rear axle seal... the saga continues

[bluecollar_tweeker]

My rear axle seal on the 2000 Tundra has blown and flooded my drums. Again. This will be the fourth set of seals in 2 years.

The seal started out weeping a tiny bit, and I let the dealership talk me into replacing it. I suspect one of their 18 yr. old, $110/hr. techs didn't put it back toether with the manic level of attention to detail that this job deserves, and its never been the same since.

On a seemingly (to me) unrelated note, my truck has been reluctant to shift into 4Low ever since I bought it. (I always come to a complete stop and shift to neutral before pressing the button) Lately it hasn't worked at all. Last time I tried it the light blinked repeatedly, then a horrible grinding noise occured that sounded roughly like the mechanical equivalent of someone hitting a baby with a cat. I suspect the actuator rod problem that has stealthily plagued the 2000 Tundras while flying under the radar of most dealership techs.

My question is this:

Is it possible that my faulty transfer case is causing my axle seals to blow? Thinking back on the problem, I have heard the grinding noise before, and I THINK (but am not 100% sure) that it has occured each time before I discovered my my blown axle seal.

I hate to mistake a coincidence for a cause & effect relationship (I'm fairly sure thats how religions get started) but I can't help but wonder. Anybody?

Also, if I elect not to fix the rear brakes and axle seal right away while I try to diagnose the cause of the problem (4 times already suggests a 5th will be not far away), do I run the risk of causing further damage? I'm not too concerned about the loss of rear braking ability (it's a Tundra remember?)

Thanks

[Rut]

This is the second Gen Tundra section. You will get more help in the first Gen section

[Tankerhank]

Originally Posted by bluecollar_tweeker

My rear axle seal on the 2000 Tundra has blown and flooded my drums. Again. This will be the fourth set of seals in 2 years.

The seal started out weeping a tiny bit, and I let the dealership talk me into replacing it. I suspect one of their 18 yr. old, $110/hr. techs didn't put it back toether with the manic level of attention to detail that this job deserves, and its never been the same since.

On a seemingly (to me) unrelated note, my truck has been reluctant to shift into 4Low ever since I bought it. (I always come to a complete stop and shift to neutral before pressing the button) Lately it hasn't worked at all. Last time I tried it the light blinked repeatedly, then a horrible grinding noise occured that sounded roughly like the mechanical equivalent of someone hitting a baby with a cat. I suspect the actuator rod problem that has stealthily plagued the 2000 Tundras while flying under the radar of most dealership techs.

My question is this:

Is it possible that my faulty transfer case is causing my axle seals to blow? Thinking back on the problem, I have heard the grinding noise before, and I THINK (but am not 100% sure) that it has occured each time before I discovered my my blown axle seal.

I hate to mistake a coincidence for a cause & effect relationship (I'm fairly sure thats how religions get started) but I can't help but wonder. Anybody?

Also, if I elect not to fix the rear brakes and axle seal right away while I try to diagnose the cause of the problem (4 times already suggests a 5th will be not far away), do I run the risk of causing further damage? I'm not too concerned about the loss of rear braking ability (it's a Tundra remember?)

Thanks

Like said you will do better bringing this up in the 1st gen Tundra section, with that said I had rear seals go twice on my 2000 Tundra. Then second time I replaced the seal myself and was astounded to find hammer marks all over the old seal, the Toyota mechanic at Precision Toyota just took a hammer and pounded the seal in... no wonder it leaked... again. After I did it never had a problem, one more reason I don't let them even change the oil.

[dyogim]

Thread already started in the 1gen forum.

Closing this thread.