Rear Axle Seal Leak from Large Tires?

Hey everyone, I have a repair shop telling me they won't replace the rear axle seals on m '02 under warranty (they replaced them a year or two ago) because "the truck has larger tires and wheels than stock and that can cause the leak." They said my stock tires and wheels were around 30lbs, and the ones I have on now are over 50lbs.

Is this a valid argument at all? I've never heard of it, and it sounds like they're just trying to squirm out of replacing the seals.

edit: here you go, have a couple photos as well. This is Tucker as he stands now - 19 years of ownership and counting. He's currently riding on some steelies and 285's.

 

I've never heard of a shop say that before, but in my limited experience having bigger wheels/tires/spacers will contribute to more rapid wear of the wheel bearing and hence the seal.

Another reason these things leak is the retainer not being pressed onto the axle the correct amount. Timmy the Toolman talks about this at length here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVhSDnw2ugo

 

That sounds like a bunch of horse shit. They just don’t wanna do it.

 

Oddly enough reading through my carfax history, I found my rear axle seals went bad 5 or 6 times in the first 100k miles. The dealer eventually changed the entire rear axle under warranty to fix it saying that the fit was bad. I Just had to change them again at 195k though... I bet its just a bad design.

 

Have you ever replaced the diff breather. A bad breather will force seals to leak.

 

I have the same size tire and mine is leaking also

 

No one ever checks those

 

There are plenty of folks running 285s, who aren't constantly replacing axle seals. I'd say that if they played a roll, it was a small one. Driving style has a lot more to do with it. And, if you end up bending an axle (which is easier with larger/heavier tires) then you can start leaking pretty quickly.

With the right tools, it's not a hard job. And, while the right tools are a bit pricey, you can usually get them (and the parts) for about the same price as having a dealer do the work. And then you get to keep the tools after!

Here's a good write-up with links to all the tools and parts needed, as well as photos: Replacing My Rear Axle Seals & Bearings

And here's the entire process, step-by-step: Step-by-Step Replacing Rear Axle Seal & Bearing w/ABS (1st gen Tacoma or 3rd gen 4Runner)

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Agree with others, its easy to fuck the retainer position and cause a leak.

 

Sounds like a classic excuse to get out of doing warranty work

 

U said ‘ shop ‘ .....not dealer

what shop gives a 2 year warranty ??????

 

You really need to figure out if its one or two years ago, I believe Toyota parts come with a 1 year/no mileage warranty, from how you worded the post I assume its a indie shop and they each have a different warranty that is further compounded by what aftermarket company bearing was used. Regardless of dealer or indie if it was over 2 years ago your out of warranty.
While I currently work at a dealer, I do not think we are better then a REALLY GOOD indie shop, but it is a great deal easier to do a warranty claim as a dealer then as a indie shop.