Rear axle oil seal

I am leaking gear oil from around the passenger side rear hub. I know there is an inner and an outer seal on both sides. Is there a way to know which is bad without tearing it apart?

 

There is only 1 seal. That holes the Gear oil back.
Well that was the case for my truck.

But my bearing also went bad at the same time.

So I had to pul the axle out and get new bearing pressed on.
I also had to get new brakes. I cleaned The drum off. It seem to have been ok now with 30K miles it.

I think hole thing cost me $250 when all done. I did everything my self but press on the bearing.

it was all super easy... but i had all the right tools.

Suck becuase the truck had 80K miles and the seal was installed wrong by Toyota.

 

Is this a common problem?

 

My seal is also out because my rear driverside drum was full of oil to. The axle bearing is a sealed bearing so im thinking that the outside seal or the seal closest to the tire is to keep mud water etc. out and the inner seal is to keep the diff oil in the diff. So it may just be my inner seal that is bad but since there only $7 or so a seal im goin to replace both of them.

 

Same issue I've got with my break drum. The reason I asked, is because my Haynes manual says one of the seals needs to be installed with a hydraulic press (not something I have).

 

Where did u find a services manuel for this trucks at i havent been able to find one. Ill ask my buddies dad tonight his the service department manager at the toyota dealership n town and see about having to have it pressed on. But from how i understand it and how some other axles have been ive torn apart the axle bearing is pressed on there but most of the time the seals just need to be hammered in to the housing

 

I got mine at autozone or advanced. It covers Tacoma (95-04), 4Runner (96-02), and T100 (93-98). 2wd and 4wd for all of the above. You could check Amazon.com too.

Let me know what you find out.

 

i know i jumped into this thread a little late, but im gonna agree with you. alot of the seals i have seen, you can take the right sized deep socket and hammer them back in until they are where they are supposed to be.

 

I didnt have time to check last night had to install some AC units but ill let u know asap. You might search for someone who has done this before i was lookin at the web site www.4x4wire.com and they have a toyota section i think they showed how to put in a new axle kinda gives you an idea the only thing thats diffrent is it has rear disk brakes and if you have the trd locker your housing will look a little diffrent but should be just about the same.

 

mine blew at 30.000 on my 03 prerunner, if i was you i would put the diff vent mod, i think the reason all the seals are blowing is the bull shit vent they have on the diff,

 

possibly......getting clogged from wheeling and blowing under too much pressure. how easy is the diff vent mod to do.................its gotta be relatively easy, seeing as all you need is the parts and some feet of fuel line. which parts exactly do you need??

 

I agree and I'll be doing that mod at the same time as the repairs.

Thanks, I'll have to check that out.

The answers are in one of your posts.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/10856-diy-mods-95-04-tacomas.html

 

oh yeah......damn, bout forgot about that one!!! its actually got how to do breather mod for both diffs,tranny and transfer case...........im gonna be busy later on.....definitely gonna do these!

 

You don't necessarily need a press to put in the new seal, it just can be a real biotch using just a mallot or a hammer and large socket.

 

I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

 

Well idk if you have already put in your seals or not but i have started on mine and im going to put everything back together in the morning but heres an idea of how to do it.

this is rear axle with drum brakes

1st remove your tire and wheel from the axle then i went ahead and removed my brake shoes.
next you will see 4 nuts on the back of the drum plate remove these blots and remove your parking brake cable and your brake line from the drum plate. Your axle should slide out. After this you will need to repeat the step on the other side. Once you have removed both axle you will need to remove your are drive shaft then loosin all the nuts around you 3rd member case. Once you have done this CAREFULLY remove your third member. After you have it out you will be able to see your inner seals. Replace the seal check your ring and pinion for any un wanted wear if all is good i would put some kinda of gasket seal on it then put your 3rd member back in and i was told that when you are tighting the nuts on the 3rd member housing you tighten them like you do your lug nuts in a crossing pattern. After this is done carefully and slowly put your axles back in and then put your brakes back together.

Thats not very in depth or professional but it gives you an idea lol

this may sound easy but im a pretty good mechanic and it took longer then i expected but o well

 

^^Thanks!^^

 

I just pulled my third member as I had to swap it due to a carrier bearing roaring. The inner seal is the one that presses into the axle housing on the end. I cut a small block of oak wood and tapped them right in. The outer seal is the one behind the axle bearing and is for dirt/water protection and the inner is for the lube. There is also a O ring that is behind the brake plate that you need to make sure is clean and not stretched. I used Timken inner seals and Toyota O rings and differential seal and have put about 7k on it since replacing with no leaks.
My drivers side brake drum was soaked with lube and I cleaned / scrubbed with brake parts cleaner and used sand paper to resurface the shoes/ drum and it works fine.
My axle vent tube was clear also so I have no idea why the seal started leaking.

Bill

 

Well i finally got me seals put in and everything put back together and drove it work this morning so all is good for now. I did some research and started talking to ubermxb and figured somethings out to help yall in the future. 1st off you dont need to pull out your 3rd member and replace the seals that are in your 3rd member housing. All you need to do is remove the axle that is leaking which is simple and then you will need to replace that seal and put the axle back in and put your brakes on and it done. I was making it alot harder then it was designed to be. But never the less i got it finished up and it seems to be running good. If you have anyones got any questions about replacing their seals just PM me.