Is my dif… burning? After ECGS swap

Hey y’all.

So!

I had an off-road shop do my needle bearing to ECGS bushing.

A few days later… I’ve noticed a faint burn smell? I thought maybe they sprayed something, but even after several washes.. the smell is still there.

I smell it near the driver side front wheel well. Notice it when I exist the truck and walk by the wheel. When I try to hunt it down… the smell fades away quick. So I believe it’s the dif, but I’m not 100% certain. All the shops, including the one that did the work, are booked for two weeks. So.. I can’t get a quick answer.

There doesn’t appear to be any leaking going on, and they said they replaced the dif fluid when they did the swap, so I’m confused.

Smell does not occur when truck is idling. I started it and let it warm up to see if maybe it was a belt or something. Doesn’t get worse under heavy braking.

Anyone have any ideas? Worst fear is that something broke off when they pulled the needle bearing out or something.

Dif fluid def stinks, easy to identify, but I don’t guess I’ve ever smelled it getting burnt lol.

Thanks for any help.

 

They might have gotten some diff lube on the crossover pipe. It is double-walled, so stuff that gets on it does not cook off easily.

Get under there and have a look around, esp when the exhaust warm. You'll see some smoke from where it is coming from. If it is the exhaust, wait for it too cool down and wipe it off with solvent.


If the shop screwed up the seal, it will spray diff lube all over the place. Back to the axle. BTDT.

 

Is it a consistent mess? Like, doesn’t stop spraying? Just curious on things I can search for haha

 

Yeah. Mine didn't stop leaking because I over-drove the seal about 1/16in to get it plumb in the hole. Entirely my fault. If that is your issue, it will continue to weep / leak until the diff is empty. A few days of driving plus the loss from the installation, I only lost about 4oz. There's only 1.6qt in there though.

 

If it was leaking that badly you'd probably be out of gear oil by now and see drip marks on the ground where you park.

I think @tonered was saying a very slight leaking might get caught in the wind and blown back as youre driving. Like he said stuff can take a while to burn off on the cooler parts of the exhaust such as the crossover pipe and muffler.

Id crawl around under there and see if anything looks out of place

 

Yeah. Just normal highway driving pretty much FluidFilmed my underside.


But even without an actual leak, the shop might have gotten some lube on the exhaust, like you said. I know that any fling-off from lubing the front driveshaft never goes away on its own.

 

Thanks y’all.

I guess I was just afraid it was going to overheat and ruin my gearbox or something.

 

You're good if you take care of it. If you do not see lube on the ground, then you have time to sort it out / clean it up. If you have drips, then don't wait too long.

 

Don't quote me but I *think* 3rd gens have a temp sensor in the front diff and associated warning message. Though I suppose that wouldn't work if there was no oil

 

It takes like 2 minutes to check the diff fluids. Take out the fill bolt and stick your finger in and see if you feel the fluid.

 

Sorta. They were eliminated in middle of the 2019 or 2020 MY.

The OP should have one.

 

So, if it was burning or otherwise too hot, I should be alerted?

 

Oh, rock and roll. When I do that, will I need anything special? Sorry, I know that sounds dumb. I’ve never serviced a dif. Or is it literally pop it out, see and I feel fluid and put it back?

 

I don't know if it kicks up a light if it gets too hot. I just know that it could be seen with OBD apps.

I found a pic that I took when mine was leaking:

 

Pull fill plug and top it off.

When it comes to changing out the diff oil, upgrade to the lexus drain plug so you dont have to worry about stripping the toyota internal hex one during a subsequent service.

edit: link added for more info

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/differentials-and-transfer-case-part-s-info.761720/

 

Pretty sure it a 10mm HEX head socket. You won't be able to see inside but when someone refills the diff they usually fill until it starts overflowing from the fill plug. If the proper amount is in there you should be able to stick your finger in the hole just a bit and touch the fluid and see it on your finger tip, or some may drain out a tiny bit. Make sure you unbolt the top one of the 2 bolts. One is a fill and on is a drain.

 

Awesome. Will get to work.

Hoping either A. It’s fluid that’s just on something hot… or B. It’s low. Dif’s be expensive lol.

Going to take some photos and give y’all an update. Perhaps another set of eyes may see something my novice self is missing.

 

Small update.

Def leaking… dropped the skid plate, cleaned it up, put the plate back on, drove it around for about 20 then parked it.

Dropped the skid again a few hours later and there’s a good amount of fluid on the plate.

I just dropped it off at the shop that did the service.

It wasn’t clear exactly where it was leaking, but it def wasn’t leaking prior to the bushing swap.

I wonder if I’ve done any damage since it’s started a few days ago? I surly hope not..

 

I just posted an update, I wish I’d have taken photos, but I’m 95% sure this is my issue as well. Shop said they are going to investigate it, replace whatever seals they need to do. Fingers crossed I suppose!

 

Good stuff. It is not a big issue and shouldn't take long at all to fix.