Did you cut off the retainers and ABS ring?
No, I was able to pull them off intact using a bearing separator and a press.
I reused the ABS rings, though I got two new inner retainers for the seals. I know folks have swapped inner and outer retainers, but I decided to get two new inner ones just in case, and reused the two outers.
I used to have that tape measure. It grew legs though, and has been MIA for years.
Don't forget a new breather, though you may have already done such.
I think those were best tape measures ever made, I couldn't believe it when Stanley stopped making them. All of mine slowly disappeared or broke, but one day I saw an Ebay listing for six new ones. I bought all six
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I did the breather extension while I was waiting for the axle parts
. My original breather was not clogged, so I don't think that it was much of a contributor to the blown seals. Interestingly, when I took apart the driver side axle (the one that was not yet leaking externally), I found lots of diff fluid in the cavity, so it was on its way out.
I made the mistake of ordering two rear axle kits from Marlin Crawler, thinking it would be one convenient bundle. Unfortunately the most critical parts of the kit, the seals, were not Toyota, and not the new and improved design. So I was not going to use those kits, and had to scrounge for new parts at the last minute. Hence the one week downtime. But I'm on the road again now, yay!
Trying to return those kits is going to be fun, Marlin Crawler does not pick up the phone or reply to emails.
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