deserttoy84

My truck is leaking gear oil pretty bad out of the "balls" i guess u could call them on the end of each of side of the front axle and i want to know what i need to replace to make it stop leaking im thinking its the felt looking seal that goes under the plate that bolts around the ball or maybe bad axle seals if there are any i dont know to much about these diffs. also what weight oil should i run in the front 85w140 or 80w90?. i need to know liek the name of the seals it could be.

bktaco

that would be the axle seals. i have my axle all torn down right now for the same deal. evidently common occurence. you can pay a shop $600-700 (thats the quote i got), or get *extremely* messy for a couple days. there are lots of good web pages dealing with the topic or teardown, i am using this one http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/front_end/ and 4crawler.com

i am not kidding about the mess, i've filled a large trash can already with towels and diapers and gloves. i've also gotten a great education from the ordeal. good luck.

80w90 or 75w90 in the diff.

Robinhood150

Is that how much they charge for a seal change?!? Wow, I just saved my self $2100 over the past 3 months! I'll have to tell the wife how much money I'm saving since going to a solid axle!

Anyway, yeah, axle seals. You'll need to disassemble the knuckles and remove the axle shafts. Not too hard to do, I've gotten pretty good at since I've torn apart my axle 3 times in the past few months.

Marlin has a knuckle service kit if it's been a while since the axle has been serviced. http://www.marlincrawler.com/htm/axles.htm

check out www.4crawler.com for a write up on how to rebuild the axle.

bktaco

that's what i got quoted at toyauto clinic in reno/sparks. i think they charge $80/hour, so they must have estimated about one day plus minor parts.

as it is, i am into the project nearly 2 days, and i havent even begun the rebuild yet. the PO drove this thing for quite a while with the seals blown, and i am getting anal with the strip down, really going after the grime buildup (1/4 to 1/2 inches thick in some places around the axles, frame, springs, calipers, etc).

i am also in about $150 dollars for marlin's knuckle rebuilt kit. i dont plan to go into the axles this far too many times again, so i figured i would start with all new bearings, gaskets, etc in addition to the seals.

for reference, they also estimated $150 for the rear axle. i bought marlins kit for the same, and figure i can do the job in about 2-3 hours. maybe not a huge savings on my part, but i got this truck for the fun of it anyhow. despite my time and money in the project, i am fairly sure that i will do a better job than the shop (toyauto are pretty good tho if you ever want or need a shop - they have turned me away in the past for work they didnt think was necessary).

titicaca

get a knuckle rebuild kit from marlin, trail gear or all pro.

rrmike

If you just want to replace the seals use the camo method and pull the knuckle and spindle and everything off together. Pull the outer locking hub and get the snap ring off the end of the axle, disco brake line unless you have long ones and pull the steering arm off and you can slide the whole thing off the axle without touching your wheel bearings or taking the hubs off. The felts do have to be unbolted from the back of the knuckle too. Then just slide the axle out, replace the seal and slide tha axle back in. Put the knuckle back on, steering arm, hook brake line back up, felts back on, snap ring on axle and hub outer back on. About an hour job per side.

If it's been a while you may want to do it the more conventional way since the bearings probably need to be packed anyway.

titicaca

that way is nice,especially with the backing plate and brake hoses molested a bit.. once mine are back together i plan on doing it that way from now on, unless im repacking the bearings.

84toyota-bigrnu

Hey, I'm new here, but I just bought an 84 and both axle seals were leaking so bad that 80-90 was running down the rims. I found the breather caps were rusted solid, I removed them and installed nipples and hoses, cleaned up the mess around the axle seals and have been driving for awhile with no evidence of a leak. The fluid warms and expands then comes out the seals. Hope this helps.

deserttoy84

thanks ill take a look. also do i need need gasket washers when i change the fluid out on both cases?

toyota_mdt_tech

The seals are called "inner axle seals.