Front differential leaking seal (I'm told it's the pinion seal) (1 Viewer)

[42N8]

I have a 2000 Land Cruiser, and I called two differential shops in Tucson so that they could explain the scope of work. One said, they would have it done the same day, and cost would be just a bit over $100. The second shop said it was at least 10 hours labor, cannot go in from the inside, and the diff needs to be removed and disassembled, since there is a crush sleeve which cannot be re-used. I'd appreciate any input. Please bear in mind that I'm a retired librarian, with absolutely no mechanical knowledge who accidentally bought this cruiser 2 years ago and fell in love with it

 

[SoAZ100]

Have you called Dan's Toy shop in Tucson? They only service Toyota. They worked on my 99 Lx470's transfer case and can give you an accurate assessment of the work required.

 

[MJK]

Dan's Toy Shop is absolutely top notch. There is nobody better or more honest.

If they tell you that the diff needs disassembled or rebuilt, and they don't want to do it then call Tucson Differential.

Both have done excellent work for me in the past.

 

[42N8]

SoAZ100, thank you. I will call them first thing in the morning. The places I called were Tucson Differential and Western Differential. I recently moved back to Tucson after a year in Phoenix, and took it to Camelback Toyota (where they tried to buy it from me!) I didn' get a good feeling from the Toyota dealership here.

 

[42N8]

Thanks, MJK!

 

[MJK]

Yep.

I've not had good experiences with the Toyota dealers here. Desert is beyond horrible, Precision was merely distasteful and Lexus of Speedway is OK in an emergency. Dan and Angela are top notch people. I would trust them 100%.

 

[42N8]

I vowed to avoid Precision after going in there to get a couple of fobs and being informed that it would be over $1000. Needless to say, I'm still driving with the valet key.

 

[SoAZ100]

I vowed to avoid Precision after going in there to get a couple of fobs and being informed that it would be over $1000. Needless to say, I'm still driving with the valet key.

There are plenty of threads about key fob replacement here, but if all you have is the Valet it will be tough.

Keep us updated on your outcome with the diff leak. And toss picture of your ride in the photo thread so we can see what you're driving.

 

[MJK]

You'll have no worries with Dan's. I've known them for over 10 years, and they are always honest to a fault. They've helped me out numerous times, often with no charge phone advice. They service my family's cars, etc. You know what you are getting with them and they use only OEM parts, which sometimes aren't cheap.

I would ask them about the keys too, but I agree with the above. If you have no master, that could be expensive.

• It is my understanding that the official Toyota policy is that a new ECU needs installed, which then allows master keys to be programmed. See here
• I believe that some here have mailed thier existing ECU to be reflashed, and that allows you to program more master keys see here.
• I have also heard of some people cloning the valet keys too.

Paging @Mauser

 

[42N8]

And toss picture of your ride in the photo thread so we can see what you're driving.

I just did. I'm not sure I'm doing all of this correctly. It'll take me some time to learn the forum tools