DrBeau

My passenger side rear axle seal is dead/dying I have oil on the inside of my rim, but it hasn't been there long (this morning, possibly last night). I only drive 3-4 mile to work and 4-5 miles to school. Here is the driving I'll need to do (estimating high):

4 mi - Drive home tonight.
6 mi - Drive to school in the morning.
10 mi - Drive to my friends house to fix my seal.

This assumes I can get my buddy to go grab the seal and O-ring for me.

Can I drive on this for 20 miles? Can I drive on it for 50 miles? Should I leave it in my work parking lot? I may be able to get rides around, but I don't want to leave my car here. I'm planning on changing my gear oil anyway, so I'm not worried about that. I really don't want to hose my bearings or detonate my pumpkin or anything like that. Thanks for any help.

-Beau

Gangus2006

Yea dont sweat it. I went about a month with blown seals (both sides) before getting them replaced. Just check the fluid level every couple days.

DrBeau

Well this is the second source I've heard those sentiments from. I'm replacing it tomorrow anyway.

Stupid diff breathers. I extended mine about 3 months after I got the truck. When I took the old one off there was a nice HISS sound and it was stuck closed. I'm pretty sure that's what got it going. It just took some time to finally break through. Man those one-way breather valves suck (or don't for that matter!).

Any recommendations on parts? I understand you can get the stuff from Autozone, etc., but would getting the Toyota part be a better idea?

Gangus2006

I did my breather extension yesterday, and today, I went and got a "Breather Filter" from AribaZone for $10. Just a little piece of mind.

nc994run

I would definitely check to see if any of the fluid has gotten on the rear brakes. If it has leaked onto the rear brakes, they may become brittle and more prone to shattering, esp when driving in mountains or towing.

DrBeau

Thanks. This seems like a good a time as any to start prepping for redoing my rear brakes and flushing my brake system. I'm not doing the front because I'm planning on upgrading to Tundra brakes sometime in the near future. I may hold off on the brake flush until after that.

DrBeau

All better. That really is as easy as they say it is. The old seal really is a PITA to get out, though.

Crux

Is there a write-up somewhere for the rear seals?

vegaskurt

https://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech...m1_oilseal.htm

DrBeau

Also, searching "rear axle seal" brought up everything I needed (except the answer to the above question). Now searching will bring up the answer to this question too. Who loves the search button?!

>raises hand<