Rear diff bearing noise

Hey guys I have a 2008 CM 5.7 TRD 290 000km.

I've been hearing a faint rubbing/ hum noise the past 3 months. Had it in the shop a few times, they at the time weren't sure what I was hearing. Brought it to a Mr. Transmission and they have diagnosed a bad bearing in the rear diff, as well as bad seals on the axel. They said off the gas they could hear some crunching like sound so they assume the gears are getting chewed. They haven't checked the fluid to see what it looks like.

After picking it up the sound seems much louder. Not sure if it's the stress test, they said they only took it out and then got the wheels up to speed while on the lift. But its significantly louder at low speeds.

Repair with new diff assembly and corresponding parts with taxes... $5200

Used differential $4200 Installed with tax.

Truck may be done. Very stressful as it's causing me to miss my work (self employed contractor/ carpenter). Not much of a question, just more of a heads up to the tundra community.

 

If it's true that the axle seals are bad, are you sure you've got adequate fliud in the diff?

 

Check the fluid level and change it. Or just pull the whole diff out and look.

If the diff is bad, swap it with another one from the wreckers. I think some of the early models had issues with the carrier pin coming loose.

 

I have the insides from my 2020 that you can have if you want. I went powertrax and 4.88’s this year.

 

Be extra, extra, extra sure that you don't just need rear wheel bearings. I would drain the oil and if it isn't shiny, I wouldn't trust a word that shop told you!

Put the rear axle on jack stands and disable traction control, then chock the front wheels so the truck does move. Start it up and put the truck in gear so the rear wheels start to spin. You can carefully stop one rear wheel at a time and the opposite wheel will start spinning more quickly. If you find that you have a ton of noise with one wheel spinning but not the other, that would tend to suggest bad wheel bearings, which is super duper common on these trucks.

If you replace the wheel bearings, you'll end up putting on new seals anyway.

I had to do mine on my own and buying a press, the special tool, and all the parts to do it was right around $1000.

 

Is it 2WD or 4WD?

I looked on Car-part.com and used rear axle assemblies for a 2WD are around $1000. I can’t imagine why the labor to install it would be so high.

 

Thanks for these responses guys I may get a second opinion tomorrow. Wouldn't be the worst idea.

 

I would check the wheel bearing play , find what seals are leaking replace leaking seals and do a diff fluid change if there aren't any chunks you should be good. If its not the wheel bearings order up a bearing kit and plan on a week end an pull that puppy out an replace the bearings. No sense in spending money if not needed. Also since its a already assembled unit just measure each side of the original shims and bearings and then those same shims with the new bearings. That will cut alot of the guess and hard math out of it.

 

Had the loud humming noise especially at speeds 60-70 mph. Sounded like the rear end bearings were going bad. Then the wheels would make noise around turns and when towing. Found out there was a Technical Service Bulletin out in 2010. T-SB-0151-10 Rear Axle Abnormal Bearing Noise. Did the fix and everything works great now. Also, had the emergency brake redone. Out the door, it cost $1500. 130,000 miles on it.
Local Mechanic did it. Stay away from the transmission shops. Got screwed by them a long time ago. Learned my lesson. Find a good local mechanic.