Hi: I've done my fair amount of research and concluded that I have a busted rear axle seal on the driver's side. My e-brake light has been lighting up on and off, plus I see & smell some major grease spots near the drums.

However, I heard rubbing noises coming from that area yesterday, and I just want to ask if this may indicate damage to any of the components in that seal area (ie. bearing, inner or outer seal?, even the axle itself?).

This had already happened to my passenger side rear axle last year, which costed me $1k because I caught the problem too late, so I just want to see if this should be a shop deal, or whether I can tackle this at the comfort of my garage.

Thx.

 

As per my experience and recent threads, the rubbing may be rerlated to the e-brake issue in that the shoes and components are all gummed up and sticking.

it is relatively easy and cheap to take the drum off, spray the entire unit clean, remove the axle to inspect. The only cost here is a can of spray cleaner and an inner seal if you want to put it back together.

You can take the axle to a professional for inspection if you cannot do it yourself.

This has been a hot topic recently - you can search and read too.

 

Thanks. I read in one of the thread to use a magnent to check for metal shaving. I've never pulled an axle out before, so I am unsure what to look for in a damaged axle. Advice?

 

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...wheel_bearing/

 

Thanks. I called around here in the Santa Clara area, and the shops are quoting me about $400+ to press out the bearing + replace the seal ($75 + parts just to replace only the seals). The shops said a bad bearing is usually the main culprit, consistent with what 4Crawler provided (thx btw).

What should i be looking for to scout out bearing damage that may be causing this? I hope to take a look at it tonight, pending time. Thx for the inputs.

 

You could start by pulling the drum off and cleaning everything up, lube the ebrake cable, put the drum back on and see if it is making any noise.