Recently I had my 2003 V8 4R at the stealership to have the rear output shaft seal replaced. I had a slow drip leak of gear oil coming from flange. I was told the the seal was replaced by a 22 year master Toyota mechanic (I hate how you to have to deal with the "service manager", just let me talk to the guy turning the wrenches). I was told that if the leak came back it was a bushing issue. They said there was no play in the drive shaft so it probably wasn't a bushing.

I picked up the 4R on a Monday and drove it approximately 125 highway miles all week. On Friday morning I noticed another gear oil puddle under the transfer case. I looked under and sure enough a dip was forming on the rear output flange. I played phone tag with the service manager all weekend and finally spoke to him today. He says that the seal was put in correctly and even though the drive shaft has no play its probably a bushing... Toyota is looking at again next week. Driving it this week I noticed it does seem like its getting worse. I use to get 2-3 drips of oil when I parked it and now I am getting 4-6.

I looked through the FSM and found no listed bushing in the T-case, I am guessing he meant bearing. I have opened a few T-cases in my day but I have 2 young kids know and have zero free time to fix this myself. Hence having the dealership look at it.

Any opinions, suggestions?

FYI I am going to post this on a few Toyota sites.

 

If you're entertaining the idea of replacing the seal yourself, I'd suggest you do. Of course, that transfer case flange nut can be a bear to remove. Other than that it's a piece o' cake. You could easily have it done in under 1-2 hours MAX.

My opinion on stealerships and their practices is:

DON'T GO THERE, EVER! UNLESS YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER OPTIONS. AND/OR IF THEY OWE YOU A RECALL SERVICE, A PART REPLACEMENT, OR ANY OTHER SERVICE OWED TO YOU UNDER A WARRANTY YOU ALREADY PAID FOR! THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE ALL LIARS, THIEVES, AND THEIR "MECHANICS" COULDN'T "MECHANIC" THEIR WAY OUT OF A WET PAPER BAG. DON'T BELIEVE A SOLITARY WORD THEY SAY!

Almost forgot, if your t-case is like mine(VF1A) then the companion/driveshaft flange has 2 seals. Inner for the housing/case, and an outer that goes in the driveshaft end of the flange itself. Most likely the idiot didn't replace the one that it needed, and did replace the other one that it didn't. So if you're lucky you'll only need to replace the one he didn't.

 

I would love to replace it myself but I am very limited on time. I took it to the dealership b/c I don't have a local mechanic that I feel can handle T-case issues. Thanks for the advice.

The receipt shows he only replaced one seal.

 

Not everyone who works at a dealership is dishonest and incompetent any more than everyone from the state of Washington is a sheep lover like DC

I know numerous fine, outstanding persons at my local dealership Tuscaloosa Toyota from management to porters. Are there idiots there too? Sure, but that doesn't make them all bad and you find idiots every where. Even here.

A leak there can only be a few things I'm sure and not more than a couple hours time. DIY.

:wabbit2:

 

Can you tell if it is leaking on the outside of the flange or from the center? If the center, they may have forgot to apply some sealant to the springs on the output flange before installing it. Without that sealant, the oil can leak out past the splines on the output shaft.

 

I second this comment. I work at a dealership (not a toyota mind you, but a Freightliner) and yes, we do have our idiots here, but we also have several really good guys. All mechanics are going to have a different way of doing things, they are in fact INDIVIDUALS, and therefore have their own opinion on how things should run. Now, being as they are a dealership, should they have a pretty general way of doing things that is for the most part the same from mechanic to mechanic...yes, but for it to be dead on, no. IMHO, if it were us that fixed the seal and it came back leaking because the "inner" seal wasnt replaced, we would likely only charge you for the part (as you would have had to pay for that anyways) and we would take care of the labour, which is generally more than fair.

 

Update.

Had it back at the dealership today. They said the leak doesn't look that concerning to them. I told them I see 2-3 drops every time I park it. I have the driveway gear oil spots to prove it. Anyway the tech said the tailshaft assembly would have to be replaced to guarantee that it would stop leaking properly.

Thoughts?

 

Ya, I got a thought, ITS NOT THEIR DAM TRUCK TO BE SAYING WHATS CONCERNING OR NOT!!! If you took it to them to have a leak fixed and its still leaking, then the leak was not fixed and they need to work out a deal with you to get it fixed. They are only trying to avoid having to cut back on their labour/parts pricing to help you out. Fact of the matter is, you took it there to have a service provided, the service provided obviously did not fix the problem, therefore they need to do something about that. you dont pay $120/hr at a dealership for them to do crap work, BOTTOM LINE.