so i've been using my toyota for a few long drives lately. i've been hearing this squeak, that has been getting worse, when i decelerate. i found a few threads about it that blamed the slip yoke and u joints on the drive shaft. so i greased them up. havent driven it yet to verify that was the problem

while i was doing that, the inside tire wall and rim on the drivers rear is covered in oil. assuming an axle seal leak. now my questions

1. its possible the axle and bearing are causing the squeak and i need to replace both bearing and seal?

2. if the squeak is not from the rear wheel bearing......should i just swap out the seal or just go ahead and do both seal and bearing? your experiences with rear wheel bearings?

i've never changed a bearing in the rear before. this will be the first. done it lots of times on the fronts of many different vehicles. i've even rebuilt an engine recently so my skills are high.......this should be cake right? any pointers and things to look out for?

thanks in advance

 

So i drove my truck around today. No squeks or any noise. Pretty sure greasing up the drive shaft stuff helped. But i wont be 100% sure until i take it on a long drive. Anyway, decided to just swap out the seal since i dont think the bearing is bad. Thanks anyway.

 

If you haven't, check to make sure your dif breather is clear and working or you could have a leaking seal again in the near future...

 

yep, thanks man. i saw that on a write up somewhere and definitely going to check it