2011 tacoma rear diff leak WTF!

So ive had my new 2011 tacoma trd off road for two or three months now and it has 6600 miles. Yesterday I noticed the rear diff is leaking where the driveshaft goes into it. I believe this is called the pinion seal but im not sure.

There was a pretty big puddle so I drained and refilled it because I wasnt sure how much ran out. Let me just say that a 30k interval for the diff fluid is bull shit. at 6600 miles the fluid was black and the magnet drain plug was COVERED in a black metallic paste with metal flakes in it. WTF toyota.


So im gonna call the dealer as im under warranty for them to replace it. Im going to tell them everything above(minus the WTF part). and they better not deny me warranty coverage because I refilled it. I used

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 like the book called for. and I used mobil 1 but they dont need to know that.

 

thats really weird. but something might be wrong with the diff from factory it happens sometimes

 

Yeah I figured it was somthin like that lets see what they say. Updates soon....

 

UPDATE: Diff leak/Fluids disaster 2011 tacoma 6600 miles

Kinda long but thorough.

So I went back under the truck to get a better look from yesterday. I brake cleaned the diff after I swapped the fluid. It wasnt leaking where the driveshaft goes in to the carrier assembly. The leak was where the carrier assembly joins the differential at the carrier seal.

There are 11 nuts that screw on around the perimeter of the carrier assembly to bolt it to the differential, with a gasket in between. I looked up the torque specs of these 11 nuts and found them to be 18 ft/lbs and I checked them to see if they were tight. ALL of them needed to be re-torqued back up to 18 and 1 nut right where the leak is happening wasn't even tight. Literally I could spin it off with my fingers. The one on the direct opposite side of the loose one was ALSO free spinning.

So out of 11 nuts 2 where free spinning and 11 had to be re-torqued. Just for shits I made them all 20 ft/lbs for a little piece of mind. I mean seriously Toyota? 6600 miles and the truck is coming apart? Once again I brake cleaned everything and took it for a ride. After 10 miles of "spirited" driving I came home and it looked dry still. So tomorrow morning ill check back and see whats good.

Also, not sure why the fluid came out so absolutely disgusting. I swapped them all after seeing the diff fluid. Every BMW M car I get in for the 1200mile break-in period service at the dealer we swap fluids in the trans, diff, and engine oil. ALL the fluids come out looking brand new like they went in and the drain plug has barely anything on it. The engine oil has a slight used color by not at all "dirty".

If Toyota says drive train fluid swap at 30K then why is it at 6600 the rear diff looked TERRIBLE black and the drain plug had flaked and A LOT of metallic fine paste metals. It was so gunky and sludge like. The 6spd trans fluid came out almost new looking and the magnet plug had enough metal flakes to cover the tip. Not bad honestly. The transfer case was excellent. I had my engine oil and filter changed at the dealer but I did it again anyways. It looked used but not disgusting I really could have kept it. Only thing I didnt do yet was the front diff. Ill let you guys know how that goes after autozone restocks their Mobil 1

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90. I bought the last six. I had a bottle at home too.

After this synthetic fluid conversion, if you will. The truck seems a little happier I guess. I do say the shifting was a little improved. The feedback from the stick is much better. Engine still ticks gotta love that 4.0. No noticeable difference in the diff after fluid change.

So after all this hopefully I gain 1 or 2 MPG and at least I know its all clean now.

 

My diff was leaking too, but not as bad as yours and have heard of other Taco's doing the same thing. I noticed it a couple years after getting it and tightened up the nuts too. After that, it seems to be OK.

I noticed the diff oil was pretty sludgy too with a lot of metal particles on the magnet. As to why it's much cleaner with the BMW's diff oil, I don't know. Could be because of the type of oil they put in from the factory with our trucks.

I wouldn't worry about it, just check up on it every so often.

 

This is the kind of crap you hear about in GM trucks, not in a Toyota. Wonder if the assembly line move for 2011 has something to do with it. Not as bad as a 1st-year vehicle after a redesign, because all the design tweaks from the past five years carried over. But the assembly workers are at the bottom of the learning curve.

The diff shavings come from the break-in, no need to worry about it. The magnetic plug keeps the shavings from circulating. And color is not an indicator of diff oil quality, especially with non-synthetic oil. I changed mine at 6200 miles and the oil was dark, but didn't smell burnt. Replaced it with Castrol Syntec

$29 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75W-90. Expensive oil!

 

Hi to all
Got a problem whit one wheel ( passenger side) stuck few days a go
I at the moment tought of the parking brake was jam, i tried to un freez it whit a hamer then hot water, noting to do . So took my oder car that day to get to work, when i came back i took the truck in the garage lifted it up and then the wheel got free for a brief instant.... Then jamed again it could move few inches but that's it..... Whent to sleep on it thinking i will have to take the differential apart the next day, when i came back in the garage the wheel was free again and did not jam at all??? Took the dif apart anyway as i took the oil out the drain plug ad bit of metal on it ( not a big deal) and nothing is looking bad in the dif ?

My question is could it be ice in the dif? Im about to put everything back and try it on the road. I know the best way would be to take the dif to a specialist...
Does someone think of something that could cause one wheel to grip then free it self? ( not alocking dif strait plain) taco 4 x4 v6

 

Op-

I had a pinion seal go bad at like 20k miles. Toyota swapped it out no questions asked.

 

I agree but when i lifted the truck the wheel could move about 2 to 3 inches back and foward did not feel like brake issue, and it got free for few minutes
And jamed again.... As anyone ever saw a differential going bad this way?
Could i have damage the shh in trying to move it whent about 1000 feet on 4 L?

 

I can't remember right now.. But when it's in park shouldnt the rear wheels not be able to turn?

 

Yes was in neutral, gears looks ok to me?

 

Wheel bearing feel ok that was my first gest a missing teeth bearings feel ok to me i will put the thing back and see.....

 

It's possible that some dirt or dust or other contaminant was getting into the differential case through the leaky gasket (on one spinning nut side or the other) and turned the oil black. Should be all right now that you've re-torqued and refilled. Maybe recheck torque after a few weeks just to be sure they don't back off too much.

Funny my 5-lug has no bolts or gaskets around the differenial case, welded shut from the factory with only the drain and fill plugs and input shaft holes in the whole thing.

 

When i pulled my diff fluid it was like warm grease, thick, black, smelled like shit. I but in synthetic royal purple and after changing the diff twice, 30k, 60k, the royal purple was looking brand new when i pulled it. They prob filled the diff with some thick ass dyno. Also no locktight on the bolts?

 

Man, I think I am going to change mine in 1000 miles when I do my 10,000 mile oil change. Then I can make sure the bolts are torqued properly as well. I have reading too many things like this lately.