Toyota recalling 228,000 Tacoma's due to oil leaks and possible loss of control of vehicle

She's FREE!!!

Drives exactly like she did before they absconded with her.

 

I don't know if it's purely coincidental, but my MPG has gone down the shitter since I've gotten it back. And my XM channels no longer show their channel logo on the screen.

 

I don't see how mucking about with the rear axle could do that, did they "do" anything else?

 

The only thing I can think is maybe the battery died while it sat, thus putting the transmission back in learning mode, and the Satellite channel logos going away. Otherwise, I have zero clue what it is. I'm going to wait till I fill up again and see if there is any difference.

The 2 year maintenance was done also, for whatever that's worth.

Again, I'm not saying this has anything to do with the rear diff work or the time it was sitting, but these issues became noticeable once I got it back.

 

How long did they have it?

 

1.5 months.

 

Don't know about the MPG, but the logo not showing sounds like an option on the radio that has been changed, somehow, regarding streaming of channel info. I'd go into the options and look for something there, you can probably put that back.

 

Hmmm...if it was better wouldn't everyone do it??? Just a thought

 

My concern about this, which I have not voiced previously, is that in a rear axle of this design the front-to-rear positioning of the carrier relative to the axle housing is affected by the gasket's final compressed thickness. Eliminate the gasket and the carrier assembly seats deeper into the axle housing, which affects the angle at which the axle shafts enter the differential's side gears.

If one were to plan out the geometry of this the angular displacement is I am sure not a "whole lot". So I would leave whether or not it is significant to the guys that designed the whole enchilada and/or the guys with real world experience with using RTV instead of a gasket (we did this all the time on Mustangs but it was just the rear cover of a differently designed axle).

 

Day 46 and I just got a voicemail from my SA to pick up my truck!!! Anything I need to look out for before I take my keys back?

 

After 46 days in a dealer's lot, brand new truck--appearance, Appearance, APPEARANCE... It damned well better look and small "brand new"...

 

Not an expert here, so my opinion is the same as yours. I don't think RTV would be any worse off so long as the mating surfaces had the area. I've used RTV in tons of applications, from valve covers to oil pans. There would be likely no ill effect from any extra 0.5mm displacement between a gasket and RTV.

Between the two, I would always go gasket though just because it is far easier to throw on and center and goof around with.

I dropped my 300zx subframe to install new oil pan front/rear gaskets + RTV (that's how it is supposed to be!) and smeared it all prematurely. I thought I could get away with it, but RTV be damned, it started leaking shortly after. I had to do it all over again and get it right.

 

After 91 days I got the call today to pick up my Taco. So yeah...that sucked. The longest 91 days I've experienced.

 

My gas mileage has improved since I got it back. The gauge says I am getting almost 22mpg. I will have to check it the old fashion way next fill up, just to see how accurate the gauge is. It is most certainly better then the gas hog Ram! As for XM, I canceled mine just before I got the truck back. Not Toyota's fault, Sirius just wanted to much, I lived over 50 years without satellite radio, I can manage with out it for 50 more!

 

Mine also seems to be getting better mpg, also couldn't agree more about satellite radio. Pay radio gtfo!

 

In general there is inherently nothing wrong with using a properly spec'd RTV along with a gasket, or without a gasket--motorcycles have not used gaskets on side covers and even split crankcases for years.

In the specific case of the rear-ends on these trucks I would not consider using just RTV (no gasket) because of the alignment issue described above.--however if I found one to be misting/weeping after installing a new gasket (with properly cleaned mating surfaces and properly torqued fasteners) you can bet the next time it came apart there would be a thin film of sealant applied to both sides of the gasket prior to assembly

 

If this is true, then the gaskets could be causing slight changes in geometry ...which could cause the howl. Right? It seems like the howl is impacted by geometry and driveline angles.

This whole rear end seems poorly designed.

 

The design is sound, it's the same design rear-axle assembly Toyota has been putting in 2WD Tacomas since at least 2005 and I am certain it was engineered to consider the gasket's compressed thickness as a factor in the carrier's fore-aft position relative to the axle shafts; that is why I would not, not use, the gasket.

For well over 20 years assemblies such as this have been manufactured using sealants instead of gaskets; Toyota's somewhat antiquated use of a gasket is indicative of its being a considered component of the assembly's overall design. It would save quite a bit of money to eliminate it and use a proper sealant, however that would require some redesign/retooling to account for its being not there.

What I see is that the current supplier of these axles for 3rd gen Tacomas (Hino I believe) has some significant manufacturing and assembly problems that should have (and I'll go as far as to say "would have") been caught by more diligent quality control. Toyota's recent comment that they have added a "re-tightening procedure" in final assembly supports this, as does the inescapable fact that the rear-end of my '09 with 141k miles, and of many other 2nd gen Tacos are dry as that proverbial bone.

Another possibility is that the gasket material was changed and the new material has different compression and flow characteristics. This could leas to fasteners that were torqued to spec at original assembly becoming "loose" as the gasket further compresses over time. Years ago it was quite common to have to re-torque head bolts after 500 to 1000 miles; to account for this behaviour in head gaskets. Modern gasket design and use of TTY fasteners has pretty much eliminated this...

 

Like I said, I'm going to wait until I fill up again and start going through another tank before I start worrying. It's probably just coincidence, or maybe I'm just using the gas pedal heavier as I've carried over driving habits from the Rav loaner. lol

 

Mine will be ready to pick up at noon.