trekker's taco and Melly's 4R

btw... all of the "cheap" ones on ebay are for long beds. They have a different flare than the short beds do.

 

I replaced my front pinion seal over the weekend and didn't really get a chance to test things out till last night. After a short drive... there are no more leaks from my front diff. The old seal looked fine and I couldn't see where oil was coming out, but I had gear oil on the crossmember and bell housing so I assumed it was the pinion so I swapped it. I don't know if I've finally cured the last of the leaks, but I'm hopeful. I may have seated the pinion seal a little bit further in the housing than it is supposed to go.



To recap... I regeared a few months ago to 4.88s. I've still got my worn down 33s on, measuring closer to 31-32 now. After break in I overfilled the diff by filling it while the truck was on a decline. Over Christmas I drove to my brother's place and hit about 90 on the tollway a few times. On those tires and gears, that's about 3.5K rpm... the diff got hot and all of the excess thick ass gear oil that ECGS recommends had to go somewhere as it expanded. It went up through the breather tube, but maybe the breather was clogged and didn't allow venting, or the pressure was too much, idk.... because it appeared that the gear oil also punched through the driver axle seal and pinion seal. In other words, I had a fucking mess an wasn't sure exactly where the problem was. Takeaway - don't overfill the diff and don't drive like an asshole with big gears and tiny tires.

I took off the breather and cleaned it out. It wasn't really clogged, but maybe the oil that went through it forced out any blockages. I got an inline fuel filter from the parts store and removed the inner filter material and installed it where the stock breather goes. I figure that will work as a catch can for expanding fluids and gasses to burp. On the outlet side I added about a foot of fuel line and topped it off with the stock breather. Problem one solved.

Then I pulled the driver CV and replaced the axle seal. Pretty straight forward... easy stuff. Problem two solved. Then I filled the diff up with a slightly lower weight gear oil in hopes that a more viscous fluid will help prevent the problem from repeating itself if the diff is ever over filled or ran too hard.

After that is when I drove around and noticed the pinion leak, but I had a hunch it may be bad so I had one on order from the week before. Replacing that was easy, but you need to have the right tools for the job. I didn't have some of the bullshit that this dude used in this helpful thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-front-differential-pinion-seal-replacement.430648/

I didn't have the retainer bracket or whatever the hell he talks about using to secure the pinion flange. I figured I'd slide the driveshaft bolts through the mounting flange and double nut them on the outer side... then take a pry bar between them and the frame/ground to keep the flange from rotating so I could loosen the pinion nut. So I crawl under there, remove the driveshaft... take the bolts and try to push them in through the other side of the flange... yeah... wasn't happening. Not enough clearance from the housing to allow the bolts to go in from that direction. So... plan B. I used the crank pulley holder I had from when I installed the supercharger... worked like a dream.

The second tool I didn't have and wasn't about to rent/buy because I thought it was dumb... the steering wheel puller. I had a gear puller (again, from the supercharger install) and it was so easy to use in that tight space.

Maybe this could be helpful for those of y'all that don't want to work on your stuff, or are nervous about tearing apart things you aren't used to... read, do the job yourself, get your own tools, and you will know your truck like the back of your hand. It's easy for me to say since I've been wrenching my whole life, but it's not difficult so long as you pay attention and don't half-ass shit. Like the great Ron Swanson once said... "Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing."

 

Oh, also... GREASE YOUR U-JOINTS. I've been neglecting mine... at 75K miles they took about 7-10 pumps from the grease gun... and I think my front end vibes may be cured. It's easy to forget little things like that. I'm going to make a habit of servicing them every time I change any fluid under the truck.

 

Let's hit the trails soon done your new tires will be on soon! I want to get out bad.

 

Me too! I need to reroute my exhaust and finally put my t-case skid and fuel tank skid on.

I'm sure @hoarder23 will want to go out on some shakedown runs soon as well. I owe him more beer

 

Interesting... I did not notice that at all for some reason.

I went with the good non greasable u-joint when I had them replaced on the drive shaft. The only one that can be greased is the one that actually attaches to the rear axle... guess I need to get a grease gun someday.

 

Sorry that the day sucks.

Thought about asking what was going on, but didn't want to pry.

 

Do it, it's cheap insurance!

 

Just a real shitty day at the office, no biggie. Today is shaping up to be much better!

 

Yep.

When do the tires arrive?

Burn it to the ground?

Wait... isn't the office your house?

 

They're on the brown truck today! I hope they show up with some daylight so that I can get a poser pic lol

Yep!

 

YES!

Still, burn it to the ground...

Rebuild.

Profit.

 

PROFIT!

 

I need Profit... mainly Cryptoprofit so i can buy truck parts...

Really hoping the weather cooperates this weekend so I can get the passenger fender and snorkel on...

 

No day is really good if your working. I just try and get through all work days dreaming of being it wheeling/camping!

 

I've got some work to do to stuff these bastards.

 

Tall and skinny!

What size are they again?

 

going from bald ass 255/85r16s (Maxxis Bighorn 762 MTs)

to 35/12.5r17 MT/Rs

 

awwwwwwwww yis.