Known issues with rear axles?

Has anyone had any issues related to their axles with 2019 tundra? I sample my engine oil and send it off through my work every oil change and at 35000 i decided to do change all my drivetrain oils to remove any break-in material excluding my transmission because what a surprise… it over heated and it will be going back to the dealer on Monday to be dealt with. All of my samples came back good except for my rear differential. Also when i drained it i noticed a few slivers of metal that no other drain plug had. I work on heavy equipment and in our line of work the drain plug having even a few metal slivers calls for high concern but i have heard from a few auto techs that unless it is heavy metal it’s nothing to worry about. Has anyone else had any bearing or gear damage/premature wear on their rear axles? Should i be worried from what I’ve found or just shrug it off? I’ll definitely be notifying the dealer about it but I’m not sure if i should be worried if they say they aren’t going to do anything about it?

P.s. I’ve tried to use the search function on here but I’m still pretty new to this website and i keep getting google results that I’m not looking for.

 

Wow that's pretty chunky. I'm sure you still have warranty...right? Get it checked out.

 

I plan on doing my front and rear diff fluid at 10k miles (w/ OEM Toyota fluid bought from the dealership), only justification really is to get the break-in oil out of there, and also to remove any break in metal from the ring & pinion gears seating, mating, etc.

I'd imagine there will be some residue in there from the metal on metal wear of the gears, so I can chime back in soon to see what mine will look like, granted it'll be about 25k miles less than your sample.

What does the owners manual call for in regards to diff fluid changes? Anyone know off the top of your head?

 

I know they call for 75w85 Toyota fluid but i just went with 75w90 amsoil. My truck was 2.8ish quarts in the front and about 3.2ish quarts in the rear. I didn’t see a recommended mileage to replace the fluid but it’s likely i missed it. Make sure if you go get new crush washers for the plugs the front lower washer is a different copper washer than the rest. The parts guy told me he was so smart he didn’t even have to look them up just to find out the front drain plug was different than the rest. I’ll post back here next week for sure when they let me know about my rear diff.

 

Right on, did you end up getting the correct front drain washer?

 

After a 20minute drive there and 20 minute back i ended up with the correct one. Parts guy tried to argue with me for about 10 minutes and when i convinced him to look it up he was shocked that it was different.

 

Just a little update, i picked my truck up from the dealer today and they did not do anything about the trans or rear diff. They said the metal slivers was normal beak in wear and didn’t acknowledge the oil sample. They out the truck on the lift and put it in gear and said they felt no abnormal vibrations, heard nothing abnormal, and had no excessive play. As for the trans they drove it for about an hour and could not get it to over heat or miss a shift or even shift hard. They checked for DTC’s but found none. They didn’t change my oil because they said with no symptoms currently toyota wouldn’t cover the labor or parts to drain and fill the transmission. I don’t think they even popped the plug on the transmission and checked the level to be honest because i checked it shortly after the overheat and it definitely had a burnt stench to it. So they didn’t charge me for any of the diag but they also didn’t do anything to it. So I’ll be doing the trans fluid and filter myself and also will be doing samples on the rear diff and trans every engine oil change so when there is a downhill trend in the samples I’ll be notifying them again.

 

I've seen small metal pieces in some of my other cars (haven't changed the Tundra yet) and one of them I sold with over 200K miles with no issues. The other cars never developed an issue either. If you see some with your next (second) fluid change, I would be more concerned.

curious about the transmission overheat. how was it detected and were you towing?

 

No towing just normal driving, only has happened 1 time i was driving for probably 3 hours or so on the way to the beach and bam random over heat the dash started yelling at me telling me to pull over. It Was a very hot day out probably near 100 degrees but majority of my driving was highway driving so i was confused on why exactly i overheated.

 

I don't have enough data and/or experience driving for a long period of time on beaches with a very soft sand ... All my driving has been mostly on beaches with hard packed sand.

I can imagine that soft sand plus unlocked TC plus not much airflow plus a hot day plus spinning tires ... would be tough on automatic transmission unless you go 4-Low.
but doesn't sound like you were on the beach! You were just getting there. No?

 

I think one or two other members have reported a burnt smell from their transmission fluid and sent it to Blackstone for analysis but, if I recall correctly, everything was normal and no concerns were noted. So not sure smell is a good diagnostic tool for transmission fluid.

 

I am not really trying to use it as a diagnostic tool so to say, just meant it more of just a notifiable symptom and also using it as a reason to to help convince myself that a fluid and filter change will be a good idea. And i will be sending off an oil sample when the fluid gets changed just to see what it comes back as.

 

correct lol i would’ve been on the beach until that little warning popped up on my dash. Ruined the whole trip for me right there if we are being honest

 

I just had my 2019 Tundra Trd sport 5.7 dc diagnosed at the dealership with a complete rear differential repair. I noticed a whining noise coming from the rear when on the throttle between 60-70mph. No noise when letting off the throttle. The truck only has 11k miles on her! Dropped it off yesterday and master technician said it was loud when they ran it on the lift with no road noise to interfere. It will be in the shop until at least Thursday as they are waiting for parts. While the truck just turned 4 years old it usually is sitting in the garage hence only 11k miles. It will be covered under the 5 year 60k mile drivetrain warranty per the dealership. 2 recalls one for the turn signals then the fuel pump and now this! I got out of my Chevys because of the reliability problems! I hope this ends it! I will have to ask what the actual problem was and will it be corrected after they fix it. I will let you all know when I find out.

6/28/23 update: got the truck back from dealership. They replaced the carrier assembly under drivetrain warranty. Drove it home all seems good again. I only hope this is it for the repairs!

 

I'm a big believer in the break-in fluid changes. Did my 2019 rear differential at 4K and also had significant material on the plug and oil was very dirty.. Due to worries also changed at 10K and 25K and fluid and plug were perfect. If this is its first gear oil change then you need not worry. Due another in 10K and it will seem brand new.

 

When I changed mine at 60k miles I found these two metal discs on the magnetic plug. Posted it here and everyone said it was fine. It’s been fine since.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I have a Blackstone kit and will be changing my transmission fluid soon. Mine was definitely dark. Can’t remember smelling it burnt, but I’m going to get it tested and report back soon. I’m mostly curious what the lack of a cooler did to the fluid. 47K right now, will report back the results to this thread.