bufbooth Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Its been 6 years and over 20,000 miles since I pulled the rear axles out to inspect the brakes and axle seals and am planning a 4,000 mile trip next summer so I want to be sure all is well with the rear axle. Since it is such a pain to do (pull tires off, remove cone locking washers, remove axles, etc..) I am preparing for the worst and want to have all the needed parts on hand. I plan on replacing the inter and outer seals on the axle, put new brake shoes on, install new brake hardware (springs, connectors, etc...) and even put new brake drums on (I think current ones have a slight warp/out of round issue). When all done I will replace the rear differential fluid and ensure the air valve on top of the axle is functioning. I will be checking the brake cylinder for any leaks. Is there anything else I should be checking for while I am in there? Also, if I find differential fluid in the bearings does that mean my seals are bad? There has been some past discussions that the wheel bearings should only have wheel bearing grease on them, some state that the grease is only an initial lube to be there until the differential fluid gets to them. After I purchased my 1990 Toyota in 2004 I did a 4,000 mile trip and afterwards I pulled the rear drums off since I had a squeeky rear brake and found that one side was flooded with differential fluid while the other side only had bearing grease on them. As a result I am believing that the wheel bearing should only have grease on them, since I cannot explain why one set of wheel bearings did not have any differential fluid on them. If they are to only have bearing grease on the wheel bearings, what are some recommended brands / type to use? Thank you, Dennis B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Dennis; Scroll down on this link, Dan posted a photo with part numbers for the various parts http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3483 I don't know what the ramifications are about oil diluting the grease?? I suspect it wouldn't hurt anything. I used brand name high temp bearing grease. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Toyota seems to be the only full floating axle in the entire world that does not use gear oil to lube the bearings why they decided this was a good ideal is beyond me. EP 90 is a far better bearing lube then grease if it wasn't every large truck and trailer would use grease instead of gear oil. Must work they roll hundreds of thousands of miles and never need servicing. The Toyota rear has 3 seals an axle tube seal and two hub seals if there is oil on your breaks the inner hub seal is leaking along with the axle tube seal even if the hub is full of oil it should not be on the breaks unless the inner hub seal is leaking. Mine has no axle tube seals I left them out so the bearings would be running in oil do this at your own risk. The only reason I ever greased axle bearings was to keep them lubed till the oil reached them. If you take any full floating axle apart other then Toyota there will be gear oil on the bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 how many miles since this seal removal modifcation Maineah? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bufbooth Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Does anyone have a part number for the axle tube seal? I had thought there were only two seals (the inter and outer hub seals). "The Toyota rear has 3 seals an axle tube seal and two hub seals if there is oil on your breaks the inner hub seal is leaking along with the axle tube seal even if the hub is full of oil it should not be on the breaks unless the inner hub seal is leaking" Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Does anyone have a part number for the axle tube seal? I had thought there were only two seals (the inter and outer hub seals). "The Toyota rear has 3 seals an axle tube seal and two hub seals if there is oil on your breaks the inner hub seal is leaking along with the axle tube seal even if the hub is full of oil it should not be on the breaks unless the inner hub seal is leaking" Thanks... I'm pretty sure there are only 2 seals. The inner axle seal and the outer hub seal. I have only pulled the axle on my Nissan flull floater and they have no outer seal. Just the inner axle seal. Mine were bad and dif fluid was every where all over the breaks and diff was almost empty. On a Nissan with 9.25 inch gear that is not such a big issue but on the smaller 8 inch toyota gear I do believe not enough diff fluid could be a real problem. Those seals keep it where it belongs LS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 I did brakes on 92 itasca spirit which is identical to a winnie warrior. There is a seal on the axle tube that is almost an o-ring and a seal separating the wheel bearing area from the brakes - notes this seal is 2 faced - it seals both sides from the other. Attached is a photo of the notes I made while shopping at Advance (used to be discount) auto parts. They go by different names in other parts of the country. When I pulled mine part one side was wet with rear end oil. I hear the trick is to insert the axle very carefully so you do not damage the lip seal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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