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4x4mike
07-16-2008, 09:29 PM
Last month I noticed the leak in my rear axle was a little out of hand. I replaced the inner axle seal and the weeping wheel cylinder. While I was in there I tossed in some new Toyota pads. It's been good since then but today I looked under and checked it. It was good but now the other side leaks, this time only gear oil (I smelt it). So easy fix, right? Yeah.

Question is why now the other side? After I fixed the first side I cleaned off the factory breather (BTW it was operational and would open and close)and made sure it wasn't clogged or closed. Could it be that there is another problem and now it's coming out of the weakest link (the other side) now that the one side has been fixed? I was reading somewhere after the first repair that a bad wheel bearing could cause the seal to fail. I believe it but doubt that is it because it's happened on both sides plus I have no other indication it could be a bearing. What do you guys think? I just don't want to be throwing away good gear oil and brake fluid, or pulling rear ends all the time.
I think I'd rather be playing with my jug
4runnerchevy
07-17-2008, 07:24 AM
Check your differential breather. If it gets clogged then the only place for your oil to expand is out the seals, or the seals could be just plain bad.
4x4mike
07-17-2008, 08:16 AM
It's been checked and is fine. That's why I wondering what caused this new leak, just a few weeks later.
YotaFun
07-17-2008, 08:24 AM
How many miles on the truck?
saulgoode
07-17-2008, 03:03 PM
Man I just had to replace mine on both sides, they were the original seals and after 208k miles the pass side had oil all over the tire and the driver side the oil was just on the brake drum. Pretty easy to change out though, still waiting to see if new seals solve the problem, hopefully!
YotaFun
07-17-2008, 04:01 PM
Reason I ask is, when I was in my accident, I had to get a new axle put in.
I already had the seals done at around 100K and I have the diff breather done after the repair.
Well when I got my new axle, the seal went on the right side, and I know the breather was working so I chalked it up to mileage since the axle they put in had the same mileage as the truck, and that was only 120K....
Small_words
07-17-2008, 07:28 PM
I'm not a mechanic and opinions are like assholes. Everyone has them and they all stink. That said, it's possible that both sides were problematic but the failing one allowed the pressure to release (fluid leak). When you fixed it, the fully functional side pushed the other over the edge to leaking.
4x4mike
07-17-2008, 08:50 PM
I'm not a mechanic and opinions are like assholes. Everyone has them and they all stink. That said, it's possible that both sides were problematic but the failing one allowed the pressure to release (fluid leak). When you fixed it, the fully functional side pushed the other over the edge to leaking.


This is what I was thinking as well. I've got just over 90K on it and have owned it since Christmas. For the most part the 4runner was taken care of and not used offroad or for towing. I've replaced the seal and claened everything really well. I plan to drive it some this weekend and see what happens. When I replaced one of the seals the first time I played around with the breather and it seemed fine. Today I pulled it off and soaked it in Simple Green then shot it full of brake cleaner flowed by a good compressed air blasting. It looks good and now both axles seals are new.

Now we wait.