Should Cv Axel Continually Leak After Cv Axel is Removed

Mootsman [OP] Active Member

Joined:

Jun 13, 2009

Member:

#18418

Messages:

44

Gender:

Male

Gunnison, Colorado

Vehicle:

02 Tacoma SR5

3" Fabtech Lift

Anybody had a problem with the front dif seal leaking after installing a new CV axle? I ended up, very long story, with a remanufactured Toyota axle on the driver's side, and a NAPA axle on the passenger side. Sure enough, the Napa axle is seeping/leaking where it enters the dif. Toyota side is dry. Is this common at all? Do you usually use a new seal? I didn't.
I didn't trust the Napa axle in the first place, but ended up needing to use it because of time and distance to the nearest Toyota dealer.

02 Tacoma TRD
tacomaman06 Carolina Alliance: Enforcer

Joined:

May 1, 2007

Member:

#1475

Messages:

26,213

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Will

York,South Carolina

Vehicle:

'16 Tundra TRD Pro

getting there....

what happened is the snap ring on the beginning of the shaft has torn the seal. you'll need to pull the axle back out and replace the seal. when you put the axle back in....add a smear of grease to the snap ring.
mine did it first time i replaced my axles.....seals are super soft.
4WD cRaZy oLdmAn

Joined:

Jul 2, 2009

Member:

#19185

Messages:

23,553

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Doug

Lakeside, Ca / Gardnerville, Nevada

Vehicle:

2004 DC TRD 4x

Grey wire MOD, deck plate, diff breather MOD, 2nd gen. OME 883# on Tundra 5100's, OMD custom 3" leafsprings, rear shock relocation, Ivan Stewart TRD rims w/285/75/16's, '02 bumper MOD, Famous Fabrications sliders , LED interior/exterior lights, bed bar, Custom tube bumper, Old school KC day lighters,Red Ring 8" HID flood, Kenwood vhf 2M.. umm some other shit I'm forgetting right now

Yup, betting you tore that super soft seal in the housing, I've warned a few here about having an extra hand in putting them into place (Axles)its got to be a straight shot or the results will be alot like yours...
Mootsman [OP] Active Member

Joined:

Jun 13, 2009

Member:

#18418

Messages:

44

Gender:

Male

Gunnison, Colorado

Vehicle:

02 Tacoma SR5

3" Fabtech Lift

Ok. Thanks. I will get to it on Friday.
ilove_taco_ma Well-Known Member

Joined:

Jun 13, 2010

Member:

#38877

Messages:

585

Gender:

Male

fresno, california

Vehicle:

95 tacoma 4wd LX

nothing, all stock expect got a OE replacement air filter K&N.

im currently redoing my axles now. i hope i don't run into that issue afterwards.
TRDMadness Well-Known Member

Joined:

Feb 25, 2011

Member:

#51853

Messages:

55

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Chandler

Clovis,CA

Vehicle:

1999 Toyota Tacoma TRD

Eibach coilover with bilstein shock, Dakar Old Man Emu leafs with 5125 billies. Total Chaos uniball upper control arms. AFe cold air intake. Trail-gear stinger, rear tube bumper and slider.Debadged, chrome demolished.

I had three people and my friends girlfriend help us just on one side. everyone had their own part to hold on, to keep out of the way. two people holding the cv shaft and SLOWLY easing it into position making sure it lined right up. Luckily our first time doing resulted in a good finished product. We also bought a new cv shaft from Napa. Not a re manufacture axle.
jberry813 Professional Fluffer Moderator

Joined:

Jan 21, 2011

Member:

#49636

Messages:

28,288

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Jason

Lake Tahoe

Vehicle:

2012 DCSB Sport

...too much shit to list.
ok and the clip stays on top correct???
anyone know the part # on the seal....
is it the same # for driver n pass. side????
jberry813 Professional Fluffer Moderator

Joined:

Jan 21, 2011

Member:

#49636

Messages:

28,288

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Jason

Lake Tahoe

Vehicle:

2012 DCSB Sport

...too much shit to list.

Snap ring is generally easier to work with when you let gravity do the work. Turn the snap ring so the opening is facing up and then insert into the diff.
Part numbers are different.
Passenger side is 90311-47013 (I just changed mine 3 days ago and still have the wrapper).
Drivers side is 90311-47011

EDIT: These are first gen part #'s. Can't swear to second gen. OP has a 02
EDIT2: Turns out Toyota is not very original. According to http://www.toyotapartsdirect.com/ part #'s are the same for second gen.
thanks
so any tips or other trick for these cv axles......special tools needed or just to make things easier
jberry813 Professional Fluffer Moderator

Joined:

Jan 21, 2011

Member:

#49636

Messages:

28,288

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Jason

Lake Tahoe

Vehicle:

2012 DCSB Sport

...too much shit to list.

Check out below link. It was very helpful when I did the axles on my Tundra. The axles are identical except the Tundra one's are longer. Only special tool you'll need is a 35mm axle socket.
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/cv_axle/

For second genners tacomas, there's not a whole lot of difference really either. My wife's 4 runner is nearly identical to my Tacoma except really the lower ball joint. Instead of 4 14mm bolts (1st gen taco) your tacoma should have 2 very large bolts (17mm if i remember) that connect the LBJ to the bottom of the spindle. Unbolt those two and pull the axle nut and you can pull the entire hub/brake assembly off and around the axle and set it to one side.

And I editied my last response, part #'s should be the same even for second gen.
DOT Well-Known Member

Joined:

Apr 14, 2010

Member:

#35260

Messages:

2,339

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Jobin

Littleton CO

Vehicle:

2007 FJ

3'' toytec lift

I went through this a couple months ago make sure your new CV has the dust cover, with the ones you get at napa and other places they like to leave them off. This is going to keep it dripping with out it makes it look like your seal is bad.
You also wont be able to find the dust cover as a separate part so hopefully you have the old one still.
To bad you don't live closer I have a extra seal and i would give you hand too
jberry813 Professional Fluffer Moderator

Joined:

Jan 21, 2011

Member:

#49636

Messages:

28,288

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Jason

Lake Tahoe

Vehicle:

2012 DCSB Sport

...too much shit to list.

FSM says the dust covers (2 per axle) are non-reusable and you are supposed to buy new ones. Stealership part only though. Rebuilt axles will only have a new snap ring. I say, as long as you're careful with pulling them off and putting them on, screw it. I've reused mine on all of my yotas and never had a problem.
Mootsman [OP] Active Member

Joined:

Jun 13, 2009

Member:

#18418

Messages:

44

Gender:

Male

Gunnison, Colorado

Vehicle:

02 Tacoma SR5

3" Fabtech Lift

We pulled the axle and seal. There was no evidence of any tearing or anything on the old seal. Put in a new seal and reinstalled the napa axle. It still leaks. Bottom line, the remanufactured Toyota axle never leaked a drop even with the old seal, the napa axle has leaked with both seals. Next week I'm getting another Toyota axle and seal and doing it again. I also noticed that the boots on the Toyota axle are significantly higher quality. We'll see if that one leaks or not.
4WD cRaZy oLdmAn

Joined:

Jul 2, 2009

Member:

#19185

Messages:

23,553

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Doug

Lakeside, Ca / Gardnerville, Nevada

Vehicle:

2004 DC TRD 4x

Grey wire MOD, deck plate, diff breather MOD, 2nd gen. OME 883# on Tundra 5100's, OMD custom 3" leafsprings, rear shock relocation, Ivan Stewart TRD rims w/285/75/16's, '02 bumper MOD, Famous Fabrications sliders , LED interior/exterior lights, bed bar, Custom tube bumper, Old school KC day lighters,Red Ring 8" HID flood, Kenwood vhf 2M.. umm some other shit I'm forgetting right now

I'm sorry it didn't turn out to be that seal, sucks that sub standard axle fucked everything up (& NAPA ain't cheap) Yep the OEM boots are a few more $$$ well worth it though..
tacomaman06 Carolina Alliance: Enforcer

Joined:

May 1, 2007

Member:

#1475

Messages:

26,213

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Will

York,South Carolina

Vehicle:

'16 Tundra TRD Pro

getting there....

I got my new axles from advanced auto,gsp...new,not remanned, for around $75 a piece,and haven't had any probs at all.....and the boots on them are thicker than the stock axles I replaced. Weird that the napa axle was still causing a leak.
Mootsman [OP] Active Member

Joined:

Jun 13, 2009

Member:

#18418

Messages:

44

Gender:

Male

Gunnison, Colorado

Vehicle:

02 Tacoma SR5

3" Fabtech Lift

The remanned napa is around $60, their lifetime warranty one is around $110. I am assuming it's the axle, time will tell. No advanced auto anywhere around here. I can't imagine that all these auto parts places actually manufacture their own axles, they must all draw from the same parts.
On a related note, a mechanic friend was working on a Toyota corolla this week. Front cv axle replacement. He got one from car quest, again, our only choices here are napa and CQ. Anyway, he could not get the clip to seat in the dif. Tried and tried, something just did not fit right. I think he went through two CQ axles, and a few seals ( can't get any of these seals after market, only from Toyota which means a day wait for them to ship up here). Finally, got one in, but it leaked like a sieve. He gave up on that and got a napa axle, that went right in and worked fine. So I don't know what the problem is. Maybe it's just the elevation he didn't make any money on what was supposed to be an easy job though.
jberry813 Professional Fluffer Moderator

Joined:

Jan 21, 2011

Member:

#49636

Messages:

28,288

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Jason

Lake Tahoe

Vehicle:

2012 DCSB Sport

...too much shit to list.

CV's are just a gigantic fucking pain in the ass...period.
SAS FTW.
4WD cRaZy oLdmAn

Joined:

Jul 2, 2009

Member:

#19185

Messages:

23,553

Gender:

Male

First Name:

Doug

Lakeside, Ca / Gardnerville, Nevada

Vehicle:

2004 DC TRD 4x

Grey wire MOD, deck plate, diff breather MOD, 2nd gen. OME 883# on Tundra 5100's, OMD custom 3" leafsprings, rear shock relocation, Ivan Stewart TRD rims w/285/75/16's, '02 bumper MOD, Famous Fabrications sliders , LED interior/exterior lights, bed bar, Custom tube bumper, Old school KC day lighters,Red Ring 8" HID flood, Kenwood vhf 2M.. umm some other shit I'm forgetting right now

X10
Man, ain't that the truth !!