Salzamani

Has this happen to anyone? Installed a Duralast axel on my 06 manual tC driver side. Filled the fluid back up after install. The axel leaked very slowly for about a week and then it just stopped leaking. Is it possible that the seal sealed the axel somehow after a week?

drizzoh

Are you talking about an axle leaking from a cv boot or an axle seal on the trans?

On the trans, those usually don't just stop by themselves. You likely need a new axle seal. The trans might be low on fluid now depending on how much came out.

On the boots, I usually just grab OEM reboot kits from Toyota unless a CV joint is destroyed. The boot kits are super cheap (I think last time I paid ~$50 for 2) and the inner's can be rebooted on the car in about 45 minutes.

Salzamani

thanks for you reply Drizzoh! It’s the seal from the transmission that the axle goes into. As I mentioned I had filled it back up and then I noticed the slow leak. I don’t think I have lost that much fluid. Maybe just a couple shot glass is all I lost. Is it possible that over time and heat the axel got sealed better by the seal somehow? I think I’m going to pull the fill plug and just make sure to top it off one more time to see if the leak starts back up before I draw my conclusion. I have some royal purple 75w90 lying around. Is it ok to mix that with whatever is in there?

drizzoh

It's possible, but unlikely. It's relatively easy to change an axle seal but you'll have to pull the axle out of the trans again to do so.

It's also hard to say what fluids are compatible with others, but I do know the 1g manual transmission takes MT-90 fluid, which is a little different than a standard 75w90 due to its additives. There's a good chance it probably won't have problems if you added it if you were already running Royal Purple MT-90 in the gearbox, but personally I'd stick to full MT-90 for the 1g.

Salzamani

The axel I pulled out two weeks ago was an oem. Got that one out in 30min. I was planning on rebuilding the boots with oem boots but as I pulled out the axle nut I completely destroyed the treads because I didn’t unstake the nut. So I was forced to go with the Autozone Duralast axel which by the way has zero vibration and seems to be performing well. I’ve had good luck with those in Camry’s and an Integra so I chose to go with them. Anyways yesterday I was planning on doing just that pulling the Duralast axel and replacing the seal and of course after 3 hours of prying I threw in the towel and gave up. I was so desperate that I even prayed on the axel’s dust shield that is built in on the axel the one that is suppose to protect the seal and pretty much bent that out of shape and still the axel would not give. I started to ask myself if it was even worth all the trouble. Is there a technique in getting these Duralast axels out? I assume the c-clip on it has more tension or something…. I don’t mind giving it one more try another day but I don’t want to have to throw in the towel again.

Salzamani

Well I’m here to report what ended up happening so that it might help someone one day. The leak has stopped completely. There is only two possibilities. Either there was never a leak in the first place just residual fluid that pocketed in various areas caused by me removing the axle the first time without draining the fluid first that just took time to drop or there was a leak that stopped possibly by me as I was prying on the axle to try to unsuccessfully remove it the last time I might have pushed the seal in inadvertently making the seal flush with housing. Either way I am a happy camper for now. I just hope that the seals dust shield that I bent out of shape doesn’t come back to haunt me.

Salzamani

another update; the axle was leaking again after driving the car at higher speeds. Had to get back in there and change that axle seal. Here is what that seal is called by the way. manual transmission output shaft seal - toyota (90311-50047). The is for the driver side. That info seems to be hard to find as there is often confusion between other seals. Taking that seal out was not a simple stick two fingers in there and pull it out. It took a long pry bar. Have to be very careful not to scratch the inside of the transmission where the seal seats because a scratch there can cause a perfectly good seal to leak. Installing the new seal another challenge. It took careful tapping little by little going all around the seal with two long socket extensions connected together for length to get the seal to go in. Gotta take your time here. If you get carried away and start tapping that seal too hard and you will compromise the integrity of the seal and you gotta start all over with another seal. I even had the loaner tool from Autozone(bearing and axle seal installer) which helped a little but at the end correct tapping was necessary. Grease the seal and the area that it goes into real well to help it slide in. The seal seems to be made of aluminum coated in rubber. So it’s hard but yet delicate too. The Toyota master techs recommend you stick to a oem seal. The Autozone Duralast axle is working just fine, no vibrations at all even at high speeds. Anyone has any question feel free to ask. Anyone more knowledgeable can chime in or add anything to help others please do.