pre cursor to the links in the maintenance guide.
Let me know what you think. Id rather message someone experienced directly than polluting the forums but havent the access yet.
Thanks

 

[Renegade_Medic]

Im new to this forum and just bought a 99 4runner 4x4 5spd.
The rig has 160k on it. When Im cruising down the highway I get a drone from 50-60. I narrowed it down to Rear End Seals (as found in the handy t4r 3rd gen maintenance guide). However, I also get this stutter, that seems to be coming from the rear end. It doesnt happen constantly, but every 15 minutes, maybe longer, and Im wondering if thats the diff ?? or what?? Going along at 80 on the highway and then feeling a slight jaunt tug from the rear end, every so many revolutions... I dont know. Im not very savvy navigating forums, and havent seen much prelude/pre cursor to the links in the maintenance guide.
Let me know what you think. Id rather message someone experienced directly than polluting the forums but havent the access yet.
Thanks

It sounds more like a U joint or Diff, specifically the pinion bearing. Pull the driveshaft and see how the U joint feels and push/pull on the pinion yoke. A little rotation is ok. For the U joint, it should be pretty loose, not binding or grinding when you rotate it.

 

[psraff]

Just put an order in for two sets of everything from Amayama, so I can do both axles. Total price (with shipping to Alaska) was $211. That's saving me over $100 from getting them here in the States. That's even with two ABS Rotors and extra O-rings and Seals (just in case). Those Rotors are priced around $43 each in the states. On Amayama, they had them for $6.72! I double and triple checked numbers and pictures and selected all my parts from Japan, and all Toyota parts. My shop claim they can pull the Rotors and reuse them so even if these aren't true Toyota parts, for I can afford $13 for a test.

I was going to get rear brakes at the same time, but brakes from Japan would've been $157 per set. Toyota of Dallas was $83-ish. I could've got them from UAE (United Arab Emirates) for $68, but wasn't going that route.

They also claim 7 to 9 shipping days. Hell, that's the same as anything else to get to Alaska. I go back to the Slope on Monday (Yeah, Memorial Day....) But when I'll return I'll have an update.

 

[Roamed YT]

They also claim 7 to 9 shipping days. Hell, that's the same as anything else to get to Alaska. I go back to the Slope on Monday (Yeah, Memorial Day....) But when I'll return I'll have an update.

They were 6 days from Osaka to Whitehorse for me, so I suspect for you it'd be close as well... longest would be the time from Anchorage to Kenai. I checked my parts against OEM at the local dealer and they were legit.

I'll be putting in another order to them soon, but I'm in the same boat as you. Local dealer wants $215 for a set of shoes! Don't really want to go aftermarket but I may end up fighting with that.

 

[psraff]

They were 6 days from Osaka to Whitehorse for me, so I suspect for you it'd be close as well... longest would be the time from Anchorage to Kenai. I checked my parts against OEM at the local dealer and they were legit.

I'll be putting in another order to them soon, but I'm in the same boat as you. Local dealer wants $215 for a set of shoes! Don't really want to go aftermarket but I may end up fighting with that.

Wish I would've made it up to Whitehorse when I lived in Haines. Loved that country over there! Plenty of history and mountain roads to explore up there?

I remember you talking about getting your parts from them a while back, you're why I'm deciding to go with them.

As for the brakes.... I've heard some non OEM shoes don't fit very well (even though they claim they should). Unfortunately I don't remember which ones are safe and which to stay away from. Years past I would keep all parts in a spreadsheet, but since I spend more time on my phone I stead of the laptop, I've gotten away from that habit.

If I come across the thread I saw that info on, I'll throw it your way.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

 

[Renegade_Medic]

They were 6 days from Osaka to Whitehorse for me, so I suspect for you it'd be close as well... longest would be the time from Anchorage to Kenai. I checked my parts against OEM at the local dealer and they were legit.

I'll be putting in another order to them soon, but I'm in the same boat as you. Local dealer wants $215 for a set of shoes! Don't really want to go aftermarket but I may end up fighting with that.

I have the larger brakes on mine and the shoes from oreillys, brake best brand. No issues at all with them. I think they are 295mm diameter drums. Make sure you specify whatever size you have.