Leaking Axle Questions

I just got a 2006 DC. I have a couple of items I need to work on and wanted to get some input on a few questions I have.

The first thing I’m wondering about is the axle. The boots look intact and the truck is not lifted. They are both leaking, but the passenger side is much worse. I forgot to take pics of the grease it was slinging before I cleaned it, but I do have a cleaned up pic I’ll post. Later, when I went back out in the garage there was the strong, unmistakable smell of gear oil. So I’m thinking the main problem might be the seals are leaking which is allowing gear oil to get into the axle grease, thinning it down and allowing it to seep out under the band where the boot is secured to the tulip.

The truck was taken care of at the dealership for all but its last service where it was taken to some type of oil change outfit I hadn’t heard of. I’m wondering if the leaking seals could be from the wrong weight gear oil in the diff. If someone did put the wrong gear oil in the diff would just draining it and refilling with the correct oil be good enough? I don’t know if this happened, but I do wonder if it might be the reason both seals appear to have gone bad about the same time.

I went ahead and ordered two boot kits and the seals. Can anyone tell me what tools I need for the factory band clamps? I know there is some discussion/debate about whether to use the factory style bands or aftermarket hose clamps. At this point I’m going to stick with the factory clamp and leave the other clamp as a future option if/as needed.

Also, are the axles Toyota OEM? I believe they are, but I’m hoping someone can confirm.

 

Interested in your diy pics. Another member ordered the rebuild boot kit from Toyota, but they didn’t fit for some reason. Not sure if yours are OEM or not. The 0C010 may indicate they are OEM.

 

99% sure those are OEM axles. Mine had that same exact sticker which is the part number.

 

I recently bought the CV boot kit for my 2001 access cab and they did not fit. My CV axle was original.

 

I don't see how differential fluid somehow caused the axles to throw grease. It's not that uncommon for those boots to lose grease over time. The boots look to be in good shape.

There is a seal on each side of the differential. It sounds like you suspect those of leaking? We were just discussing this job in another thread recently. The passenger side is a bit tricky to replace correctly.

Here is that thread.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/leaking-axle-seal.70333/

 

Thanks for the replies. I suspected the gear oil was leaking into the axle grease because of the strong odor. I assumed the inner seal was leaking and allowing the gear oil into the axle. But I don’t have a lot of mechanical experience so I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to be wrong.

Thanks for the link to the thread. I was aware of the tight margin for error on the seal. I’m a little surprised there isn’t a tool to make sure you can get the seal in there just right. I hope I will be able to pull it off.

Can you tell me a little more about what happened and what you ended up doing? Where did you get the kit? Do you have any tips on how to determine if I get the wrong kit before I tear it apart?

 

I bought the CV boot kit through Amazon. It was the OEM Toyota boot kit. I checked three different online vendors before ordering to make sure the kit was supposed to fit my 2001 access cab 4x4 V8 Tundra. All of those vendors gave me the same part number for the CV boot kit. I have owned my truck since it was new so I am certain I have the original axles. One of the boots was too small and one was too big. Unfortunately, I did not know for sure until I had my axle out of the truck and I was trying to install the new CV boots. I ended up going to my local Advanced Auto Parts store and buying a new aftermarket axle to complete the job. In the future, I don't think I will try to replace the CV boots again. I will just get a new complete CV axle. Best of luck with your situation.

 

I wonder where I heard this advice before?

Seriously, I’d still like to understand why the boot kit doesn’t work. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this. Good write up.

 

I suppose other forum members convinced me the OEM axles were so much better than aftermarket, they were worth saving.

 

@Bubbadog Thank you for taking the time to fill me in, I appreciate it.

 

Always an option (especially if lifted) -

 

No problem, good luck.

 

Details on those red boots? Having grease leakage issues as well with a 2 1/2" front leveling lift.

 

The CV is completely separate from the Diff and it's pretty much impossible for the diff fluid to leak into the boot. The majority of the leakage issues with the boots stem from the OEM style clamps, they're a beeeotch to get right. I've found that Norma 9mm wide hose clamps work the best. They have rolled edges (need to verify when ordering) so they won't cut the boots and are narrower than standard hose clamps. They're pretty easy to find with google. The barrel of the outer most hose clamp is SUPER close to my UCA but it does clear.

 

Here ya go -
https://www.offroadsolutions.com/products/high-angle-inner-cv-boot/

 

Thanks!

 

Well, this project didn't get off to what I'd consider a great start…..



…..but I managed to get the project done pretty much without issues. I do have a few tips which might be helpful for anyone attempting this repair. Overall I wouldn’t rate it as difficult, but it is an extremely messy job! When I get some free time I’ll post a thread with some pics and things I learned.

 

I’ve been meaning to write up a post on this, but I’ve been really busy and just haven’t been able to find the time to get anything written down. But, I’d encourage anyone who is considering a reboot of their Toyota axles to give it a go. It isn’t especially hard and if I can do it I'm sure most of you can pull it off too. I replaced both inner axle seals and neither one is leaking after two weeks. This was something that actually terrified me because I’d read about so many people having problems with leaks after the installation and the last thing I wanted to do was pull the axle again and replace the seal.