Rear axle damage on my 2002 TACOMA

Hallo TacomaWorld!

This is my first post on this forum so I hope this is placed in the right category.
This year I moved to the US for my job and when I saw the first gen Tacoma I knew I had to own one.
After some searching I found a 2002 4X4 extended cab with 170k miles in a reasonable shape. I bought it and am very happy so far.
TacomaWorld has been a huge help so far and maybe you have a solution for my problem.

(english is not my first language so maybe there are some strange sentences)


After some weeks I found out that the rear axle seal was leaking on the drivers side. I replaced the axle seal but it started leaking again.
I was reading on this forum and saw alot of other people had the same problem.
I bought all the parts to do the job right the second time but when I pressed the retainer and the ABS ring off I saw the the previous owner did the job somewhere in the past allready. But they used a cutter to cut of the retainer ring. When they did that they cut into the axle itself.
This wouldnt be a huge deal if the cut wasnt so long that there is allmost a complete tunnel underneath the retainer ring where oil could leak through.


I thought about filling the cut with silicone or something but I am a bit hesitant to these kind of solutions. Do you guys have an idea how I could fix this or should I just buy a pair of second hand axles?

 

I'd find a welder that can fill the groove, file it down and replace the seal and reassemble.

 

Welcome aboard new member

 

Thanks!

@koditten Do you think its posssible to get an oil tight seal that way? Might be worth a try.

 

The best way would be to have a machinest turn it on a lathe, but I'm always amazed at how good the human eye can be.

 

Be aware, quite often the cause of that deal failure is because of a clogged differential breathing tube. The diffy heats up and the pressure in the diffy has no where for the pressure to go. The seal is the weak link and gear oil is pushed out. Many cases the seal was not bad, but the pressure was too high.

 

Shit... i had similar issue, i got 3 visits to do it right, 1st 600 wasted with aftermarket parts, 2nd at dealer , they installed brand new driver side rear axle and then 6 months later ... leak again ... so , dealer did it under warranty, 3rd time was the champ... ... for what your axle has ... definetely that side axle is need it either new or junk yard .. i will go with new route if po$$ible

 

haha damn three times. A new axle is above my budget. I will ask a machine shop if they can repair it or find a second hand axle.

I did the diff breather mod allready so that shouldn't be a problem anymore. (but it could have caused the problem in the first place)

 

oh yes!!! Maybe the 1st $600 job was fine because it hold for 2 years... but i read what you said and i ordered to change the breather the 2nd try at Dealership.. is like an $8 part but for sure important in this matter....

Welcome to TW !!!!

 

While this idea has merit it would cost more then a used axle.

Unless the OP has a friend that can do the welding and turning .

 

I know nobody with a lathe haha. Maybe its an good excuse to stock up on some proper tools. Its much cheaper here than in europe. Too bad its all 110v.

 

I recently went through a similar situation where a shop I had do the job in the past messed up the axle so that the bearing was not sitting very tight. Check Car-Part app to search junk yards local to you, from what I saw in a 100 mile radius of me (Georgia) you could pick up 1 axle for around $100 or a pair from around $200. I ended up spending $300 for a set, but they were local to me and everything else was a few hours away. Good luck!

 

Allright, im going to do that! thanks