jblueridge
SILVER Star
Oh man, that sucks!
The input shaft is eating the seals?
The input shaft is eating the seals?
Builds The "Red Rocket" Troopy (2 Viewers)
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
Oh man, I feel your pain. It took me the better part of 7 months after the first test drive to get the Prado to a point where I trusted it to be a daily. Even after that I ended up having to re-plumb the cooling system twice, remove the transmission to work on and replace the clutch twice, and right now I am dealing with the second sheared off motor mount bracket in the space of a year.
The photo of the seal damage looks like it got nicked when the seal retainer was installed. Did you notice any grooves worn in the input shaft when you had it apart? That big of a leak indicates an improperly sized seal, a majorly damaged seal or failure of the seal retainer gasket. The other possibility, I hate to say, is that there is too much runout between your crank center and input shaft center, causing the input shaft to sit at an angle.
The photo of the seal damage looks like it got nicked when the seal retainer was installed. Did you notice any grooves worn in the input shaft when you had it apart? That big of a leak indicates an improperly sized seal, a majorly damaged seal or failure of the seal retainer gasket. The other possibility, I hate to say, is that there is too much runout between your crank center and input shaft center, causing the input shaft to sit at an angle.
Sometimes it works out when you modify/swap/change do something different from what the factory engineers wanted. It's up to you to decide at what point you stop fighting it. Time is valuable. Some time periods in your life are more valuable than others. It's up to you to make that decision. Your efforts have been valient. Should you choose to set the troopy on blocks for awhile till you graduate and have time/money/etc..... The community and everyone will understand............I can't imagine what is blowing those seals or why.,........................I will tell you this as someone who spent at least 1 year of college distracted by a landcruiser FJ40 with troubles. : Never for the rest of your life will you be thrust into an environment with so many other attractive, smart, young people seeking out education and purpose for the rest of their life with no distracting obligation other than learning and meeting new people.. Don't let the LC issues mess it up for you. I'm not going to tell you to give up and buy a prius, but you have gold in your hands don't let it slip by. Perhaps you've learned enough/built enough cred for sure in your efforts for now. It's up to you to make the right call. ....,,,,,,,,, Good luck and best wishes!
sark
42601-60262-03
This thread is a rollercoaster everytime I check it 
If I were you, I'd be tearing it apart again at the very least out of spite, to see what happened. Can I assume that you have the T4R to drive as a backup?
If I were you, I'd be tearing it apart again at the very least out of spite, to see what happened. Can I assume that you have the T4R to drive as a backup?
Dude, I am really sorry this happened yet again.... you certainly have been practicing patience. I think its turned into a christmas/fall break project. its till worth keeping and getting it right. dont give up! the upside is you will really really know your cruiser mechanically after its all said and done. I hope you still have that 80s 4runner. Honestly I would have loved an 80s 4runner in college. I just had my regular cab tacoma.
Did you put RTV on the input shaft seal bolts? Not saying this is the cause. But good to do if re-doing it.
sounds like the trans and engine are not aligned, i had a problem on a customers cruiser where the clutch disk center kept tearing from the outer, turns out the input shaft was just ever so bent, flexing the clutch plate center ever so lightly and causing to fatigue.
Heavy gearcases are hard to align without locating pins. People do it. Sometimes it works out fine. not sure the best way to align and bolt up heavy gearcases without locating pins. Vertically? Tilt the engine on its nose and lower down the tranny by it's tailshaft so there is no tilting/side pressure as you center it and bolt it down solid?.................Perhaps some tranny's have more durable/beefy bearings and seals that live longer with less than perfect alignment?
excactly, its been done that way by many a shade tree fabricator.
- Thread starter
- #1,330
Seals arrived today, I had a choice from 3. an SKF seal, OEM Toyota, and a china ebay seal. Out of the 3, the Toyota seal fit the best in my opinion, still felt good but wasn't as tight as the others on the shaft. So back to @LuckyDevil's garage I went. Dropped the transmission in 1 and a half hours, getting better. Had everything all wrapped up after 5 hours. The prior seal looked just absolutely toasted. Ruined.
Everything inside the bell housing was coated in a thick film of gear oil... other than the clutch! I don't know what kinda physics took place but I'm not complaining.
I read online once for axle seals to pack the innards full of grease to help provide the seal with any structural support, I've always done it and figured I'd try it with this one.
and for the grand results....
this is after 40 miles of driving. Every 10 I would get out, and there would be about this much oil. Wipe it off, drive another 10, get out and this much oil would be back... I mean its significantly better, not dripping on the ground or anything but its still leaking... Progress?
Everything inside the bell housing was coated in a thick film of gear oil... other than the clutch! I don't know what kinda physics took place but I'm not complaining.
I read online once for axle seals to pack the innards full of grease to help provide the seal with any structural support, I've always done it and figured I'd try it with this one.
and for the grand results....
this is after 40 miles of driving. Every 10 I would get out, and there would be about this much oil. Wipe it off, drive another 10, get out and this much oil would be back... I mean its significantly better, not dripping on the ground or anything but its still leaking... Progress?
- Thread starter
- #1,331
No idea, I guess? Does indeed suck
YUPPP, it seems to be the tiny small details that cause the months of issues later down the line. Didnt notice any grooves in the shaft, but we sanded it down with a fine sandpaper and it was looking much better. My only other guess is the runout like your mentioned, man that would suck but very well could be.
Thanks for all of your wisdom, its such a pain cause the troopy is what made college so fun. This past year wasn't nearly as fun for me or any of my friends without it, yea we still had fun but almost all activities last year were centered around the troopy. It's kinda stupid how much a car can change things. Thats why I figured I'd give it all I had this summer, yea I love the car but there are countless others out there who got just as much enjoyment from it as I did. Plus I was missing out on that $500 per weekend ubering for frat parties lol. These next couple of days wether that seal holds or not will determine much for the future of this year.
The Red Rocket has been a roller coaster every time I've driven it... or worked on it. I do have the 4Runner as a backup, along with the Mercedes. I'm not a big fan of gasoline engines and the 4Runner gets like 16mpg AND is slow as balls, meanwhile the merc wagon gets 28mpg and moves decently.This thread is a rollercoaster everytime I check it
If I were you, I'd be tearing it apart again at the very least out of spite, to see what happened. Can I assume that you have the T4R to drive as a backup?
Yes 100%. I now have extreme confidence to really repair and tear into pretty much any part of the troopy now in any scenario. This has been such a pain but I hope my repetition of having things continually fail over and over again pays off way in the future when something explodes on me in the middle of nowhere. Hoping to get the 4runner and merc wagon up to school with me.
Yes I did, thanks for mentioning it!
Exactly what I've been thinking, time will tell.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a big IF, but if this seal holds and just continues to leak a small amount I'll send the troopy everywhere. If it gets worse in a couple of months I'll take it out and replace it. 5 hours to pull the tranny and have it back in isn't bad at all. My only guess if it holds for now is that the first time when I installed the engine and took the retainer off to get it machined I wasn't careful and slapped it all back together (and reused the old seal) causing it to leak. Replaced it the 2nd time and my only theory now is Partsouq may have shipped me a very old one? The rubber feels much more stiff and dry than the new seals and it only has 20-something miles on it. I installed this same exact toyota seal (from the dealer this time) the exact same way as I did last time but it has lasted twice as long... why? I have no clue, I Was careful and meticulous each time doing it and didn't differ from either one. Cant explain it, who knows. All I know is I am going to DRIVE this thing for many many miles until I either drive it to my college in 4 days or the seal blows up
sark
42601-60262-03
Surely an ex-3B owner is not complaining about a 4Runner engine 
- Thread starter
- #1,333
Put about 80 miles on it now. Wiped it off this morning, wiped it off 10 miles in and it hasn't leaked any noticeable since then. Not getting my hopes up and still need to drive it a lot more. Lots to do in the 3 days before I leave for college lol.
Fingers crossed 
(Like always when reading this thread)
And yes, you are a role model for patience and endurance.
(Like always when reading this thread)And yes, you are a role model for patience and endurance.
FJBen
SILVER Star
How good did you clean out the bellhousing? It’s possible it’s heating up and draining out residual oil.
sark
42601-60262-03
If we both end up making it to Windrock this year, you and the troopy will have a campsite open if you need one
Mr. Globb is our official event photographer so he has to come.
- Thread starter
- #1,339
Don't have any photos or videos to document anything else. Put about 200 miles on it and it is just slightly wet after driving for many miles at a time. Engine is leaking much more from the filter housings??? and somewhere else under the exhaust manifold. Still that wont make my clutch slip. The oil at the bottom of the bellhousing doesn't have a smell so I have no clue if its gear oil or motor oil. Both are the same exact color at the moment lol.
If anyone remembers I couldn't shift into 5th gear cause my transmission has been skewed, got tired of that after 80 miles so I went over to my buddy's shop, put it in a massive vice he has and hung all my weight off of it like a monkey. Finally got it bent enough and I can get into 5th! What a relief.
Most all of my electrical system is now functioning... other than my gas gauge. It is just stuck at 1/4 of a tank all the time. Is this possibly a common issue or would indicate something I need to look into? I don't understand why swapping the engine would have any effect on the gas gauge. I ran out of it on my drive home, first time ever in the troopy cause the gauge has always been off (reads empty at 16 gallons instead of 21) Well I figured I had a bit more to go but was WRONG. Luckily as the engine was sputtering going down the road there was a gas station on the other side, engine died fully and I hopped the median using the rest of my momentum to glide into the station, then pushed it to the diesel pump lol. What luck. Filled it up, primed the system got it running and bled the injectors, good to go.
If anyone remembers I couldn't shift into 5th gear cause my transmission has been skewed, got tired of that after 80 miles so I went over to my buddy's shop, put it in a massive vice he has and hung all my weight off of it like a monkey. Finally got it bent enough and I can get into 5th! What a relief.
Most all of my electrical system is now functioning... other than my gas gauge. It is just stuck at 1/4 of a tank all the time. Is this possibly a common issue or would indicate something I need to look into? I don't understand why swapping the engine would have any effect on the gas gauge. I ran out of it on my drive home, first time ever in the troopy cause the gauge has always been off (reads empty at 16 gallons instead of 21) Well I figured I had a bit more to go but was WRONG. Luckily as the engine was sputtering going down the road there was a gas station on the other side, engine died fully and I hopped the median using the rest of my momentum to glide into the station, then pushed it to the diesel pump lol. What luck. Filled it up, primed the system got it running and bled the injectors, good to go.
This is exactly what I was thinking. Feeling pretty defeated and thinking I'd be right back into it after a couple of miles I wiped down all of the sludge, brake cleaned it, wiped it again, but definitely had tons of goop left in all of the crevices I couldn't get into easily. I still don't know cause its wet after long drives... Just no clue
Thank you, I'll happily bum a campsite off of you again! I'm not even a member of the TLCA cause I'm a cheapo. Gotta join that, then the other fees that come with it. Well worth it for such a well-put-together event.
The official photographer will be coming regardless of what the troopy's future is. Last year it was such a joy just to be around and ride in them since mine had blown up twice then.Mr. Globb is our official event photographer so he has to come.
Gas gauge. Check you have a good ground. Jumper a wire from negative terminal of battery to sender housing metal part to see if it improves. If not, you need to pull the sender and test it per FSM
