Rear axle assembly

I have a 2006 tundra and my rear bearing is leaking, I was considering pulling a used real axle assembly to replace it. Can I pull it off any 1st gen tundra from 2000 -2006 ?

 

Welcome aboard!

Just a few questions before I can give you a definite answer. What seal is the leak at? Is it at one of the ends of the axle housing, or is it near the part of the axle that attaches to the driveshaft? What cab type do you have (access, double, regular). Lastly, is your truck 2WD or 4WD?

If you edit your profile here https://www.tundras.com/account/personal-details and find the "Vehicle One-line Description" box, and put in the following, that will help the community better answer questions here and in any future threads you make.

• Year
• Cab type (AC, DC, or RC for access, double, regular)
• Engine (V6 or V8)
• Drivetrain (2WD or 4WD)
• Trim (SR5, Limited)

Example: 2004 AC V8/4WD SR5

 

Double cab, 4x4

 

2006
Double cab
V8
4wd
Sr5

 

Are you certain that is gear oil and that its not brake fluid coming from that wheel cylinder?

 

Got it. If you're sure it's gear oil (can tell by the strong sulfurish smell usually), that's indicative of a blown out inner seal and it's both cost and labor prohibitive to replace the whole housing for this as a fix. Pulling the axle shaft out of the axle housing, removing the seal and pressing in a new one would be the first course of action.

Have the wheel bearings ever been replaced? If they're done wrong, this can lead to leaky axle seals down the line. Otherwise I would look at your axle tube breather to make sure it is functioning, and potentially look into a breather relocation mod.

If you don't address the seal quickly it can wash the grease out of your wheel bearing and cause premature failure.

This is what the seal in question looks like:

 

Yes, I'm certain it's gear oil. Yeah I did had the wheel bearing replaced before, now it's making that noise again which it did in the first place, so it got me to believe it was done wrong. So I'll figure I'll just go pull a used one. That's why I'm wondering if I can pull a used one off a 2000 tundra reg cab?

 

Since you're a double cab, you can only use 2004-2006 axle housings and shafts. Access and regular cab axle housings/ shafts are too narrow.

If you're going the used route, I'd pull just the axle shaft out of a 2004-2006 double cab instead of getting a whole axle, and replace the inner axle seal on your current axle housing that is leaking. Access cab and regular cab rear axle shafts are too short.

If you do decide to get a full axle housing with the shafts inside already, you'll have to confirm whether the gear ratio in the differential is the same as your current truck, and that the pinion flange has the same spacing. 2004 double cabs had both a different gear ratio and pinion flange than the 2005-2006 double cabs. If you get a 2004 double cab axle housing, you'll have to pull the axle shafts out of it to remove the 2004's differential and install the one out of the 2006's axle housing inside of it.

 

I really appreciate that information!!

 

Of course, been through quite a bit of this myself unfortunately. Last bit of information -- the rear axle shafts are side dependent if you're doing a basic axle shaft swap with no press work on the bearings; the emergency brake provisions have to come out behind the axle shaft. If you pull a rear axle shaft and put in the opposite side, the emergency brake line provisions will be in the wrong location.

If you're near SoCal/ AZ, I may be interested in buying any axle shafts you replace.