On my way home I noticed some oil inside my passengers side rear wheel well, wheel and tire. I removed the tire as soon as I got home, as well as the brake drum. I cleaned the area since it was all completely coated with oil. The oil smells like brake fluid, rather than differential oil.

After cleaning the brake, I replaced the drum and tire and went for a drive around the block a few times to get everything warmed up and see where the fluid is coming from. I removed the drum and wheel again but found no sign of a leak anywhere. The fluid reservior is full and there are no leaks anywhere else on the back axle.

What could be leaking back there? It smells like brake fluid, but there was quite a bit of fluid leaked and the reservoir was full still. I'm sick, it's cold out, and was getting dark by the time I replaced the tire for the last time this evening, so I didn't feel like crawling underneath and checking the differential fluid level(even though it smells just like brake fluid).

What could it be? I have 33" tires and rear ABS. Thanks.

 

Inner axle seal http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...wheel_bearing/

 

I would bet its an axle seal.

 

since you think it smells like brake fluid and not diff fluid (very big difference here) Even though your reservoir is full, it does not take a whole lot of fluid to saturate an area. I would start with the rear wheel brake cylinders.

 

wheel cylinder or axle seal. pull the drum, take a screwdriver or a knife or something similar and pull the wheel cylinder boot back to see if fluid is present. if so, replace both wheel cylinders and the brake shoes because they are ruined anyway because of whatever fluid it might be.

 

x2 ^^ start with the easy stuff first. take the drum off and have somebody SLOWLY step on the brake pedal. you should see fluid coming from the wheel cylinder if its bad. its about a 15 minute part to change and usually not much more then 15 dollars

 

heh, that 15 minute job turned into 2 hours for me, ended up having to replace both rear brake lines. Bent my own up so it didn't cost me much. But yeah about 15 minute per side assuming the brake lines hold up. You should replace both sides at the same time.

x2 on replacing the Brake shoes as they are saturated as well.

 

if its not the brake cylinder, check the diff. breather to see if its clogged

 

DON'T DO THAT, lol, that's a sure way to make the wheel cylinder fail if it hasn't already, because it'll just overextend and spray brake fluid all over the place. plus I doubt you'd be able to see the leak happen, since most of the time it's a REALLY slow leak, and the fluid leaks out over a long period of time


I'd put money on it being the wheel cylinder though before I jumped to the axle seal. Super easy to replace, but do yourself a favor and replace them on BOTH SIDES. Typically when one goes out, the other isn't far behind it; I'm speaking from personal experience on that. And don't forget to replace those shoes too; you never want to use shoes that are saturated in any kind of fluids

 

^^^^^^^^^^^Everyone up there x2!
It's going to be one of two things, wheel cylinder, or axle seal.
My money is on the wheel cylinder though...
Plus driving around the block a couple of times may not have been enough with easy braking...You might need to drive and then press the brakes pretty hard to get up enough pressure to see where that leak is coming from...
My girlfriends jeep was leaking like this, and i replaced both wheel cylinders and that was the problem.

 

X2 this is what happened to me.

 

Thanks for all the replys. I'm wondering if buying brake removal specialty tools are necessary, or if I can do it without damaging anything with regular pliers and stuff?

I'm gonna probably go ahead and check on the brake cyl first. I looked in there pretty good with a light and couldn't really see anyplace in particular that any fluid might be coming out of.

Do you have to pull the axles to replace the axle seals? If so what kind of prices/ how much time will it take me to do it?

Thanks

 

Gear oil is very pungent. So if it doesn't smell like it then its probably not.

I always use pliers and screwdriver to change shoes, usually use a good bit of profanity too. Check the drum for a lip from wear, I pushed it the time before and had a heck of a time getting the drum off this last time. Almost cheaper and more convenient to replace drums than having them turned. Just my 2 cents.

 

^^^x2.
I use some pliers and screwdrivers and it works fine.
Get some channel locks, some needlenose, and a couple flat head screwdrivers.
And if this is the first time you've ever replaced drum brakes, take a picture before you start, or go ahead and remove both tires and drums so you can look at where the springs went on the other side when you forget.
Cause you will.
Im sure it happened to all of us the first time haha.

 

do both wheel cylinders, box of shoes, hardware kit, take the drums to have them machined. be aware that if you do take the drums to have them turned to make sure they measure first because they might be ready to replace. X2 on the re installation. do one side at a time so as to use the other side as a reference.

 

Yes. To replace the inner axleshaft seal(PNC 42311A)and outer bearing retainer o-ring seal(PNC 42424A)requires removing the the 4 bolts holding it to the axle housing. Then pulling the axleshaft from the axle housing. You'll have to disconnect the brake lines from each side first, before you even unbolt and pull the axleshafts, and then refill the brake MC and bleed the brakes once you've finished installing the new seals(new inner bearing retainers?)and axleshafts.

To replace the outer axleshaft seal(PNC 42311E)requires removing the brake backing plate from the axleshaft. The outer seal is a complete PITA to remove/replace, and requires special techniques and/or special tools. You can either cut and chisel the inner bearing retainer ring(PNC 42423)off, or use a bearing seperator. If you choose to cut/split it to get it off then it needs replaced too. Once it's removed, however, the process of removing the backing plate from the axleshaft gets much easier. You'll need to hold the backing plate steady and knock the axleshaft out by banging it down hard on a solid chunk of wood, or press it out with a hydraulic press. To reinstall the inner bearing retainer requires a stout piece of tubing to hammer it on with, or a drift pin and hammer will also work if your careful.

To do both sides will take 5-6 hours minimum if you haven't done it before. It's quite a chore.


You can get most of those seals/parts from various autoparts suppliers(NAPA, RockAuto.com, etc.) Or order them from an online OEM parts supplier(1stToyotaParts.com, MarlinCrawler.com). You could also go to the stealership, but I highly recommend that you don't. They'll either screw up your order, or screw you on the price. Ordering OEM parts from 1stToyotaParts.com is always cheaper and more reliable.

Below are the prices for OEM parts listed by 1stToyotaParts.com and MarlinCrawler.com.

42311A Inner axleshaft seal
SEAL, TYPE S OIL [Part# 9031050006]
ToyotaPrice:$6.70
List Price:$6.70
Your Price1:$4.84
($8.99 each from MC, but his seals are specialty and much better than stock/OEM)

42424A Outer bearing retainer o-ring/seal
RING, O [Part# 9030188077]
ToyotaPrice:$4.46
List Price:$4.46
Your Price1:$3.22
($3.29 each from MC)

42311E Outer axleshaft seal
SEAL, TYPE K OIL [Part# 9031348001]
ToyotaPrice:$5.56
List Price:$5.56
Your Price1:$4.01
($7.79 each from MC, these seals are the same as stock/OEM)

42423 Inner bearing retainer ring
RETAINER, RR AXLE BE [Part# 4242320010]
ToyotaPrice:$19.01
List Price:$19.01
Your Price1:$13.72
($9.99 each from MC)

BUT, I'll bet your problem is just the wheel cylinders. Since you're not smelling gear oil. However, if it is gear oil leakage then that would mean the inner and outer axleshaft seals need replaced(and probably the wheel bearings too, if they're full of gear oil). And, if that's the case you'll be thankful for this write-up(as a supplement to the one provided in post#2).

Just in case:

42311C Wheel bearing
BEARING, RADIAL BALL [Part# 903634002077]
Toyota
Price:$61.30
List Price:$61.30
Your Price1:$44.23
($49.99 each from MC, but you could also consider buying a $145 rear axle service kit from him too if you'll be replacing the bearings)

 

Been there, done that.

MudHippy, pretty much sums it all up.

Check out my build thread and albums for reference, i just did this a couple of weeks ago. I got Marlins kit for $99 when it was on special.

 

Thanks to all who helped! I sure hope it's not the inner seal. That looks like it's a PITA, but the parts aren't expensive at all. I will check on the wheel cyl in a few days(weather permitting). I can't afford to pay anyone to do it, and can't really afford anything more than about $50 right now. I hope I get some replacement parts under the tree for Christmas. Lol.

 

If it does end up being the axle oil seal then this should help,
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...wheel_bearing/
i had the same problem, i replaced both cylinders and it still leaked so i replaced my oil seal, also turned out my breather was clogged and built up pressure in the diff thus blowing the seal.

 

i had the same problem i changed both of my wheel brake cylinders and its leaking on the same side so idk what to do. but i noticed that my brake cylinder are smaller than the original brake cylinder could that be the problem?