[4x4yota]

i have a 1993 xtra cab v6 4x4 with 217,000 miles. I off road regularly with it. My rear diff started leaking before and i found out the bolts were sightly loose. But now the diff has started leaking again, and tightening the bolts won't stop the leak. What should i do? should i change the seal... will it be difficult to change the seal? what are the procedures?

 

[4x4yota]

up

 

[robinhood150]

Where is it leaking? The pinion seal? If so you can get that fixed for about $50. Find a good gear shop in your area. AKA rear end shop.

 

[4x4yota]

Where is it leaking? The pinion seal? If so you can get that fixed for about $50. Find a good gear shop in your area. AKA rear end shop.

Right where the seal is, umm, right above the drain bolt on the differental housing ball itself. i just bought a new OEM gasket for $2.66, it's basically a piece of paper! Well it doesn't seem too hard, just remove the rear drive shaft... i hope.

 

[robinhood150]

Oh ok. It's a little more involved than just removing the dshaft. To remove the third member you have to remove the axles shafts too. It's pretty straight forward, but a little time consuming.

I'll add more later. Got to get to work now.

 

[robinhood150]

To remove the 3rd member and replace that gasket you need to:

1. Jack up the tires, throw jackstands under the axle and remove the tires.
2. Drain the gear oil.
3. Remove 4 bolts on each side of the axle which holds the axle shafts in.
4. Disconnect the brake lines including the parking brake lines.
5. Disconnect the sway bar to make it easier to remove the 3rd member
6. Slide out the axle shafts
7. Unbolt the dshaft
8. Unbolt the 3rd member and slide it out.
9. Replace the leaking gasket
10 Reassemble.

I'd also suggest you replace the axle seals at the same time. Like I said, not terribly difficult, just time consuming.

 

[4x4yota]

To remove the 3rd member and replace that gasket you need to:

1. Jack up the tires, throw jackstands under the axle and remove the tires.
2. Drain the gear oil.
3. Remove 4 bolts on each side of the axle which holds the axle shafts in.
4. Disconnect the brake lines including the parking brake lines.
5. Disconnect the sway bar to make it easier to remove the 3rd member
6. Slide out the axle shafts
7. Unbolt the dshaft
8. Unbolt the 3rd member and slide it out.
9. Replace the leaking gasket
10 Reassemble.

I'd also suggest you replace the axle seals at the same time. Like I said, not terribly difficult, just time consuming.

wait... i don't know if we're on the same seal. My leak is coming from right above the drain bolt on the differental gear housing... well here's a picture of the gasket :

either way thanks for the info. Let me know if this is the same gasket we're talking about.

 

[robinhood150]

Your leak is between the 3rd member and the housing, right? Where the green arrows are pointing.

The third member is the thing outlined in red. It houses you diff gears and your axle shafts slide into the gears. In order to remove the 3rd member, the axle shafts need to be removed.

 

[4x4yota]

Your leak is between the 3rd member and the housing, right? Where the green arrows are pointing.

The third member is the thing outlined in red. It houses you diff gears and your axle shafts slide into the gears. In order to remove the 3rd member, the axle shafts need to be removed.

yup, it's leaking in between the 3rd member and the housing. i guess i have a project this weekend. One more question, should i use the toyota orange tranaxle gasket sealer inbetween the 3rd member and housing?

 

[robinhood150]

Here's a writeup which shows how to take out the axle shafts. http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/rear_axle/wheel_bearing/
You don't have to replace the wheel bearing or outer seal unless they're bad, but like I said before you might as well replace the inner seal since you have everything apart.

Here's a thread on gaskets.

And another

 

[4x4yota]

Here's a writeup which shows how to take out the axle shafts. http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/rear_axle/wheel_bearing/
You don't have to replace the wheel bearing or outer seal unless they're bad, but like I said before you might as well replace the inner seal since you have everything apart.

Here's a thread on gaskets.

And another

thanks a lot, i'll check those sites out.

 

[toy283]

To remove the 3rd member and replace that gasket you need to:

1. Jack up the tires, throw jackstands under the axle and remove the tires.
2. Drain the gear oil.
3. Remove 4 bolts on each side of the axle which holds the axle shafts in.
4. Disconnect the brake lines including the parking brake lines.
5. Disconnect the sway bar to make it easier to remove the 3rd member
6. Slide out the axle shafts
7. Unbolt the dshaft
8. Unbolt the 3rd member and slide it out.
9. Replace the leaking gasket
10 Reassemble.

I'd also suggest you replace the axle seals at the same time. Like I said, not terribly difficult, just time consuming.

You forgot one key step:

11. Bleed brakes

 

[4x4yota]

Here's a writeup which shows how to take out the axle shafts. http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/rear_axle/wheel_bearing/
You don't have to replace the wheel bearing or outer seal unless they're bad, but like I said before you might as well replace the inner seal since you have everything apart.

Here's a thread on gaskets.

And another

just finished, took about 3-4 hours. It wasn't hard, just very time consuming like you said. THanks for the help, it really helped!