Rear differential leaking. Need advice

I have 2021 with a leaking 3rd member with less than 30k miles. Dealer recommends replacing the gasket, but they are refusing to do it under warranty because I there is damage by the drain plug. Is there anything I can say or do to convince them otherwise?

 

^Yeah dealers lose money on warranty work, because reimbursement from Toyota is miniscule.

Sand away burrs and touch up missing paint, then try another dealer.

 

Well, they certainly aren't wrong about that pumpkin taking a solid whack at the drain plug. That force could have jarred the pumpkin seal in a spot or two causing it to start leaking. Sorry brother, but i have to say that I'm in the dealer's camp on this one.

 

I don’t see a leak. To me a leak causes fluid to be deposited on my garage floor in significant amounts.

Warranties cover manufacturing defects, not damage. Damage is covered by insurance.

Also at least one Toyota mechanic on here has said fluid seeps regardless of damage are not considered warranty work.

Personally I would not lose any sleep over this “leak”.

 

That little puddle is from driving 5 miles to the dealership. That pic is from the service drop-off.

 

See post #1931 for the 2016 and 2017 weeping rear end recall. I know you have a 2021, but there is lots of info and pictures in the PDFs. Might give you some insight on addressing your weep/leak.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ble-loss-of-control-of-vehicle.488536/page-97

 

this won’t apply to his leak . Obvious signs of damage .

 

So your advice is telling them to commit fraud nice ..

 

Since the dealer won’t fix the issue since obvious signs of damage . I would take it to a local shop to have it fixed .

 

Very true, manufacturing recall vs. possible damage are different. Just sharing the link because of all the part numbers, torque specs and good info contained in the PDFs. Might be useful in either situation.

 

Nope. Leaking diff at that gasket is a known problem with the recall. Smacking the drain plug ring doesn't cause a leak there. Just because the dealer is using off-roading as an excuse doesn't mean you should go along with it.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RCRIT-17V285-0775.pdf



In the recall instructions, if the tech saw any little bit of seepage, he is required to drain the oil into a Home Depot bucket and measure the remaining oil amount. If less than 2 liters remain, the diff is considered beyond saving and a new diff is ordered. Just because OP is outside the recall range doesn't mean the mfg defect has been conclusively fixed for 100% of the fleet (impossible thing).

 

Find another dealer or pay out of pocket. Your priority should be getting it fixed asap.

 

Can you even get a socket on that plug? May need an easy-out.

It was a good idea to take it to a local repair shop, have them replace it with a new plug after they reseal the differential.

And RCI sells differential skids, Black Friday sales start soon also.

 

c'mon Karen you damaged it - its not defective

 

Touch up the drain bolt with a die grinder and a deburring bit. Or hammer the socket on there since the bolt doesn't look too bad. Get new crush washers drain and fill the diff and clean it up with brake clean. Watch it going forward to see if it leaks again. Pretty simple stuff.

 

my 2022 looks the same zero signs of damage, i just assumed it was because toyota, I've never driven behind a tacoma that didn't have a wet differential. But yeah that leak isn't from whatever you dragged across that bolt.

 

Mine with 45k km is dry, my brothers 17 with 250k km is dry. I wouldn't call this toyota things.

 

I’m not sure what the gasket costs but when I swapped my 3rd I used Permatex and haven’t leaked since.

If you have a weekend where you aren’t driving it’s an easy job and a diff oil change/3rd and driveshaft retorque.

 

did you use Permatex® Gear Oil RTV Gasket Maker?

 

Before removing the drain plug make sure you can remove the fill plug.