adambultman

So, a while back I noticed that my front differential was leaking on the passenger side, where the inside shaft goes into the diff. I took it apart, and the seal was indeed worn out, and allowing diff oil to drip out.

I replaced the seal, and put things back together, only to find it was now leaking *worse* than before.

I bought a new seal, and installed it; trying to make sure that it was not too far into the hole. It is about .52" from the copper metal on the seal to the outside of the diff extension, and I'm hoping that that isn't too far in.

When I put the inner shaft back in, and tapped it into place, I noticed that it had a degree of slop in one direction, but not another. Basically: Two fingers opposite each other on the tulip joint, and wiggle up and down. Turn the tulip joint a quarter turn, and wiggle up and down: Slop.

My question is: If it has 'slop' on one axis, but not another, is that a sign of worn splines, or is it perhaps something I did wrong?

At the end of the shaft on the tulip joint, there is the little c-clip; I don't know if that is supposed to be facing a particular direction, or what (nor do I know if it matters.) On the socket that accepts the tulip joint shaft, there is a small hole. I don't know if that is supposed to line up with anything in particular (there is a small amount of yellow paint, incidentally, on the tulip joint shaft).

At this point, I'm kind of lost. I'm not sure if my tulip joint and shaft is worn out, or if it is the differential extension that is worn out (I couldn't feel anything, but then I have no special tools) or if I installed it wrong. But I'm almost 100% certain that if I put it back together, it will continue to leak. There is definite slop on the shaft, but again - I'm not sure if that's something I did, or a result of wear. The splines on the tulip joint shaft don't *appear* worn, and my calipers aren't very high-tech.

I have pictures of my work here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/adambul...ixingTheTacoma , with the last three pictures in the album being of the tulip joint splines (with paint), and the diff extension "hole" (which I imagine is for lubrication). I have searched the web far and wide, and can't find anything specific to my problem ( and I have only just now downloaded service manuals. My haynes manual had nothing about the seal.) So I hope to find something in that myriad of PDF docs, but if there's someone who can speak from experience, it would be *extremely* beneficial.

FWIW, when I took video of the tulip joint/shaft just before this latest seal replacement, there was no wobble evident on the videos I took (which I can link to, if you want.)

adambultman

OK, just checked some of the FSMs. As it currently sits, the oil seal is at spec, although it isn't in *perfectly* at the moment. It varies by a very small amount; I need to somehow adjust it so that it is perfectly level in the tube. So, perhaps that might explain my slop, but I don't know for sure. I need to get a more sophisticated way of installing that seal.

Nelsonmd

I have never pulled the fronts apart before, but it looks like you installed the new seal in backwards in pics 56 and 58. That seal looks very similar to the rear seals (concave metal collar with rubber inner ring, probably a tension spring inside the rubber collar). It looks like you drove it in concave side out, but from your tear down pics, it looks like it should go concave in (like the rears).

adambultman

According to the service manual, the seal is in correctly. Also, the old seal was in the same way. I just don't know if the slop is normal, or not, and whether that is something that requires a mechanic.

adambultman

OK, Nelsonmd, you were right. I had the seal in backwards. (I also talked to my neighbor, with whom I'd talked about my leaky diff.) The original seal must have been different, with metal on both sides. Last time I replaced the seal and had it in backwards, it was leaking again after a single mile worth of driving. I put the seal in the other way this time (and to the FSM spec) and after ~30 miles of driving, still no leaks. So, it appears it might be OK now.

I just have to replace the CV boot clamp, since it doesn't fit perfectly tight, and I'll be set.

adambultman

About 100 miles post-seal fix, and it's still not leaking. So I think it's all good.

Picture of the seal in properly, for posterity: https://picasaweb.google.com/adambul...27939892807330

turbo8

sweet, I have been having the same problem. Looks like I will have to install the seal the other way.

adambultman

Yeah, and make sure to put a little grease on the outside of the seal when you put it in. It's the difference between tapping it in with a hammer, and pushing it in with your thumbs. I think the FSM said that from the edge of the seal to the outside of the housing is .217", +- .012". I was able to do that with my thumbs, and my calipers to make sure it was all even.

The old seal doesn't come out very easily, either, by the way.

turbo8

Didn't work.

adambultman

Bummer; was there a lot of shaft slop? did you take pictures of the seal you put in, or anything else like that? Was the shaft worn, scored, or anything like that, that might have kept the seal from working properly? Did you put the seal in to the proper depth?

I'm obviously no expert, but my failures, and the advice from people from other forums, and info I've found on google, are all fresh in my mind.