08 Tacoma Front Diff Leak

Hey all I have a 2008 tacoma trd sport and I went wheeling over the weekend and was decently hard on it. Nothing overly crazy but I was for sure using it lol. Anyways I came home parked it the next day notice a puddle in the yard I looked under and it seems my diff is leaking. Both seals are dry which is great it all seems to be flowing to the bottom of the housing. Top of the housing is dry so the breather is out of the question. I had my actuator replaced last year and to me it seems to be leaking from there. I have a picture attached it seems to be that hole/tube on the side of it. I read online that it's a drain in case it's overfilled? I thought maybe but if that was the case wouldn't it of leaked a while ago and not just yesterday and today? I'm also thinking maybe since the run we did was a snow run (busting through an old ski doo trail) that maybe water got into the diff but the fluid seems clear and stinky just like gear oil is. Planning on doing a regular run this weekend and just want to get this fixed before then. Appreciate the help!

 

I would clean it up and drive it and try to pinpoint were it is coming from. Add fluid

 

I did clean it up and came back 5 minutes later to see a drip coming off of the side of the actuator. Not sure if you can see it from the second pic but I wiped all the diff as well as the actuator (didn't have degreaser or brake cleaner so I did what I could) and noticed the drip. I'm not sure what the purpose of that circular hole/tube on the side of the actuator, a bit of research says its a drain in case the diff is overfilled but the actuator was changed about a year ago. So to me if it were overfilled it would've leaked out a while back, The only thing I can come up with is maybe during the run my breather plugged or is still plugged forcing fluid out of the actuator drain? Not sure if anyone can actually confirm if it is a drain or not, it's just what I found online.

 

That tube is just a vent for the actuator I think if I’m not mistaken the differential vent is in the engine bay next to the fuse box with the transmission vent. Check it but otherwise maybe they did not seal the actuator correctly I believe it’s just sealed with rtv. Toyota has some rtv that is relatively inexpensive that dries in like 15 minutes that you could use to reseal the actuator.

 

It could also be the seal between the clam shells on that differential.

 

$21 Toyota Genuine Fluid 00295-00103 Formed-in-Place Oil Pan Gasket - 3 oz. Tube

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EDDTV0

 

I cleaned it and let it sit. It's for sure leaking from that vent on the actuator. I verified both breathers were operation one was stuck and couldn't blow air through it it was the thicker line which I believe isn't the diff? But maybe still learning my ways around these trucks. I drained the oil and there was still a good amount of oil in there. It looked like alot on the ground outside but gear oil seems to seep into a big mess when it's only a small amount lol. I also found this needle from a needle bearing stuck to the drain plug thank god it was there and not circulating. Both axles are still tight so I assume it's from the old bearing when I had the garage change it last year. Going to fill it up tomorrow and test to see if it continues to leak. Hopefully it doesn't at 20$ a bottle. I also checked all around the actuator seal and no leaks there whatsoever just from that vent I posted.

 

Replace that needle bearing with the ecgs bushing is a very common upgrade and if you already have a needle on the magnet the bearing is definitely toast, I would definitely recommend replacing that before it grenades you diff. That actuator shouldn’t be leaking possibly the actuator itself is bad.

 

Oh I know about the ECGS bushing upgrade I was just in a pickle when the old bearing let go needed it fix asap as at the time it was my only vehicle for getting to work so I just went OEM again. The bushing will be my next upgrade later on. Both axles are still tight I have no noise from the front end whatsoever, I'm confident that the needle is from the old bearing when they replaced it. If it isn't, we'll I have a spare diff anyway haha.

 

Ok has the leak stopped?

 

Nope leaking from that same spot. 4x4 actuator is under warranty so doing that. I believe that part i pictured above that has the drip of oil hanging off of it well there's a plug there and mines missing allowing oil to just go passed the actuator shaft and out of the unit.

 

Ok try to get an oem unit I always try to use oem electronics.

 

So i finally removed it and found the culprit. It seems the way they assemble these units into slide the shaft in through this spot slide the shaft through the fork and hold it in place with a spring pin then put what looks like a frost plug on the outside to keep oil and the shaft from sliding out. Well the plug is gone and that explains why I was losing fluid! 460$ unit for one year. Thank god for lifetime warranty but if I have to do this yearly I'll be upset

 

What company makes this part hopefully it doesn’t do that again