I am working my way through the drivetrain on a new to me T4WD. Both CV axles look good, with no torn boots or signs of leakage, but bothe have play where they enter the front differential. That is, I can push up and down and pull in an out on the innermost portion of the axle. Is this due to worn axles or is there some sort of output bearing that wears out in the front differential? I am new to CV axles and FWD.
Also, I have some gear oil leaking from the rear differenital that gets flung onto the catalytic converter, and smells pretty bad. Anyone with expereince replacing the output shaft seal?
Laslty, what weight and type of oil do you guys run in transmission? Differentials? I am looking for smooth operation and extended life of old parts. Efficieny is less of a concern unless I can get it and keep the gears happy
As to your first paragraph - there will always be "some" play. If they are not knocking or leaking, don't worry.
As to your second paragraph - did you happen to notice the thread by dlb in this Forum immediately prior to your thread? There are other threads mentioned therein.
As to your third paragraph - there are schools of thought on this. We do have a FSM available for download at the top of each page. I use regular 80W-90 dino - but that's just me.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit." T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates." Mark Twain
the play is normal as Tom states, if the boots are not torn the only way to tell is to drive on them. Even than some clicking and thumping when accelerating through turns just means it is worn, I drove over a year on my left one after it started a very noticeable thumping, it just got bad enough where it was really annoying. If there is noticeable rotational play at the CV joint than it means it is worn out for sure, but that will show up when you drive it.
Usually the diff seal lasts the life of the car, if the input shaft bearing is bad it will allow the input shaft to wobble, wiping out the seal. So before you replace the seal check for any wobble or lateral play in the input shaft (should be zero play). It is bad it is easier to just replace the whole third member with the diff and input shaft already together on the carrier. There is a very sensitive adjustment between the ring and pinon gear to get the correct tolerance using tiny shim washers, a lot of hassles and could damage the gears if not done correctly. Just find another third member assembly complete with the parts.
Straight 90 wt is the spec, going lighter would make worn syncros work better. DO NOT go any heavier than 90wt. Some have used synthetic to make it last longer but I would recommend going half and half synthetic/mineral oil because the synthetic is so slippery the synros do not work (they depend on friction to work, slippery oil means they will act like they are worn out). Also for some reason the synthetic worked past my old seals, but the regular gear oil did not. There are additives that are supposed to help the syncros grip, but I have not tried them.
Hmmm - the oil leak is from the differential in the rear axle? You mentioned it being flung upon the cat converter toward the front of the car, which is why I presumed you meant the output shaft on the tailshaft housing of the trans housing that is leaking.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit." T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates." Mark Twain
carson, i've got the same question as tom. when you say
CMB wrote:Also, I have some gear oil leaking from the rear differenital that gets flung onto the catalytic converter, and smells pretty bad. Anyone with expereince replacing the output shaft seal?
do you mean it's throwing oil all the way from the rear axle up to the cat, towards the front of the car, or do you mean the rear end of the transmission is leaking oil down onto the cat? if it's the second, i just did this job the other day and took photos of it here:
like the other guys just mentioned, when you replace the seal you should check the u-joints and carrier bearing because play in those things will be the cause of the failed seal.
Now you guys pointed something out I did not notice either: there is only one seal on the "rear differential" (there is only one rear diff), it is on the input shaft, not the output shaft. And unless someone located the cat back that far not likely the "rear differential" is putting oil on the cat.
CMB, what are you talking about?
Either case better keep the oil level up or you will trash either the trans or the rear diff, or what ever the oil is leaking from.
Oops. I meant transfer case, if you can call it that. i.e. rear of tranmission where output to driveshaft. Sorry about the confusion guys. I guess I need to check out david's write up. And check my fluid level.
I will probably just go with FSM recommended weight oil. I am not sure what bad synchros feel like, but going into third you can feel the meshing as the gears come together. You don't have to mash it, but it is noticeable and not super smooth. First and second sort of feel this way when the car is cold.
I guess I do not need to worry about the CV shafts. I have a clunk when I dont let out the clutch super slowly. I am now thinking this is the worn sway bar end link bushings. I will replace those as the first suspension job on the car. Currently looking for parts source outside of dealership. If I do end up going dealership, are there two bushings as part of the end link on each side? I will check around on here for info. Dave you just did this job too, right? I will look for your writeup.
How do I download the FSM? So far, I have just been using it online, searching page by page for what I need. Download would be nice.
I downloaded the FSM as a PDF to the 'puter's desktop (you can save it to any file, but this is handy).
1. Go to www.tercel4wd.com (home page).
2. Left click on the FSM a couple of times. This opens a page wherein the FSM can be saved as an HTML or PDF. I found the former to be cumbersome.
3. Right click on PDF.
4. Left click on Save Target As in the window.
5. Then just find a spot and left click the Save button.
For OE bushing #s and such, go to the Parts Forum and search for title - I posted these a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure the sway bar to control arm are OE only. Incidentally, this is pretty critical. Do a Search for info.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit." T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates." Mark Twain
CMB wrote:I have a clunk when I dont let out the clutch super slowly. I am now thinking this is the worn sway bar end link bushings. I will replace those as the first suspension job on the car. Currently looking for parts source outside of dealership. If I do end up going dealership, are there two bushings as part of the end link on each side? I will check around on here for info. Dave you just did this job too, right? I will look for your writeup.
carson, i did the sway bar end links a long time ago and i'm afraid i didn't do a write up on it. there are a few good threads on it though, just use the search. the big tips are these: loosen off the retaining nut at the ends of the sway bar before undoing the bolts that mount it to the body; use ratcheting cargo straps to squeeze the ends of the bar together so you can remove them from the control arms; and when putting it back on, do up the retaining nuts finger tight and then use a jack to hold the bar in place while you thread the mounting bolts in. be careful so you don't strip the holes the bolts go in to. this part is a pain in the ass and takes patience. and yes, there are two bushings on each side, the control arm is sandwched between the bushings. i didn't notice any difference in the handling or clunks when i did replaced mine but it's something that has to be done to prevent your terc from becoming a time bomb.
get a looooong filler nozzle for filling the tranny fluid. mine wasn't long enough and i had to pull the battery, starter, and a bunch of plugs, and it was still awkward. 5 feet should be good.
Hey just a quick question. I have what feels like a wobble when I turn left, putting weight on the front right tire. I replaced the bearing up there about a year ago. I'm pretty sure the CV is on it's way out on that side. There's also a bump coming from that tire. I need to get the tires balanced to really see what the vibrations are.
tires being out of balance generally tend to appear at higher speeds, when the heavy spots gain force and in effect 'throw' the tires and cause bumping or vibrating, rather than during turning. you should def have your tires balanced but i would guess the tire is out of round and/or the CV is going.
Thanks ARCHINSTL! This is so much better. I think I might actually print this beast...one project at a time. I paid upwards of $50 for FSMs for my landcruisers. I spent an hour last night just browsing the electronic pages of this treasure trove.
ARCHINSTL wrote:I downloaded the FSM as a PDF to the 'puter's desktop (you can save it to any file, but this is handy).
1. Go to http://www.tercel4wd.com (home page).
2. Left click on the FSM a couple of times. This opens a page wherein the FSM can be saved as an HTML or PDF. I found the former to be cumbersome.
3. Right click on PDF.
4. Left click on Save Target As in the window.
5. Then just find a spot and left click the Save button.
For OE bushing #s and such, go to the Parts Forum and search for title - I posted these a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure the sway bar to control arm are OE only. Incidentally, this is pretty critical. Do a Search for info.
Tom M.
[quote="Neu"] I have what feels like a wobble when I turn left, putting weight on the front right tire. I replaced the bearing up there about a year ago. I'm pretty sure the CV is on it's way out on that side. There's also a bump coming from that tire. /quote]
This sounds more like you either have bad tie-rod ends, ball joint or possibly the sway bar end bushings going mushy. I put a rubber washer I made from 1/4" sheet rubber in with the sway bar end bushings to tighten this connection up and a similar wobble went away. Usually a bad bearing would make noise any time the car is moving, and a bad cv joint only on hard acceleration, and rather than a wobble it is more of clunk, clunk, clunk... noise.
