And with the seals, I'm seeing "inner" and "outer" seals for sale. I guess I want outers?

 

Best strategy is to check an OEM parts database (even if you're not planning on buying OEM parts - this is just to confirm fit). Compare a manual and auto configuration and see if the same parts number applies to both setups. Like toyotapartsdeal.com.

I did a quick scan and it looks like they're the same - the "part fitment" section doesn't differentiate auto and manual assuming I found the right parts here:
http://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~shaft~assy~front~drive~rh~43410-02030.html
http://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~shaft~assy~front~drive~lh~43420-02030.html

 

I did a quick scan and it looks like they're the same - the "part fitment" section doesn't differentiate auto and manual assuming I found the right parts here:
http://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~shaft~assy~front~drive~rh~43410-02030.html
http://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~shaft~assy~front~drive~lh~43420-02030.html

I think they were the same on my '90, too. I remember getting them and then worrying that I hadn't checked to see if the donor car had the 5-speed, like my old '90.

Good idea on checking actual Toyota parts. It looks like there are a couple of different inner diameters for the seals. This would correspond with a couple of different outer diameters on the axle/tulip.

 

OK, I now have an idea of what seals I need. I fumbled around on some Toyota parts and McParts store sites, and had trouble narrowing down these seals. Then I finally followed 94RollaDad's link above, and that quickly gave me a part number. I was going to buy the seals from them, but they wanted over 9 bucks for shipping $15 dollars worth of small, light, parts! My cheap ass backed out of their pages... What the hell? Do they use only Lear Jets and Rolls Royces or something?:dunno:
So I googled this part number and got several hits. This one actually listed the inner and outer diameters, so I wrote those down, and will probably just get them from Rock, along with the axle.

 

So last night I stopped at O'Reilley's (or however the hell they spell it) and got me a passenger side axle and a seal. I was going to get two seals and maybe also do the driver side, but the clerk swore that they are two different parts, and he didn't have the other one, so I figured the passenger side would be more convenient anyway. He gave me a Timken 710110, a part I came across, after googling the 90311-34012 seal which the place in 94RollaDad's link specified. I'm pretty sure that place also specified the same seal for both sides.

And this afternoon I went out there and changed it all out. I wasted a bunch of time hammering on a jack handle and then screw driver, trying to drive the old axle out, and then I decided to try the most simple and obvious method: I grabbed the factory Toyota lug wrench, and got a perfect bite on the axle and with a good fulcrum from the trans case IIRC. A few good taps from the hammer, and my car was liberated from the junk-ass NAPA axle. No fluid came out, but I did see ample evidence of leakage from that side. I could see red transmission fluid on the side of the differential case, running from the axle hole. I couldn't get a good look at the driver side axle hole.
Haloruler64 avert your eyes:

I could see that the spring was coming out of the seal, so I removed the spring first. I then wasted a bunch of time trying pry out the seal with a variety of flat bladed screwdrivers, and was about to go inside to see about something with a hook, and then I saw my channel locks and decided to try them. prying out that seal was one of the most quick and virtually effortless things I've ever done.

By now, I was faced with finding a way to drive in the new seal, and again, my trunk offered up a nearly good enough tool for the job.

Maybe a little thin for this job, but should be OK.

I used the hammer to tap the exhaust coupler/adapter and drove the new seal in. I felt around with my finger and and even tried to look at it from above, and I think it's in there good.

I then opened up the box holding my new axle and checked it out.

I saw that the circlip was stretched kinda wide, and knew that would give me trouble. The first POS NAPA axle I'd gotten just wouldn't drive in to my diff, and I thought "well maybe it's in," but it wasn't, and came out while driving, and probably destroyed the seal. I exchanged it, and the second axle went all the way in. It didn't take long to start clicking, but my lazy ass never got around to exchanging it.

I attempted to drive the axle in by hammering the jack handle against the inner tulip, and my suspicions were confirmed. So I removed the circlip and compressed it, but it went back to being too wide when I put it back onto the axle. I then removed the circlip from the NAPA axle and put it on, and put the axle into place and drove it in by hammering on the hub/spindle nut which I'd threaded on there, and I'm pretty sure that it's all the way in.
This O'Rielley axle also doesn't have any notches in the inner tulip, for driving the axle in or out.:thumbsdow
It was dark by the time I was putting it back together, but I had a flashlight. I fired it up and drove to the corner, and tried driving some tight circles both to the right and to the left, and no clicking!:thumbsup:
Tomorrow I will top up the differential fluid again, and hope that my driver side seal is OK...

 

Tomorrow I will top up the differential fluid again, and hope that my driver side seal is OK...

It's not.:horsepoop-1:

My high school didn't have an auto shop class, so I had to learn to make a beer bong instead.

This is supposed to be the lower end of the tube going in to the differential fill hole, but 'smart' phone.

I poured a quart in which barely got it full, but then I later noticed a drip coming from the driver side axle hole. So I'm going to need to replace the driver side seal real soon. Now I'm the one wondering if I can get away with leaving the axle bolted and pinned to the hub during that job... Probably not...

I did hit 209,000 tonight though:

 

Yikes. Impressive work though!

I'm starting to think the advice from my service advisor at the dealership from a few years back is really sound. He was essentially saying the OEM axles never really go bad as long as you keep the boots intact and greased. At that visit I had one boot replaced and regreased and another one regreased with a new clamp. Right before that visit I had noticed both boots leaking so I had it addressed very quickly.

I must have at least 10,000 miles on them since that visit and they are still like new.

I know the common strategy is to toss on new aftermarket axles instead of repairing and regreasing torn boots but if it's an OEM axle it seems like a good strategy to simply repair if you catch it early. Although I'm sure it's pretty messy to deal with that axle grease!

 

I know the common strategy is to toss on new aftermarket axles...

Whatever axles were on my car when I got it, they were toast! Toast!!:cursin: All boots were intact, however, I think they were probably put on/replaced too late.
My driver side axle shuddered hard when faced with taking off with the steering wheel turned to the left. It had wiped out that wheel bearing as well. It also made an unexplained grinding sound which varied when the brakes were pressed and released, causing me to inspect all four brakes. That noise and shudder went away when I put a NAPA axle in its place. It remains fine to this day.
The passenger side had maybe a tiny shudder, but it was clicking. I nursed it along for several months after I'd replaced the driver side axle, and then experienced the NAPA debacle described above. The wheel bearing on that side ended up going bad last year, too.

I was gonna stop and get me another 710110 seal tonight, but I wasn't near any McParts stores or the Tractor Supply.

I'll brazenly bet that I can do the driver side seal inside of an hour, as I have recent experience, and it's quite a bit less inaccessible...

 

Axles are the same from automatic to manual. Axles seals are different from left to right side. One side is bigger. I have also experience "new" axle going bad quick. I wish I greased my original axle joints more often before the balls wore into the race. Now I have to deal with this aftermarket junk.

 

Uh-oh, because I just put another 710110 seal in the driver side! It drove in to the tran-saxle, and fit snugly on the axle stub.

It took more than an hour. It took close to 4 hours! It was dark the whole time. Took me over an hour to get the axle out. First I couldn't get the axle nut loose, so I had to drive near the house, so I could use my electric impact. Then I had a bitch of a time getting the axle disengaged, and after several tools and implements, I tried the long lug wrench from my Mustang. All I had to do was stand on it, and that axle popped free.

It took me longer to get the old seal out, as its hole is in a recessed area of the trans case, and is difficult to get at. And just like the old seal on the other side, the spring was dislodged.

That damned recess also made driving in the new seal much more difficult. A few feet of 2" or 3" PVC pipe might be the go-to for this job... I had planned to use a boiler pipe adapter/reducer in place of the exhaust adapter/reducer, but neither would really work well here.

So I went against good advice, and hammered the seal in, using my jack handle as a drift. It should be OK.

I ended up using a screw driver as a drift, and hammering in the axle via the notch in the tulip-stub.

I added fluid till it dripped out, and capped that sucker up.

I then sprayed around under there with some brake parts cleaner, hoping that it will make it easier to spot any leaks.

I took the car for a drive and stopped a few times to look underneath, but no drips. :thumbsup: It did drip some when I filled it and the driver side axle seal was still the bad one.

 

Today I drove the car 18 miles to work, and parked it on some clean concrete. When I came out, there were no drops under the axles, but it looks like my transmission pan might be leaking a little. I'm also losing some motor oil which appears to be coming from the front passenger side. I will investigate further. But the parts of the diff which I could see were nice and dry.

So I guess I'll pull the fill plug and check my diff fluid level in a few months, and see if it doesn't just stay full from now on.

 

I will try to find the lug wrench handle that can fit onto the notches better than the prybar seems to