TRDrunner

ive got a leaky right rear oil seal.

im planning on changing it but is it a problem if i leave it for while?

Tacoclimber

Only if you're losing a considerable amount of oil. Check your oil at least once a day to make sure you're not low, and you should be okay for a little while. I wouldn't push the envelope too much, though. I had a front seal go out on my 86, and I tried getting away with it, and came very close to seizing the engine...

But, yeah you should be ok for a while...

TRDrunner

im not sure if ive got my terminology right.

its the rear axle seal thats leaking.

not anything in the engine.

Tacoclimber

It's late in the day...I'm retarded. Now that I think about it, I don't even know of a "right" rear seal on any toyota engine...

How much is it leaking? I mean, considerably, or just noticeably?

ScubaDuck

I think Tacoclimber's general advice still applies: check the oil level in your rear diff, as you don't want to run it dry either.

From reading around here, I think there are 3 potential concerns with running on a leaky rear axle seal:

1) The gear oil soaks into your brake lining and reduces braking efficiency. I recently drove around for a couple of months with a leaky seal without knowing it. The brake lining looked kinda funky, and I felt like the truck didn't stop as well, but it wasn't a major issue.

2) The gear oil drains out of your diff- Not a big problem if you check it regularly.

3) This is the one is up for debate: The oil is leaking over/through your wheel bearing. Some folks here (and at my local Toyota dealership) suggest that the oil will have a detrimental effect on the bearing, causing premature failure. Others say that the the bearing is not harmed by the oil since it is a "sealed" bearing. IMHO, running with a leak will reduce the lifespan of a wheel bearing. The question is how long you can push it without causing bearing failure. I have no idea.

FYI- At my local dealership, replacing the bearing while replacing the seal approximately doubled the total cost of the repair. After 2-3 months of a slow leak the bearing showed no signs of failure so I had them leave it in.

Hope this helps-

-Scubaduck

GhostriderTx

Having just got thru banging away on mine yesterday I can give a few thoughts. There are a ton of threads on this forum. Search on axle or seal or rear. The main issue seems to be that the oil will gum up the brakes and the wheel will "freeze". I got to mine before it hit the brakes so I have no idea how long you get to fix it after the problem starts. I will say that the fix is not quite as easy as some posts described. At least on my 2001 it was very difficult to get the new seal to seat correctly. I would buy at least on extra seal so you don;t have to run to the store and would get a high end seal install kit. The one I got from harbor freight just didn't transfer the energy from the hammer to the seal enough to drive it in quickly or I didn't assemble it correctly. It didn't have any directions. Other than that I would estimate about 90 minutes per axle.

TRDrunner

braking is a little weaker than before but i need new brakes anyways.

and its just noticeable, you can see it on the inside of the wheel.

ill just check the diff fluid level and fill er up if it needs it.

Dirt4dinner

Hey Guys,
I just made the mistake of accidentaly ordering the Marlin Crawler heavy duty axle seal for non-ABS 4Runners...turns out I have ABS and overlooked the part description. Does anyone know the part number for the correct axle seal from Napa, Checkers or Auto Zone? I haven't found a parts store yet that can even find the darn seal in their computes. I might be hitting up the Yota dealer parts department tomorrow...but wanted to see where you guys got your replacements from.