Jay

Has your rear axle seal leaked on your 96-02 4 Runner?

What mileage did the problem start?

Nate C

I had mine fixed at 100,000 miles... however, it might have been leaking for quite awhile though... just happened to catch it then.

SLC Punk

Mine went out at 61k then again at 61500

PhxTRDRunner

Are these covered under the reg. factory warranty? I thought it was a 5yr 60k mile correct?

Jay

Yes, a leaking axle seal is covered under the factory Powertrain Warranty for 5 years 60,000 miles.

Brakes are covered for 3 years 36,000 miles for defects. However in this case, if the axle seal was the cause of the brake shoe contamination the brakes would be covered under the warranty as well.

Obviously a workmanship problem.

WatsonMD

Replaced at 67K (Drivers Rear) and at 80K (Driver/Pass Rear) and at 90K (Driver/Pass Rear). Each time, I have had the axels pulled and inspected/mic'ed for being strait and true. Also, had the rear shoes replaced each time. I'm gettin tired of buying all the new seals and bearings each time .

Best of Luck
Andrew

HBoss

This is just an 'fyi' people, I did my part.

My email to Toyota:

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To whom it may concern,

I own a 1997 Toyota 4Runner Limited and other than having to fix the rear axle seal leaks, it has been a model vehicle.

My concern is that the rear axle seal leak appears to be a common problem on 4Runners. I find this costly to have to repair over & over again and having gear oil leaking all over the rear brakes is certainly a dangerous hazard to have to deal with.

There appear to be many rear axle leak situations I've read in online forums and I was hoping Toyota would look into the situation and possibly issue a permanent fix/recall for this item.

Otherwise extremely happy Toyota owner,

Al Kwan
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Their response to me:

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Dear Mr. Kwan,

Thank you for your recent correspondence.

Please be assured that we certainly do not like to see our customers experience the frustration and inconvenience that is associated with unexpected repairs. However, we would like to mention that extensive planning and research is required in order to ensure the highest quality of components are used on our vehicles. Unfortunately, it is difficult to establish the life expectancy of a component or predict when a failure will occur. There are many variables that will contribute to their durability.

However, we have noted your comments and have forwarded them to the appropriate departments within Toyota Canada Inc. for information purposes.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

Sincerely,

Diane Lafreniere
Toyota Canada Inc.
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Wild_Bill

Wow that's cool you got a reply, that's the kind of email I would never expect to hear back on. FWIW, I have 88,000 miles and (knocks on wood) no leaks yet.

alaskan4runner

i just had mine replaced at 44,500 miles under dealer warranty, replaced the seals and did the brakes but the axel bearings weren't replaced.

beddo

My 97 diesel intercooled SSRG imported from Japan to Australia had the axle seal leak at 100 000 Km - mainly due probably to a bit of water getting into the ends of the axles when I went on a trip to the top of Australia - tough 4WD trek with numerous creek crossing that were atleat waist deep - snorkel territory.

keisur

my list of leaks:

Drivers side:
- ~46000 (Toyota - replaced inner seal and brake shoes only)
- ~52000 (Toyota - replaced inner seal and brake shoes only)
- ~52200 (Toyota - cleaned brake shoes, clean lip on inner seal and applied gasket sealer to outside of inner seal, I know, that is not how we fix these things, I was pizzed, to say the least!)
- ~59000 (Toyota - replaced inner, outer seal and cleaned brake shoes)
- ~61000 (Toyota - replaced outer seal and brake shoes, somehow they managed to not get the e-brake wire in the brake assembly all the way on the guide and they cable wore through, brilliant!)
- ~70000 (I repaired - Replaced both seals and bearing)
- ~85000 (I repaired - Replaced both seals, bearing, axle shaft, bearing cup, and brake backing plate)

The last repair/replace I did seems to have fixed it, but like wildbill says above, "knock on wood." Going on 17000 miles since that repair so hopefully...

Passenger side:
- ~100000 (I repaired - Replaced both seals and bearing)

If passenger side leaks again I'll do the same as I did for the drivers side at ~85000.

All these mileages are approx. I can't remember exactly what they were. here's how I knew the passenger side inner{edit} and outer seals were bad:

PoBoy

How much are these repairs costing ya? I just noticed my passenger side was blown today... 108k

keisur

Mine are free, self- - I only pay for parts. Cost me under 80 bucks.

PoBoy

Come do mine then. Ill pay ya

keisur

you fly me up, I'll do it for you. My sister lives in Chesterfield Township so I could swing by her place and see her too.

err, you in STL or DET?

See that orange thing in the pic? got to go to Harbor Freight and get you one for about 90 bucks. it's a 12 ton shop press. I broke the feet when doing something stupid with it so I went to homodepot and picked of a four foot 2"x2" angle iron, cut it in two and made new ones. I also offset the bottom crossbrace in case I have something longer to put in there I can prop it up and it doesn't interfere, I hope that made sense. You can see my old original drivers side axle behind it. still want to get that thing checked to see if it's bent, if not, it's getting sold.

PoBoy

Heck...thats about 15 minutes from me. Ill pick ya up at the airport. What else would I need though? Got massive amounts of sockets but no power save some drills. Ill fily ya up if it just means a plane ticket and a few tools

beddo

As mentioned earlier did mine at around 100 000 km before before this did a 12000km trek to the top of Australia with numerous creek crossing - checked the oil in the diffs etc and did notice that the left brake drum had white oil leaking from the hole in the drum. I suspect that the road side edge gets the hammering and these seals should wear out first if this is the case then in the USA you guys must be wearing out the right hand side first as you drive on the wrong side of the road:alien:

keisur

I didn't need any power tools or air tools. just used the impact to zip the lugs nuts off cause it's fast. you would need the press or at least access to a press if you plan on changing the outer seal too. also at harbor freight you can pick up a seal driver kit for about $6.95 to drive in the inner seal. I tried using a big socket but ended up getting the kit because the socket kept kinking over. other than that, a plane ticket would do.

PoBoy

If the ticket wasnt $350, Id bring you in for sure...I like "free" tools. But Im guessing I can get this fixed for under $550 total. If not, Ill see you next weekend?

keisur

have ticket, will travel (from an old abbott and costello movie, have rocket... , My dad used to watch them) yeah, assuming they don't have to replace a bunch of stuff. usually they'll just cut off the abs rotor and replace it (about $30-$40) but I have mastered the "removed without warping" technique so I have 2 sitting in my spare parts box just in case. plus they may tell you they have to replace the bearing ($40) and if they check the runout on the axle shaft, they may tell you it's bent ($250-$350). The axle is really hard to bend though, I still have my doubts about whether my spare axle is out of tolerance like Toyota said it was. eyeballing it I can't see any warpage but I gotta get it spun on a lathe by a pro to be sure. I wouldn't pay much to have them replace the inner seal, all that is is this: unbolt 4 bolts, disconnect wheel cylinder and ebrake cable, pull axle, rip out old seal, drive in new seal, slide axle back in, put 4 bolts back on, hookup wheel cyl and ebrake cable, bleed brake. that takes about 1 to 1.5 hours at my house. so $65/hour + $3 seal + $5 Oring (should be replaced here) = I would $110 tops.