• Welcome to Tacoma3G.com, a free resource for 2016-2023 Toyota Tacoma owners!

    Tacoma3G is a beginner-friendly 3rd Generation Toyota Tacoma Forum (2016-2023 model-years). We are a community of people who are focused on good information and good vibes.

Help! Front diff leak

Forums New posts
Berserker__taco

Berserker__taco

6️⃣ Aficionado
Tacoma3G Supporter
Tacoma3G O.G.
So we just got back from a 5 day trip through the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains. Blasted a lot of fire roads in the Washington National Forest, camped and relaxed. The last trail we did was called Enchanted Creek. Prob rate it a 3 out of 10. No hard hits, deep water, or ever bottomed out. We we headed south to run Hurricane Creek in NC when we noticed fluid on the ground while filling up. Crawed under and the front diff is leaking. Seems to be coming from up top and a little from the axle seals. Has anyone had this happen? I just had the truck serviced and the diff fluid changed not long before we left. My only theory is that they over filled the front and while I was in 4wd it started puking out of the breather. It stopped while at slow speeds but them started again once we hit the highway at higher elevations above 3,000ft. I did pull the fill plug when i first noticed it and fluid came pouring out. Could it comprise the axle seals of it was over filled?
20220929_120150.webp
20220929_120204.webp
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Wait, how could they fill it above the fill hole? Or was the level higher just from thermal expansion? I feel like I'm missing something. I don't know anything about those seals, but if pressure is their enemy then I think the breather did its job. That sucks, though. Not what you want to find in the middle of a trip!
 
Upvote 0
Meclizine said:
Wait, how could they fill it above the fill hole? Or was the level higher just from thermal expansion? I feel like I'm missing something. I don't know anything about those seals, but if pressure is their enemy then I think the breather did its job. That sucks, though. Not what you want to find in the middle of a trip!
Click to expand...
The fill level on those is about 5mm below the fill hole. If it's running out then theres too much from what I've read. I'm hoping it didnt mess up the seals after finding it dripping out from the passenger seal along with everything else. I originally feared the shop that did my ring gear swap messed up by using the black permatex gasket material instead of the red. The red stays pliable and wont leak. The black has a tendency to leak.
 
Upvote 0
I would go back to where you had it serviced at and see what excuse reason they come up with.
Stop by the manager's office before you talk to any tech.

A simple job that turns into seal replacement is an educational experience (for them not you).
 
Upvote 0
Berserker__taco said:
I'll definitely check that. I'm off till tuesday. Should give me enough time to find it haha
Click to expand...
Hi there, I am following up on this. How do you know if your front diff breather is faulty/clogged or not rather than seeing the leak from the front diff? Can you just keep your front diff breather off for the remainder of the time until you get a new one?
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Back
Top