Rear Bearings

[jamisobe]

I looked down at my rear wheel about an hour ago as I was finishing up a building project tonight in Boerne and had a small leak coming from the hub. Has anybody done their rear axle bearings? I did a search and saw that some kind of tool called an SST is used. Is this necessary? I wonder if NAPA has the seals I need? Also, does anybody know of any issues using Mobile 1 grease to do the job?

[Mr. Toad]

The SST is a three-pronged beastie for removing the lock-nut. But you probably know that.

Are you sure you need to do the bearings? If not, try replacing the axle seal and see if that stops the leak. Easy job, and you don't even have to remove the wheel.

Buy a flange gasket and an oil seal. Local parts store should have these, or at least be able to order them overnight. Dealer for sure.

1. Drain diff.
2. Remove the six hub nuts. There are cone washers under them
3. Remove cone washers by whacking the studs (or the end of the axle itself) with a brass mallet or brass drift.
4. Thread 2 bolts into the two extra holes on the axle flange. Tighten them evenly and they'll act like a puller. Pull out the axle once it's loose.
5. Use slide hammer to pull the old seal.
6. Reverse the process.

[BrettinSanAntonio]

I've never done the rear but I believe it's as easy as Sean says.

Sean: Wouldn't it be worth doing the bearings if you go into it that far?

The bearings and seals should be available at any parts house or of course at Toyota of Boerne.

[jamisobe]

Originally Posted by Mr. Toad

The SST is a three-pronged beastie for removing the lock-nut. But you probably know that.

Are you sure you need to do the bearings? If not, try replacing the axle seal and see if that stops the leak. Easy job, and you don't even have to remove the wheel.

Buy a flange gasket and an oil seal. Local parts store should have these, or at least be able to order them overnight. Dealer for sure.

1. Drain diff.
2. Remove the six hub nuts. There are cone washers under them
3. Remove cone washers by whacking the studs (or the end of the axle itself) with a brass mallet or brass drift.
4. Thread 2 bolts into the two extra holes on the axle flange. Tighten them evenly and they'll act like a puller. Pull out the axle once it's loose.
5. Use slide hammer to pull the old seal.
6. Reverse the process.

Thanks for the advice. The problem may very well be the axle seal which sounds like a fairly simple operation.

200k miles on the truck and the rear has never had the bearings regreased. The front was redone at 140k. 200k on the rear is probably beyond recommended PM schedule, but how likely is it that I could experience a rear bearing problem going forward? Ever hear of a failure on 80 rear hubs associated with bearing issues?

[jamisobe]

Originally Posted by BrettinSanAntonio

Sean: Wouldn't it be worth doing the bearings if you go into it that far?

I am wondering the same thing, but if there really isn't any record of bearing failure on high mileage 80's I may be dissuaded from turning a 1-2 hour job into a 4-5 hour job.

[Mr. Toad]

Originally Posted by BrettinSanAntonio

I've never done the rear but I believe it's as easy as Sean says.

Sean: Wouldn't it be worth doing the bearings if you go into it that far?

The bearings and seals should be available at any parts house or of course at Toyota of Boerne.

No. We're talking about a 10 minute job here. (That may be a slightly optimistic exaggeration ) Bearings will take considerably longer and cost substantially more in parts, should they be replaced.

I'd only go after the bearings if the seal didn't fix it or if I heard some bearing noises. Or if the truck has 250k or more on the clock.

[jamisobe]

I put another 100 miles or so on the truck since the hub leaked and I have not noticed any more fluid leaking. I pulled the axle out today, jacking up the offending wheel to keep the diff fluid from pouring out, and then used a bolt in the empty threaded holes to pull the flange apart.

Everything looked good and I had no fluid dripping out. Though there was a slight amount of oil present (Would this be from normal grease separation or is it common to have a little diff fluid present?) I could see that the grease around the spindle was clean and the oil seal was apparently in good condition. There was no flange gasket and the flange was sealed with blue rtv from 90k miles ago when I had the ARB installed.

I cleaned off the blue rtv sealer from the flange area, and since the Toyota dealer was closed and none of the parts stores carried the flange gasket, I went with the copper silicone sealer by itself. I am thinking that will fix it.

[Mr. Toad]

Sounds promising.

Grease breakdown? Maybe. Or maybe condensation over the last x thousand miles? But if there was a substantial amount of gear oil, then it came through the axle seal. Did it smell of sulfur?

How did the part of the axle where the seal rides look?

Make sure you check the fluid level in the diff every once in a while. Otherwise, run it. Good luck!

[jamisobe]

Originally Posted by Mr. Toad

Sounds promising.

Grease breakdown? Maybe. Or maybe condensation over the last x thousand miles? But if there was a substantial amount of gear oil, then it came through the axle seal. Did it smell of sulfur?

How did the part of the axle where the seal rides look?

Make sure you check the fluid level in the diff every once in a while. Otherwise, run it. Good luck!

The condensation theory sounds most plausible.
No yuk smell and a very small amount of fluid present. It was much cleaner than what I expected to find.

I thought of slightly changing the position of the seal in the spindle after searching on the subject in tech, but decided it was unnecessary when I looked at the axle where the seal rides and it was unblemished.

I appreciate the advice. Thank you for chiming in!