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Need help with Axle seal from a toyota mechanic!!! please?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by mikemar, Jun 1, 2014.

  1. mikemar

    mikemar Junior Member

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    OK I've replaced the seal 3 times now and it keeps leaking!!! What am I doing wrong? Seals are about $14 each so this is getting pricey. I made a tool to tap the seal in place to make sure its in all the way and square but no matter what they keep leaking. Someone said to use atv gasket sealer but the original didn't have any sealer behind it so I didn't use it. What is the secret here? I'm sure the dealer will want a lot to do this
     
    #1 mikemar, Jun 1, 2014
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    How long are the seals lasting you? Is it the one on the driver's side? DIY $14 x 3 is just a tank of gas......
     
    #2 JC91006, Jun 1, 2014
  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Its usually because the inner cv shafts are worn out and are not rotating smoothly in the bore. You may feel some vibration in the drive train
    if this is the case. Get some heavy gloves and with the car up on the rack try to move the shafts around. Shake them really hard.
    Should be pretty tight. And looseness in the inner and it will beat up the seal and the bearing and the race.
    Hard on the fluid too. To check dump the trans fluid and check for metal debris.

    You didn't post model or miles but any miles over 150k cv's are suspect.
     
    #3 edthefox5, Jun 1, 2014
  4. mikemar

    mikemar Junior Member

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    Sorry. I should have added more info. Car is 2005 with about 258,000 miles. I replaced the right side shaft because the boot tore. It was leaking a little and then the shaft failed after about a month. A replaced the shaft and seal this time and it leaks like a sieve. First seal was a good drip. When I put In the 2nd seal I used a seal driver and I think that damaged it as it was dripping too but worse than the first seal. The last seal was almost a constant stream after a 2 mile drive. I used a piece of PVC pipe that fit perfectly around the outside of the seal to push this one in and it seemed perfectly installed. I just took that seal out and I could see and obvious rips so I don't know what's going on here. I too some pics of where the seal installs to make sure there wasn't any damage from removing the seals and didn't see anything. I notice there is what looks like an oil passage above and below the seal, is there supposed to be an opening in the seal there? Are they selling me the wrong seals?
     
    #4 mikemar, Jun 1, 2014
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    There is a left and right seal. Hopefully they are giving you the correct one

    SM-N900P ?
     
    #5 JC91006, Jun 1, 2014
  6. mikemar

    mikemar Junior Member

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    Ok here is a pic of the tranny where the seal goes. It looks like an oil passage on the bottom with a matching one across for it on the top. This is also the seal I took out. It's deformed from me pulling it out. image.jpg image.jpg
     
    #6 mikemar, Jun 1, 2014
  7. JohnE

    JohnE New Member

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    Slide the new seal onto the axle and check fit before you install. Check the replacement axle for any imperfections, ie. grooves or gouges, where the seal rides. Make sure the tension spring isn't popping off during installation of the seal. If all that is okay you probably have a worn output bearing that is allowing the axle to move around and break the seal.
     
    #7 JohnE, Jun 2, 2014
  8. mikemar

    mikemar Junior Member

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    Actually I think I found the problem. It seems I may have been pushing the seal in too far. I thought it needed to be pushed in tight but instead it should just be pushed in flush with the outer surface of the tranny. I was blocking the oil passages on the top and bottom which supply oil to the bearings so the oil was instead being pushed out. I'll find out tomorrow when I install the next new seal. Live and learn...........
     
    #8 mikemar, Jun 2, 2014
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  9. Oracle617

    Oracle617 Member

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    Hi Mikemar,
    I'm also having problems with a leaking drive shaft oil seal - long side. I have only replaced mine twice, but each time I have gotten a tiny little weep of ATF. The question is simple... did not pushing the seal in so far work for you? If so, how far did you go?

    Also, are you working on the long or the short side? I have done both of mine, both pushed all the way in. Only the long side appears to be leaking.

    Thanks

    Matt
     
    #9 Oracle617, Jul 2, 2014
  10. Oracle617

    Oracle617 Member

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    Also, does anyone else have a view on the driven home / flush with the transaxle question? Does anyone have access to the workshop manual for this job and if so, would they mind having a look at this detail & whether it varies for the long & short sides?

    Thanks in advance

    Matt
     
    #10 Oracle617, Jul 2, 2014
  11. mikemar

    mikemar Junior Member

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    The key was to install the seal flush with the surface of the tranny. The outside of the seal is flush and the inner "cone" part actually sticks out and helps cover the shaft from dirt and crap. I was doing the longer shaft on the passenger side.
     
    #11 mikemar, Jul 2, 2014
  12. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    I had an experience with a camshaft seal on an engine once, where I had three teardowns and three leaking seals in a row.

    Upon further inspection, the seal NEVER seated around the shaft, because the chamfer on the end was too shallow to spread the lip of the seal evenly and knocked the garter spring out.

    I made a tool out of the side of a polyethylene shampoo bottle that was a little larger than the shaft. The piece overlapped covering the shaft.

    The installer applied even tension on the garter spring and allowed the seal to go on correctly.
     
    #12 Mike500, Jul 2, 2014
  13. Oracle617

    Oracle617 Member

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    Thanks for the advice gents, I will have a third attempt & see how it goes.

    Cheers

    Matt
     
    #13 Oracle617, Jul 2, 2014
  14. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Your supposed to lubricate the lip of the seal before installing.
     
    #14 edthefox5, Jul 2, 2014
  15. Oracle617

    Oracle617 Member

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    The lip, the inside & the outside of the seal were all well lubed with ATF to help the seal in both times. The one which came out looked pretty good - I don't think there was an issue with the rubber tearing or going in 'dry' - do you usually lube with ATF or grease?
     
    #15 Oracle617, Jul 2, 2014
  16. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    grease just on the lip no where else

    I would also soak a lint free cloth with carb cleaner and clean the bore out real good and feel for any burrs in the bore. Feel carefully. Cloth not paper towel.

    You may have nicked the bore pulling out the seal. Very easy to do if you use a screwdriver instead of a seal puller.
     
    #16 edthefox5, Jul 2, 2014
  17. Oracle617

    Oracle617 Member

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    Thanks for the advice - I have now re-installed the seal flush with the transaxle case & can happily report that it no longer leaks ATF.

    Thanks all

    Matt
     
    #17 Oracle617, Jul 10, 2014
  18. Frontporch

    Frontporch Member

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    Just got to this step replacing my transmission. The used transmission had plugs inserted into the seals. The seals were destroyed, either through disassembly or insertion of the plugs. I picked up the seals for both axles and they were each less than $15. I noticed that they were not installed flush with the outside of the case. An online Toyota repair manual says they should be recessed 2.7mm+-.5mm. Toyota techs have a special tool. I am not sure how to duplicate this with homemade tools.

    If I come upon a good solution I will update this post.
     
    #18 Frontporch, Sep 24, 2016
  19. Frontporch

    Frontporch Member

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    I did come up with something I think worked out pretty well. I went to home depot and found an ABS pipe adapter in the plumbing section. I think it was a conversion between 1 1/2" to 3" pipe. It fits inside the 3" and around the 1.5" side. was pretty much perfect for this. I set the seal back from the edge of the transmission using a "washer" I made from 14 gauge romex wire... the white of black wire with the plastic insulation came up to 2.65 mm in diameter... which was damn close to the spec. Total bill on that tool was about $2.
     
    #19 Frontporch, Sep 27, 2016
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