Something is Wet in my rear wheel.

So I have been noticing lately that there is something leaking in my my rear drivers side wheel. I noticed it the other day and have no clue what it is. It is on the inside of the wheel right on the inner edge of the lip of the rim. Any ideas what it could be? Brake fluid perhaps?

 

does it smell really bad?

 

good question let me go finger it..brb

 

little stinky...def oily whatever it is

 

check your brake fliud could be a wheel cylinder.or could possibley your axle seal.and somtimes it's nothing at all just water or something

 

in my opinion it might be rear diff fluid. because i know it smells bad. what else i can say is go smell your brake fluid res and see if it smells the same if it does it is not rear diff fluid

 

good advice there, I will check it out tomorrow when I get home from work. Thanks

 

Yup no problem. atleast i can help somehow

 

Sounds like a leaky brake cylinder, maybe get a buddy (or anyone else who can take direction & pump the brake pedal & hold it when told to !)have the buddy pump the brake pedal 8 or 10 times,hold it & carefully check for bubbling,weeping of fluid etc; Also make sure when you pump it up & hold the pedal down it keeps pressure without going down to the floorboard.

 

Easiest thing to do is pull the drum off. If theres oil all over the place it's an axle seal. Happened to mine 2 weeks ago. 30 min fix and a can of brake cleaner and your good to go.

If it is this then I also recommend changing your diff breather.

 

I think it is the rear seal that is leaking. The only other thing is brake fluid. So you can check that for sure.

 

def think its an axle seal. Brake fluid is to the max.. whats the labor involved? I might be able to do the job. Other question is how much should it run to have a shop do it?

 

it shouldn't be to hard i' never done on on a yota.you should have to pull the axle out.not sure how you do that on the third member style rearend like i said never done it on a yota i've done gm jeep and ford it only took half hour to forty five mins.a shop shouldn't be to much but doing it yourself will be much cheaper. i'm sure someone on hear can give you a better idea of what is involved

 

here is the directions looks real simple i would do this myself

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/rear_axle/oil_seal/

 

I am not sure how much it cost but i think you need a press so be very careful you dont damage the seal putting it back in.

 

you will not need a press

 

**EDIT** I didn't notice the link above with the write-up. It seems to have everything covered

It's very easy to do.

1. Loosen lug nuts on wheel that the seal is bad in.
2. Jack truck.
3. Remove wheel. Remove brake drum. Disconnect the hand brake cable to that wheel (remove pin), disconnect brake line, and unplug abs wheel sensor wire ( if you have abs).
4. Remove the 4 nuts holding on the axle. Once they are off slowly pull out the axle. You may loose a little oil.
5. Looking into the axle housing you will see the oil seal about 2 inches in or so. This old seal can be a PITA to remove. If you don't have a seal puller then you just need to pry it out. Screw drivers, pry bars, etc. Even a chisel can come in handy to break it apart.
6. Once you get it out use a fine grit sandpaper to remove any build up where the old seal was. Now you can install the new seal. (if you have abs I found it easier to remove the wheel sensor as well as the magnet on it makes it difficult to line up the seal in order to put it it).
7. Get a socket or anything that you can use that only hits on the outside of the seal. Very carefully tap the seal in. When in, the rubber ring on the inside should not be disfigured and should look like when the seal came right out of the box.
8. Carefully insert axle (may need to twist it a bit to get it fully into place).
9. Install all you nuts (with loctight), cables, brake line, etc. Use brake cleaner on the drum and brake components. Lightly sand the brake pads to ensure oil is off. Once everything is back on you can top up your diff oil a pinch if you wish.

This is a run down just from the top of my head. I'm sure there is a write-up out there with pics. It's a pretty clean job with not a lot of tools required. First one might take you an hour taking your time. I would replace the diff breather even if the old one looks alright, or do the diff breather mod.

Good luck

 

I'm in the process of moving and its going to be at least a week or maybe two before I or a shop can get to this. Anything I should worry about with waiting that long?

 

you may have to replace your rear brake shoes.check the diff breather and fluid level.

 

I know if you brought it to Toyota for this problem they would want to replace every brake component that came in contact with the oil. I've seen them do it to people at our dealership. This can be a costly visit. Just be sure you know what the garage intends to change before bringing it.