Rear housing rusting through? Replacement?

[daugherty83]

01 Limited 4x4, noticed a leak coming from rear axle a week or so ago and though it may be a pinion seal and/or the seal where the third member bolts in. Cleaned up axle the best I could, scraping rust off and spraying with degreaser. Took a look again after driving when fluid was warmed up and it appears that the fluid is almost just seeping out of one spot on axle above and to the left of the fill plug. It's weeping through the metal to the best that I can see and running down the face and dripping right around the drain plug area. Are my only options here replacing the entire rear housing? Has anyone gotten one used, and what can I expect to pay. Will most have a third member in them or am I to reuse mine? Thanks as always. Damn this NE OH rust. I will never buy a used vehicle in the north or midwest again. Arizona here I come if I ever buy again. First my rad. and the pink milkshake of doom to my tranny, and now this.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Welcome bro. I have the same exact thing, I found 2 decent sized rust holes in mine. I temporarily patched them with some JB weld putty, but I have a used axle coming in next weekend (buying from a guy on here). You are lucky, because you are in an area that should have a bunch of rust-free 4runners in salvage yards. Call around to salvage yards and see if you can find one.

Get all the info about your axle ready (gear ratio, e-locker, ABS) and you might be able to find a complete axle, then it is just a big bolt on job. Otherwise you can pay less for just the axle housing, and reuse your diff, axles, and just re-do the seals and what not.

As for prices, generally here in NE, housing alone is about $300 at best, and full housing/axles are $500, not sure if that included diff, probably not.

Check out pull-a-part, you might be ale to get one super cheap there.

You should also at this time check your breather, if it is clogged, that will increase the seeping rate. But for now, i recommend draining the gear oil, clean the face really well, get as much rust off as humanly possible, then seal with JB weld (I used the putty in order to not let any drip into the inside, it hasn't leaked yet for me). I was able to strip mine down to the bar metal (what was left of it) in order to grind it a little to give the JB weld a good surface to bond to.

Then refill, maybe flush once, and monitor regularly for additional leaks. Also coat it with rust protectant to prevent new rust from cutting through your already thin wall.

Unless you can get a new face made and welded on, then replacement is your only solution. I have been looking for alternatives, but nothing at all came up.

 

[daugherty83]

Thanks for the reply. I have heard of numerous problems with this same situation all over the net. Toyota refuses to do anything about it. I'll have to do the best I can with it (JB Weld) etc.. until I can get a replacement. I hate RUST!!!

 

[Nelsonmd]

Thanks for the reply. I have heard of numerous problems with this same situation all over the net. Toyota refuses to do anything about it. I'll have to do the best I can with it (JB Weld) etc.. until I can get a replacement. I hate RUST!!!

Yeah, I am now hoping I can get mine swapped before the snow comes. Look for a post about it in a few weeks, and I will give you all my lessons learned from it.

 

[JmaddogT]

here is a link to what i believe is the same stuff you guys are talking about.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/43152-02-rear-differential-rustout.html

 

[nilson]

Is there is any way you could possibly access a welding machine, that would be a quicker/cheaper alternative to fix it.

 

[JmaddogT]

i have to welders at my house but i dont know if thats they best way to fix it. any ideas??????

 

[nilson]

i have to welders at my house but i dont know if thats they best way to fix it. any ideas??????

Unless the housing is rusting through in several areas, I would definitely weld the hole up. Possible considerations are that the gear oil residue will ignite from the welding heat, which isn't a big deal if the housing is removed from the vehicle for the repair, but watch out for it. Probably best to completely drain and spray the area with some brake cleaner first. Otherwise, I see no issues with the welding fix. You won't be introducing enough heat into the housing to effect any changes in structural integrity, and it's a lot cheaper than buying a new housing.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Sure you can weld the hole shut. But remember, you have rust all the way through a normally pretty thick piece of metal. If you rusted through in one place, then chances are you are close to rusting through in other places as well. The housing is compromised and you need only take a rock or something to it and end up with a big hole.

The reason I am replacing the axle is to solve the problem at hand, not patch until I get a little more rust. Perhaps if you have evidence that it was just one isolated spot that had rust, then, yeah weld it, but otherwise, you still have a weak axle.

Really this applies to every part of the axle (assuming you guys have chipped off the amounts of rust I have, you can believe that other parts of the axle are weakened as well. Bottom line here is, the only full solution is a new axle housing.

And yeah, if you weld it, you should probably remove the diff. You could be in bigger trouble if you accidentally blow through the thin spot and splash some steel onto the diff, and if you have that off, you should definitely clean the inside of the housing

 

[JmaddogT]

i agree that the best solution is to replace the entire axle, unfourtnaley i don't have the time at the moment to tear down and replace. The fix that i suggested was a current low budget solution until the time arrives that i can replace the entire axle. I know it sounds like a band aid but its all i can afford at the time so its gotta work for a while.