Curious to hear what it cost to R&R in Tulsa. Assume you took the axle in to your local dealer? Were they experienced with this job or was this a first for them?
E brakes full of oil?
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Curious to hear what it cost to R&R in Tulsa. Assume you took the axle in to your local dealer? Were they experienced with this job or was this a first for them?
Independent shop that I've used before. $70
The guy that did it is an ASE master mechanic and knows his s***. Not sure if he has done a 100, but was familiar with toyota semi float axles for sure.I ordered all the parts from Beno. I'll be rebuilding the drivers side in a few weeks on my Christmas vaca. I can see it's leaking too, just not at the rate the passenger side was. I bet I can do it a second time in a day instead of 2.5 lol
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So at 280k miles, my LX470 starting throwing diff oil all over the brakes and the wheel. After reading this thread and talking to other mud members it seemed obvious I was in for an axle rebuild. I had hoped just my seals were bad, so i purchased those at the dealer and went ahead and pulled the axle. Once the axle was out you could clearly see the bearing had failed. As @spressomon said, when that oil is coming out of the hub, you need a full rebuild.
Below are a couple pictures of my bearing. As you can see, the seals are completely blown. I'm not sure what the cause of this was. The breather on my diff is not plugged and allows air to pass. I confirmed this by removing and blowing through it. Has it started to restrict air flow and still allowing pressure to build, which blew the seals? Who knows...What i'm thinking is the bearing failed and metal from the bearing tore open the bearing seal, and then that metal tore open the axle seal. That's just a guess based on what my bearing looks like.
*Updated theory: Diff oil is FULL of metal particles. It looks like a super metallic paint with all the metal particles in there. Very possible these small metals pieces slowly wore on my seals. My advice would be to follow the recommended fluid change on the diff to avoid metal in the diff. It's quite possible my diff oil is the original fluid at 280k miles. Keeping this fluid fresh will minimize wear and prevent seal failure.
I know most of this is information is already known, but i just want to share my experience for anyone that may come across this. This is nothing to get too excited about. I had the axle pulled in 1.5 hours. Local shop will do the rebuild, not sure the cost yet as i will be supplying parts. I will report back with the damage.
Below are a couple pictures of my bearing. As you can see, the seals are completely blown. I'm not sure what the cause of this was. The breather on my diff is not plugged and allows air to pass. I confirmed this by removing and blowing through it. Has it started to restrict air flow and still allowing pressure to build, which blew the seals? Who knows...What i'm thinking is the bearing failed and metal from the bearing tore open the bearing seal, and then that metal tore open the axle seal. That's just a guess based on what my bearing looks like.
*Updated theory: Diff oil is FULL of metal particles. It looks like a super metallic paint with all the metal particles in there. Very possible these small metals pieces slowly wore on my seals. My advice would be to follow the recommended fluid change on the diff to avoid metal in the diff. It's quite possible my diff oil is the original fluid at 280k miles. Keeping this fluid fresh will minimize wear and prevent seal failure.
I know most of this is information is already known, but i just want to share my experience for anyone that may come across this. This is nothing to get too excited about. I had the axle pulled in 1.5 hours. Local shop will do the rebuild, not sure the cost yet as i will be supplying parts. I will report back with the damage.
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Eliot, just because I'm lazy and don't want to go back through all there posts , what is your mileage and what is your GVW? The entire "why" this happens is still a relative mystery to me. I have common mitigating data points associated with each of the rear axle seal failures I've had, but still not conclusive ...
, what is your mileage and what is your GVW? The entire "why" this happens is still a relative mystery to me. I have common mitigating data points associated with each of the rear axle seal failures I've had, but still not conclusive ...
280k miles, and GVM is stock + 100 lbs in tools i carry around in the trunk so say about 5500 pounds.
I would be interested in your theories and any preventative maintenance that may prevent this. I would hate to be doing the LH side in a few months, or re-doing the RH side. I've heard you've been through a few rear axle bearings, but i did read that you had a banged up axle housing so I assumed that may be causing the issue.
The pictures of my bearing aren't great, i'll try and get one this evening with some better light. It almost looks as though some metal got caught in the bearing seal and ripped that apart. I assumed the only place that metal would come from is the bearing itself so i figured the bearing tore itself apart and then tore up the seals.
I unfortunately had to drive the back roads from Myrtle beach to get to Charleston during the 100 year flood we had two years ago. I went through multiple pools of standing and moving water that was well above the axle. Thank god for my LC, i wouldn't have made it through that drive without it. Maybe that outer seal failed and allowed water to the bearing. There's no telling...
I would be interested in your theories and any preventative maintenance that may prevent this. I would hate to be doing the LH side in a few months, or re-doing the RH side. I've heard you've been through a few rear axle bearings, but i did read that you had a banged up axle housing so I assumed that may be causing the issue.
The pictures of my bearing aren't great, i'll try and get one this evening with some better light. It almost looks as though some metal got caught in the bearing seal and ripped that apart. I assumed the only place that metal would come from is the bearing itself so i figured the bearing tore itself apart and then tore up the seals.
I unfortunately had to drive the back roads from Myrtle beach to get to Charleston during the 100 year flood we had two years ago. I went through multiple pools of standing and moving water that was well above the axle. Thank god for my LC, i wouldn't have made it through that drive without it. Maybe that outer seal failed and allowed water to the bearing. There's no telling...
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A couple of theories: I believe your rear axle issue is mainly attributed to the higher mileage and maybe more/less a PM interval for this type of assembly & bearing. IIRC the 80-Series' full float has a PM of 60k miles? So Toyota was able to extend the maintenance interval 400-500% which is what the design engineers were after. Christo and Georg may be able to offer better insight.
I believe the issues I have experienced with my rear axle system are mainly due to my GVW and the type of terrain that places significant torsional stress on the axle housing/bearing assembly. Aside from one of the rebuilds not being done properly (done by a Toyota dealership and it failed within the 1-year/12k mile warranty on same and was repaired satisfactorily at no additional charge) all of my rear axle seal failures occurred after my big Utah and/or trailer in tow off-road trips.
At 8,000lbs GVW rolling weight for my rig in touring mode, not including trailers I've had in tow, I am surely well above the design perimeters for this axle system. I believe there is enough flex in the axle housing itself, in the above scenario and GVW, to allow just enough distortion at the seal-axle interface and/or undue pressure on the axle bearing itself to initiate the problem.
The other situation, somewhat common in off-road racing circles, is the issue of sucking in contaminants from the seal side during deep water crossings associated with inadequate differential/housing ventilation. If the diff assembly is hot and cold water is introduced in significant quantity the vacuum created by not having enough free flow ventilation causes dirty contaminated water to be sucked in through the axle end side: Path of least resistance. Not sure if this has any practical meaning for us casual off-roaders or not. But in racing circles its a bona fide issue.
I believe the issues I have experienced with my rear axle system are mainly due to my GVW and the type of terrain that places significant torsional stress on the axle housing/bearing assembly. Aside from one of the rebuilds not being done properly (done by a Toyota dealership and it failed within the 1-year/12k mile warranty on same and was repaired satisfactorily at no additional charge) all of my rear axle seal failures occurred after my big Utah and/or trailer in tow off-road trips.
At 8,000lbs GVW rolling weight for my rig in touring mode, not including trailers I've had in tow, I am surely well above the design perimeters for this axle system. I believe there is enough flex in the axle housing itself, in the above scenario and GVW, to allow just enough distortion at the seal-axle interface and/or undue pressure on the axle bearing itself to initiate the problem.
The other situation, somewhat common in off-road racing circles, is the issue of sucking in contaminants from the seal side during deep water crossings associated with inadequate differential/housing ventilation. If the diff assembly is hot and cold water is introduced in significant quantity the vacuum created by not having enough free flow ventilation causes dirty contaminated water to be sucked in through the axle end side: Path of least resistance. Not sure if this has any practical meaning for us casual off-roaders or not. But in racing circles its a bona fide issue.
2001LC
SILVER Star
FWIW: I and others have noted metal shavings in rear differential lube. I found them at 129K and again at 167K. I did not see at 97K change, but possible didn't look close enough. This is in addition to metal filings covering drain plug magnet, which is normally found in front in gear cases.
