leaks and howls

[Mark Briggs]

bought a 60 some rust but everything works and the interior is great. The rear diff clunks a bit and howls. I topped off the diff and it made no diff. How long will it go like this? and if it fails while driving will it lock up? ruin the axle housing? Or simply make a extreemly horrid clunking as it coasts to rest. Currently there is no adverse or severe vibration, is it wise to drive it? I intend to rebuild the thing in a couple of months. Also I,ve got bad seals all over the drive parts. The knuckles need wipers and axle seals are leaky. yet if I keep it greased and dont use the 4wheel drive for a while does it realy hurt anything? I have always loved the toyota landcruiser and am glad to have one but I don't want to make the problems worse than they need to be.

 

[lovetoski]

Lots of questions...
On the rear diff, clunking could be normal wear. Do you have abnormal play at the pinion? How much play is there in the diff? While you're in that neighborhood, is the u-joint OK - that can clunk also.

Diff howl might be more of a problem. This is probably a sign of excessive wear. I've heard that if the pinion bearing fails while you're driving the diff can lock up completely. This could result in loss of vehicle control. Maybe a drain and refill + plus minimal driving is in order.

On all the other "leaking driveline" items, been there...keep the various fluids up to the full mark, and fix as you can. Keep in mind that leaking front axle seals probably means that the knuckle bearings and wheel bearings have grease that is contaminated by gear oil from the diff. The more you drive it this way, the more likely they are to need to be replaced. They are tough, and maybe you are planning to replace them anyway.

Whatever you do, fix it right, use OEM parts, and you'll get long service out of it.

Best Regards,