Front Drive Shaft / Differential leak; Oil Seal & dust cover replacement (1 Viewer)

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Very difficult looking at picture, to detriment if at correct depth. It looks dry, around outer edge It should be lube for install.

I use Witsend (joey) seal setting tool now. It seats perfect every time. What I did before buying Joeys tool. Is take a screw driver on press blade on metal diff tube lip and look for impression on rubber of seal.

A good seal must first be square. If in cockeyed, it will leak. If square and in or out ~.5mm if will ride just fine on FDS seal point. FDS seal surface needs also to the have a good clean surface, with no imperfection.

Notes:
1) Clean lip and area of diff tube.
2) lube seal with grease lube around out seal surface. This helps seat in level (no binding)
3) tap in squarly. Don't start in cockeyed and than drive just high side.
4) Grease inner seal lip, before installing FDS.
5) Don'y bump seal with FDS, during install. Doing so may knock out of alignment (square)
 
It’s a little low- but I think where others have experienced leaks is when it’s not evenly set( higher on one side) or used non-OEM.
Well I ended up pulling it and putting a new one in. This time the seal rests about .5mm above the rim in the housing. I really wish Toyota would have put a natural stop in the housing. I do feel like there is some wiggle room based on the wear on the old shaft. It looks like you can go as deep as I did and it wouldn't be a problem, but it is what it is. I am going to install the axle today hopefully but I will take some more pictures.

It would probably be helpful for people who do this to take pictures of their seal install and then report back if there are any leaks.
 
Very difficult looking at picture, to detriment if at correct depth. It looks dry, around outer edge It should be lube for install.

I use Witsend (joey) seal setting tool now. It seats perfect every time. What I did before buying Joeys tool. Is take a screw driver on press blade on metal diff tube lip and look for impression on rubber of seal.

A good seal must first be square. If in cockeyed, it will leak. If square and in or out ~.5mm if will ride just fine on FDS seal point. FDS seal surface needs also to the have a good clean surface, with no imperfection.

Notes:
1) Clean lip and area of diff tube.
2) lube seal with grease lube around out seal surface. This helps seat in level (no binding)
3) tap in squarly. Don't start in cockeyed and than drive just high side.
4) Grease inner seal lip, before installing FDS.
5) Don'y bump seal with FDS, during install. Doing so may knock out of alignment (square)

I definitely greased both the seal and the diff tube with gear lube. I would also love to have joeys tool but hopefully I don't ever do this job again on this rig!

I ended up pulling the seal and putting a new one in (I bought two) and this time it sits a little high relative to the lip in the tub. Maybe 1/2mm or 3/4mm? It's also squarely set in there as far as I can tell...

I will take some pictures and then report back that it (hopefully) doesn't leak.
 
After changing (7) yes 7 CV axles, (4) driver (3) passenger axles (made the mistake of buying new Carquest GSP axles with a lifetime warranty) local dealer kept telling me they could not get new OEM axles inside 8 weeks. I was changing the OEM axle seals every time out of fear they would leak. (they did) having them square is most certainly important and they like to slide in when installing the CVs I found causing a small drip. Not sure if I was a little too generous with grease but after installing OEM axles (finally) and OEM seals no more drip and no more trips to Carquest.

IMG_0485[1].JPG


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IMG_0464[1].JPG
 
After changing (7) yes 7 CV axles, (4) driver (3) passenger axles (made the mistake of buying new Carquest GSP axles with a lifetime warranty) local dealer kept telling me they could not get new OEM axles inside 8 weeks. I was changing the OEM axle seals every time out of fear they would leak. (they did) having them square is most certainly important and they like to slide in when installing the CVs I found causing a small drip. Not sure if I was a little too generous with grease but after installing OEM axles (finally) and OEM seals no more drip and no more trips to Carquest.

View attachment 3048617

View attachment 3048620

View attachment 3048624
Each of the above pictured either broke or leaked driving out of the parking lot it was stranded in.
 
Well I ended up pulling it and putting a new one in. This time the seal rests about .5mm above the rim in the housing. I really wish Toyota would have put a natural stop in the housing. I do feel like there is some wiggle room based on the wear on the old shaft. It looks like you can go as deep as I did and it wouldn't be a problem, but it is what it is. I am going to install the axle today hopefully but I will take some more pictures.

It would probably be helpful for people who do this to take pictures of their seal install and then report back if there are any leaks.
If the new seal you installed wasn’t to your liking- you could have pulled and reset if un damaged.

FYI -look earlier in the thread there are pics posted of correct seating of seal
Post #85 , post #88 , among others


I think the WitsEnd tool would make easy work of it- I may have to get one
 
If the new seal you installed wasn’t to your liking- you could have pulled and reset if un damaged.

FYI -look earlier in the thread there are pics posted of correct seating of seal
Post #85 , post #88 , among others


I think the WitsEnd tool would make easy work of it- I may have to get one

I thought about trying that but I don't have suitable tool to do that. The one I have wrecks the seal :(
 
Well I’ve put about 1,800 miles on my newly installed CV axle and so far the seal is holding up. I’m including some pictures for reference as yet another example of a “properly installed” seal.

I also used Paul’s SST (oak stick) and it it worked fine. No doubt Joeys tool would be faster and more precise but I don’t do this for a living and don’t want to ever replace one of these seals again so I just took my time and was patient and it worked. Used the tool for both sides actually.

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I just bought the Wit's end tool and installed the oil seals. Makes this job super easy. I'd say totally worth the $79.44 to ensure they are mounted flush at perfect depth. FWIW - I bought Trakmotive HD Extreme CV Axles and caliper measurements look exact. Oil seals very tight against the sealing surface of axle. No leaks so far but no miles on them yet.

100 series CV Axles.JPG
 
I just bought the Wit's end tool and installed the oil seals. Makes this job super easy. I'd say totally worth the $79.44 to ensure they are mounted flush at perfect depth. FWIW - I bought Trakmotive HD Extreme CV Axles and caliper measurements look exact. Oil seals very tight against the sealing surface of axle. No leaks so far but no miles on them yet.

View attachment 3124892
How did well the new flanges slide onto those Trakmotove axles? Interested to know how they’ll work out- I see on their website they offer extended length cv axles- not sure if those are an option for 100series but always good to have more options
 
I've noticed a variations in the outer seal of after market FDS's. Number one being the larger rubber back side seal lip. Also some are not pre-lubed, as the OEMs are.
 
How did well the new flanges slide onto those Trakmotove axles? Interested to know how they’ll work out- I see on their website they offer extended length cv axles- not sure if those are an option for 100series but always good to have more options
My old CV axles had 249k on them so joints were sloppy and splines appeared swollen from corrosion in the old flages i trashed. The new oem flanges are not as tight on the splines as the old OEM setup but I don’t have a new oem axle for comparison. No clicking or anything like that though.
 
I have a minor but noticable leak on my passenger side front diff seal.

Should I go ahead and replace both sides (or all 3) or just the leaky one?
What do you mean all three?
 
Pulling the CV is a time consuming PITA so i would only replace the leaking seal. you will need the Witt’s end oil seal tool to do it correctly. It accurately seats the seal to the correct depth.

Yes there are 3 seals as treatsmash describes.
 
I've not replaced the Ft Differential bushing before. But I'd bet you can do without pulling front drive shafts or differential.

To answer you: Short method is when not removing the axle from the hub so grease cap and outer snap ring aren't removed.
Pull: Wheel, Brake Caliper (hanging to side with brake line on) and ABS wheel sensor (hang to side). Get all lines off knuckle for safety of parts and full motion of knuckle. Then separate upper ball joint from knuckle. Then slid under your truck, use brass drift and 5lb sledge hammer to knock out front drive shaft where it goes into differential.
Tip: Remove bracket from knuckle, leaving on brake line. This keeps from bending or breaking bracket of brake line.
Notes: Per FSM: Oil Seal (if removed) and Inner Snap Ring are not reusable. Point gap of snap ring down during install.
OK, I think I am almost set, final question.

Which snap rings are we talking about that need to be replaced?

There are two on the parts map from Partsouq and after staring at it for a half an hour I realized I'm too dumb to figure it out.



432903A.jpg
 
Snap rings on the outer stub- outside of the hub flange (you have to remove them in order to remove the rotor/hub from spindle-

Do not re-use outer snap ring unless it’s a trail repair to get you home. They stretch on removal and will eventually come off when reused.

Cruiser outfitters sells snap ring kit, however only the three thickest ones are generally used.

Review the wheel bearing threads to know how to measure for snap ring thickness.
 
Snap rings on the outer stub- outside of the hub flange (you have to remove them in order to remove the rotor/hub from spindle-

Do not re-use outer snap ring unless it’s a trail repair to get you home. They stretch on removal and will eventually come off when reused.

Cruiser outfitters sells snap ring kit, however only the three thickest ones are generally used.

Review the wheel bearing threads to know how to measure for snap ring thickness.
Oh s*** I already replaced those when I did my wheel bearings a few months ago, but I thought we were doing this the "short method" without removing those snap rings.

So are you saying if we don't remove the grease cap we don't need new snap rings?
 
Oh s*** I already replaced those when I did my wheel bearings a few months ago, but I thought we were doing this the "short method" without removing those snap rings.

So are you saying if we don't remove the grease cap we don't need new snap rings?
Short method?

What’s your plan to remove the axle with out removing the grease cap and snap ring first?

Study the FSM: [SA] Suspension & Axle section
 

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