Little help with troubleshooting?

[VSPro9]

Took the GX in for a flush of fluids in diffs and transmission, had a few questions on what they found.

The manifolds i don’t care about that’s just how it’s gonna be, obviously I’m not paying them for the light lol.

My question is on the two seals listed. I didn’t do a diff drop when i got my lift, should i consider getting that done? I think that could be causing my front driveshaft leak.

As for the transfer case driveshaft seal, isn’t that a bit much? My understanding is you just drop the axle and pull the seal off the Tcase? Edit: if my diff breather is clogged could that force a leak?

Any insights?

 

[rommelrommel]

The axle seal wouldn't be effected by a diff drop at all. Nor would the driveshaft seal. If they're leaking they're just wearing out. Watch the diff and transfer case levels, if they don't go down it's not a meaningful leak and you may just want to live with it. That does seem pretty expensive for a simple seal like that but I don't know exactly what's involved.

 

[jiggletits]

Did he check trans/t-case fluid levels?

Not sure if this is the case on the GX, but on my other Toyotas, a more important leak to look out for is the seal in between the transmission and the transfer case. You cannot see this seal without separating the two, but there is a way to check; If that seal goes bad, usually the transmission leaks fluid into the t-case. T-case will be overfilled, trans will be underfilled. This causes the t-case to over-pressurize internally, and then you get seepage at the t-case output shaft. Also causes pre-mature wear in the trans.

Again, not sure if the GX trans is arranged like other Toyotas. I have never had to pull one. The trucks I had issues with this on were also manual transmissions, so this may be a moot point.

Otherwise... if it's not leaving a drip or showing up when you check the level... I wouldn't worry about those seals man. Wait until they make a noticeable mess then change them.

 

[VSPro9]

The vehicle was in for flush on differentials transfer and transmission. Fluids reported to look good. The axle leak is a “weap” he described it as. The transfer case I’m noticing 10-15 drops under it in the garage overnight.

My Indy mechanic said they don’t know what they’re doing and I’m bringing it to him to handle the seals.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

Darn dealers...more often than not...they see an old rig and recommend $2K to $4K in repairs. Let's hope that they don't report their service recommendations to Carfax as services offered, but owner refused service!

I sometimes take advantage of the 40-point inspection and oil change offer from AAA at any participating repair shop which includes the Toyota dealer near me. It's usually like $40 for regular oil and $65 for synthetic or something like that.

Their inspections seem to be comprehensive. Their repair prices out of this world. You are doing the right thing going to your trusted independent mechanic.

The vehicle was in for flush on differentials transfer and transmission. Fluids reported to look good. The axle leak is a “weap” he described it as. The transfer case I’m noticing 10-15 drops under it in the garage overnight.

My Indy mechanic said they don’t know what they’re doing and I’m bringing it to him to handle the seals.

 

[jiggletits]

To be fair, old rigs usually NEED $2-4k in repairs. It amazes me how many people still get top dollar out of them when selling used.

To put it another way; I wouldn't fix your truck for less than $150/hour either. Hard to blame dealers when they are backed up for weeks. Out of pure laziness I called to get my Tundra in for an oil change. Soonest they could get me in was mid December.

 

[Rednexus]

Seal replacements usually aren't too terrible. If you have a friend/family member who likes to wrench and can help you get up to speed, I'd recommend trying it as a DIY. Granted I have not attempted the inner axle seals or rear T-case seal myself, but the axles (and outer axles seals) are doable as a 3/10 on the DIY difficulty scale and 1-2 hours of work per side. With an older, somewhat expensive vehicle like a GX, you can potentially save a lot of money doing DIY wrenching. It makes it much cheaper to keep these things on the road.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

@VSPro9 I had to replace both my catalytic converters earlier this year. I know the GX470 has integrated exhaust/catalytic converters that attach to the engine. Maybe the dealer is quoting $2855 because it includes new OEM integrated catalytic converters.

Does Michigan require smog checks to register your car? If not, then you can let the lights live on. In my state, I have to pass smog, so I decided to replace the two cats after resetting the codes (420,430) like 20 times and them codes coming back. This was after replacing the downstream and upstream O2 sensors and cleaning the MAF.

So, I bought the two Lexus OEM cats and the two exhaust manifold seals online from a Lexus dealer for $986 shipped and no upfront taxes. I paid $200 in labor to get them installed. My codes have been gone for 6 months since I got them replaced and it passed smog at the time of the repair. Just in case this is useful information to you and to highlight that the dealer does charge at least twice as much as a trusted independent mechanic.

 

[VSPro9]

Seal replacements usually aren't too terrible. If you have a friend/family member who likes to wrench and can help you get up to speed, I'd recommend trying it as a DIY. Granted I have not attempted the inner axle seals or rear T-case seal myself, but the axles (and outer axles seals) are doable as a 3/10 on the DIY difficulty scale and 1-2 hours of work per side. With an older, somewhat expensive vehicle like a GX, you can potentially save a lot of money doing DIY wrenching. It makes it much cheaper to keep these things on the road.

I wasn’t raised working on vehicles and have no tools, but my Indy mechanic has been teaching me. Very good guy. My BIL has a lift and heated barn, but it’s always full of projects.

 

[VSPro9]

@VSPro9 I had to replace both my catalytic converters earlier this year. I know the GX470 has integrated exhaust/catalytic converters that attach to the engine. Maybe the dealer is quoting $2855 because it includes new OEM integrated catalytic converters.

Does Michigan require smog checks to register your car? If not, then you can let the lights live on. In my state, I have to pass smog, so I decided to replace the two cats after resetting the codes (420,430) like 20 times and them codes coming back. This was after replacing the downstream and upstream O2 sensors and cleaning the MAF.

So, I bought the two Lexus OEM cats and the two exhaust manifold seals online from a Lexus dealer for $986 shipped and no upfront taxes. I paid $200 in labor to get them installed. My codes have been gone for 6 months since I got them replaced and it passed smog at the time of the repair. Just in case this is useful information to you and to highlight that the dealer does charge at least twice as much as a trusted independent mechanic.

Yea the code I’m throwing on the cats is 430, Michigan doesn’t require smogs so I’m letting them be. I’ve heard of people tricking the sensor to get the light off but haven’t looked into it yet

 

[Jeffe13]

Ask them to send you pictures of the leaks

 

[VSPro9]

Ask them to send you pictures of the leaks

I have it back from them now, gonna have my Indy guy handle the leaks