Leak from front diff help.

So today I noticed oil leaking from under the truck and found my front diff is leaking. probably a bad axle seal I'm assuming. what worries me tho is my truck the last day or so I have noticed a grinding feeling / noise at slower speeds. It seems to be when I am slowing down or going under 20mph I feel it the most. So how f**ked am I and what should I look for when I try to tackle this thing tomorrow? I have never taken a diff apart so this will be my first time troubleshooting a diff.

 

Don’t take the diff apart. It’s an easy job. Just remove the cv axle and install new seal flush. You might need the ECGS needle bearing

 

What about the grinding tho? Do you thing the gears got messed up from lack of oil?

 

If it’s grinding seals are probably a short fix
But prepare for seal job and inspect heavily as you proceed.
Mileage? Service history?

 

At about 181K, service history I am not 100% on, I am not sure what was serviced before I got it, It does look like the diff has red RTV instead of a gasket so it was probably taken apart at some point.

 

How long has it been leaking?

 

I am not sure to be honest, just noticed it today.

 

And on top of that I am at work and I still need to drive it home tonight.

 

If its painted black and has red sealant it's a factory remaned.

 

Because Toyota took a page out of GM's play book the axles spin all the time frankly it's a dumb ideal I does not spin the guts but the axles do spin. I would kill for the old stick on the floor and lock out hubs. To me that's a lot of spinning parts that don't need to making it much harder on the axle support bearings and seals.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/manual-hubs-conversion-kit-990.511528/

The answer to your problem.

 

See if the noise goes away when you switch to 4x4. If so, it's your needle bearing. There's a TSB for it but I'd rather do the bushing fix.

 

Where do you even find this bearing? I cant find it at all.

 

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8536125-toyota-8-clamshell-bushing-eliminates-needle-bearing.html

 

So it just deletes the needle bearing all together?

 

Replaces the needle bearing with a bushing.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/needle-bearing-ecgs-and-tsb.388913/

 

OP, the front diff does not use a gasket but the two halves are sealed with FIPG. I have seen the color range from orangeish-red to reddish-orange.

If you do the CV seal do not cheap out on an aftermarket but use an OEM Toyota.

While you are in the neighborhood, take a mirror and some light and look toward the tippy-top of the differential. There is a small cross over tube that vents the diff from the right side to connect with the braided riser hoses on the LH fender inside the engine compartment. Leaks can occur if the tube is plugged (check the metal caps on top of the vent hoses to make sure they are not plugged) if the diff gets hot and the gear oil expands.

 

Ok so from what I have read / watched, and from you guys I'm thinking my needle bearing went bad from just being old and have a lift and I think that is my grinding noise / feeling and in turn probably made my axle seal go bad. So I ordered the ECGS bushing kit with a new seal. So in the mean time I am thinking I should probably just top off my my diff fluid until I get my parts.

 

Sounds like a great plan.

 

I'm retired at that rate I would have to start a go fund me page. Next project is to bypass the ADD so I can use low range to move stuff around another dumb GM ideal.