Front diff leak (1 Viewer)

[CharlieS]

Make sure those lower bolts are all torqued to spec. My front diff weeped in the same area after regear because I hadn't torqued those bolts to spec. It was easily fixed.

 

[Riaz]

personally i would leave it alone, its a minor seep that you not going to lose any appreciable amount of oil from. if you really want to try to do something about it you could remove the bolts and put a dab of red fipg on the bolt threads.

I am bit worried with heat driving long distance maybe get worse and I lose lots of oil while driving and ruin my front diff. I was thinking of taking one bolt at a time put some gasket sealant and do them up .

 

[bigredmachine]

i dont think that your going to lose anywhere near what you think you will. yes small drips can add up over time but your not going to damage the diff by losing an oz or two over a few months

 

[Riaz]

i dont think that your going to lose anywhere near what you think you will. yes small drips can add up over time but your not going to damage the diff by losing an oz or two over a few months

Question is how can I fix ? Do you think if I take them bolts one at a time put some gasket sealant and do it up will stop the leak.?

 

[bloc]

I second what Charlie said. Those bolts help hold the clamshell together, and if they are loose the loads and even the bearing preload when not driving can push the case halves apart causing a leak. This is part of why I'd be reluctant to remove the bolts for new sealant, even one at a time. Plus oil on those threads will change the clamping force for a given bolt torque.

How many miles on it after cleaning before the oil spread in that way? Thin oil or not, there is a limit to how quickly oil can weep through the case half interface and those bolt threads. It simply can't all dump out at once, there isn't the flow path.

You can check the level of the fluid by bending a wire and inserting into the fill hole.

 

[Riaz]

I second what Charlie said. Those bolts help hold the clamshell together, and if they are loose the loads and even the bearing preload when not driving can push the case halves apart causing a leak. This is part of why I'd be reluctant to remove the bolts for new sealant, even one at a time. Plus oil on those threads will change the clamping force for a given bolt torque.

How many miles on it after cleaning before the oil spread in that way? Thin oil or not, there is a limit to how quickly oil can weep through the case half interface and those bolt threads. It simply can't all dump out at once, there isn't the flow path.

You can check the level of the fluid by bending a wire and inserting into the fill hole.

I checked the oil level was below the fill plug but not too low I think it must just started happening . Good point not to try taking them bolts out . Any suggestions or shall I just take a hit and take it Toyota dealership but I hate taking it to Toyota 1st they too expensive 2nd they don't do proper job. Toyota dealership service my vehicle last time didn't replace new crush washer in the rear diff fill plug it was weep out oil I had to replace it myself. It sucks.

 

[Riaz]

Make sure those lower bolts are all torqued to spec. My front diff weeped in the same area after regear because I hadn't torqued those bolts to spec. It was easily fixed.

What is the proper torque spec ? Please advice

 

[Riaz]

I checked the oil level was below the fill plug but not too low I think it must just started happening . Good point not to try taking them bolts out . Any suggestions or shall I just take a hit and take it Toyota dealership but I hate taking it to Toyota 1st they too expensive 2nd they don't do proper job. Toyota dealership service my vehicle last time didn't replace new crush washer in the rear diff fill plug it was weep out oil I had to replace it myself. It sucks.

So I found the leak the engine cove was wet I removed the engine cove to see where the leak was coming from gave it a good clean left it over nite took it for a short drive around the block and as per photos telling the story maybe I drove 5km max.

 

[bloc]

I can't see why this would start happening all of a sudden, and especially not that it's worth taking to toyota, but that is up to you.

Realistically fluid -cant- leak out of this all that fast unless something is actually cracked, and that is very unlikely without some incident that damaged it.

155Nm/114ft-lbf for the three bolts through the mount into the diff.

Found what leak?

 

[Riaz]

I can't see why this would start happening all of a sudden, and especially not that it's worth taking to toyota, but that is up to you.

Realistically fluid -cant- leak out of this all that fast unless something is actually cracked, and that is very unlikely without some incident that damaged it.

155Nm/114ft-lbf for the three bolts through the mount into the diff.

Found what leak?

 

[Riaz]

I can't see why this would start happening all of a sudden, and especially not that it's worth taking to toyota, but that is up to you.

Realistically fluid -cant- leak out of this all that fast unless something is actually cracked, and that is very unlikely without some incident that damaged it.

155Nm/114ft-lbf for the three bolts through the mount into the diff.

Found what leak?

Thank you for your advice really appreciate it. I was talking about the same leak sorry I missed your 1st question was trying to explain.

 

[Riaz]

I can't see why this would start happening all of a sudden, and especially not that it's worth taking to toyota, but that is up to you.

Realistically fluid -cant- leak out of this all that fast unless something is actually cracked, and that is very unlikely without some incident that damaged it.

155Nm/114ft-lbf for the three bolts through the mount into the diff.

Found what leak?

Me too can't understand why it just started leaking it's parked in my garage most of the time as I am so busy hardly ever take it out occasionally switch into 4 wheel drive to work out the actuator as another horror stories I hear the actuator start to play up.

 

[linuxgod]

Torque specs vary. I think those 3 bolts are the ones which should be 114 ft lbs, vs 48 ft lbs for the other 11 bolts. I suspect when your diff was reassembled all the bolts were torqued to 48 ft lbs. Grab a torque wrench, set it to 114 ft lbs, and tighten these. If they were not tightened correctly it'll be immediately obvious when they rotate like a full turn. If they are correct you'll know right away.

If you don't have a torque wrench or can't get good leverage, ask a local shop to put it on a lift and do it. Should be about 5 minutes of work to check/tighten them.

 

[TeCKis300]

At this point

- Can't hurt to check the torque of those few bolts.

- If that doesn't work, can't hurt to pull bolts one at a time to put some RTV on the threads. It's possible when they assembled the clamshell, they didn't bridge RTV on both sides of the bolt hole

 

[bloc]

It just seems strange to me to go this long then suddenly start leaking if a sealant install defect was present from the factory. I don't see anywhere that the diff was opened for gear install..

 

[Riaz]

Torque specs vary. I think those 3 bolts are the ones which should be 114 ft lbs, vs 48 ft lbs for the other 11 bolts. I suspect when your diff was reassembled all the bolts were torqued to 48 ft lbs. Grab a torque wrench, set it to 114 ft lbs, and tighten these. If they were not tightened correctly it'll be immediately obvious when they rotate like a full turn. If they are correct you'll know right away.

If you don't have a torque wrench or can't get good leverage, ask a local shop to put it on a lift and do it. Should be about 5 minutes of work to check/tighten them.
View attachment 3209968

It has never been pulled apart only work done was right side drive axle seal. But I will check the torque thank you very much for your advice really appreciated.

 

[Riaz]

It just seems strange to me to go this long then suddenly start leaking if a sealant install defect was present from the factory. I don't see anywhere that the diff was opened for gear install..

Yes it can be factory fault. It's has never been pulled apart only work done was oil change and right hand side drive axle seal replaced.

 

[Riaz]

At this point

- Can't hurt to check the torque of those few bolts.

- If that doesn't work, can't hurt to pull bolts one at a time to put some RTV on the threads. It's possible when they assembled the clamshell, they didn't bridge RTV on both sides of the bolt hole

Thank you I will try to torque the bolts .

 

[bigredmachine]

Question is how can I fix ? Do you think if I take them bolts one at a time put some gasket sealant and do it up will stop the leak.?

i would try fipg on the bolts, youll want to use the red fipg. if you actually want to reseal it youll have to pull the axles and diff to split the clam shell and reseal

 

[Riaz]

i would try fipg on the bolts, youll want to use the red fipg. if you actually want to reseal it youll have to pull the axles and diff to split the clam shell and reseal

I just checked the torque it's tight to spec. I pull them out one at a time put some red red loctite 510 and torque it back up to 115NM . The bolts are very slightly bent I believe it's under so much stress. And you are 100 percent right at some stage the diff has to be split open to reseal it I see some other bolts which comes through the clamp shell is very slightly wet. Maybe I am a unlucky owner or it is a common problem yet to be discovered by other owners.