06 Taco Leaky Diff Help

Hola!

I have an 06 Taco V6 TRD 4 Door approaching 80K miles.

Noticed a bit of oil'ish in the garage, got to looking underneath and it would appear the diff is leaking.

I got underneath and the wiped it down good to try to see where from. The Drain & fill plug look to be secure.


The best guess I have is the seal between the forward diff housing (I am making this name up, but it sounds right , the short diff section between the drive shaft and diff - it holds to the axl with about a dozen nuts, that look to be around 10mm...Maybe the seal is deteriorated?

Anyhow, everything looks to be tight, I was going to hit the service dept, get a new seal, drop the drive shaft, drain the diff (if there is any fluid left), remove the housing (12ish 10mmish nuts), clean and replace the seal, and refill w/ diff fluid - unless any other suggestions?

Thanks much!

KwanX

 

That would be called the 3rd member . to get that out you will need to pull your axles out a few inches first . just use some black silicon to re seal . I think from the factory there is a very very thin paper gasket ?

 

Pix here - yesterday I wiped everything down clean -these 2 pics are from about 7 miles of driving under 40mph...definately not driving any more until fixed.

 

pretty easy fix .

 

You need to disconnect your brake lines were the connect to your wheel cylinders . Then there are 4 nuts on each side of your axle you need to take off . If you are looking at your tires from under your truck you will see them at the end of your axles . you can then pull your axles out . I would take them all the way out . Dont take them out part way and let them hang our you will damage your axle seals . Then you can unbolt your driveline . now you can unbolt the 3rd memeber and remove . becarful its heavy . clean everything good . use a bead of black silicon and reassemble.

 

Almost forgot you will have to unhook your e-brake lines as well . i would say 4hours if you have never done so before .

 

This.

It's not that bad, but takes a little time.

Might try snugging down the bolts/nuts first. Worth a shot.

 

^....wow..all that is not necessasry...


this leak is common with our rear ends. and it should be a regular maintenance item to be checked every 15-20k miles.

all that is going on is the nuts holding the 3rd member to the axle housing housing all have come loose. it happens all the time. all that needs to be done to correct the leak is to re-torque the nuts. it take a 12mm socket or wrench to get in there and re-torque those little guys down. also re member to top off the diff fluid level after everything is re torqued down. i bet a bout a quart or quart and half should be about what you need at the very most





here's a sample of what mine looked like the first time my leak was noticed..

 

here is another recent topic with the same issue..
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...rear-differential-locker-leak-pictures-2.html

 

Yeah I'd tighten everything down. Wipe it off, hose it off with brake clean, wipe it down once more and wait to see if it's still leaking.

 

I just have to say... holy shit your diff is CLEAN

 

i was thinking the same thing..even after 80k miles..its still shiny

 

hah - I gave it a serious wipedown to try to find the leak...Plus I live in FL, so no snow/salty roads

Anyhow, thanks for the responses - I gave all the nuts a retorque and will give it a test drive tomorrow and see - I got 1/8th to 1/4 turn on most of the nuts, so we'll see.


Can anyone confirm what the original gasket/seal was? was there a gasket from the factory, or was it a liquid gasket?

Thx

 

Toyota uses a ultra thin paper gasket..but if by chance you need to re seal the 3rd member..... using ultra grey silicone works just fine!

 

awsome, thx!

 

In one part of the FSM it says use only the paper gasket.

In another it says this.

INSTALLATION
1. INSTALL REAR DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER
ASSEMBLY
(a) Remove any dust and oil from the differential carrier
assembly and contact surface of the axle housing.
(b) Apply liquid gasket to both sides of the gasket.
NOTICE:
Do not put the liquid gasket on the stud bolt.
(c) Install a new gasket and the differential carrier
assembly with the 10 nuts and 10 washers.
Torque: 45 N*m (459 kgf*cm, 33 ft.*lbf)


I used gasket and RTV...

 

Forgot to follow up on this...Tightening the pumpkin didnt help.

I opted for the paper gasket, ordered from the dealer for $8.63.

Did the whole jackup, remove rear tires, axel dealio...definately a messy job!

Got everything back together and bled the brakes (PITA).

So far, no leaks...going to check the pumpkin nuts (haha) again tomorrow now that I've put some miles/heat on it.


Brake are still a little spongy...will probably need to re-bleed...but all in all, were back in service....

 

another trick to bleeding the brakes is to loosen the bleeder at the drum and let brake fluid drip out from the line. when you see a steady flow of drips then it's done. repeat on the side side. keep an eye on the fluid level at the MC.

 

while it's always a good idea to use factory parts i have had no leaky problems with using the Ultra Grey RTV gasket maker. besides, i think it seals better then the factory paper gasket. at least with my personal experience at least.

side note: since i had problems with the nuts to the stud bolts always coming loose, i now use a drop or two of red locktite on each stud.