Louielace6

I was at a mechanic & while he had my car in the air he told & showed me that my rear main bearing was leaking where the shaft goes into the axel
Has anyone here done that job,how hard is it & would you happen to have any gasket part #'s?
Thanks everyone!

captainva

iTrader: (1)

Are you taking about in the diff in the back?

TW99GS300

Interesting, a rear main bearing, shaft and axle... it sounds like a diff. The part numbers can be referenced on *******.com

fperron

If the OP is serious about obtaining help from club members, he should make an effort to explain what he's asking for. The "rear main bearing" is at the rear of the engine and is associated with a "rear main seal. " If the seal is leaking, oil will flow from the engine into the bell housing. There is no axle involved. If he's talking about a leak at the rear differential, it's probably the pinion seal.

Louielace6

It is the pinion seal I am refering to
Thanks fperron & everyone else
How difficult of a job would that be for a shade tree mechanic?

fperron

I've never done that job on a Lexus, but it shouldn't be too dissimilar from the same job on my Subaru. However, if you have to do it in your driveway with jack stands, I'd say just take it to a shop (not the stealership). If you do take on the job yourself, you'd have to drop the driveshaft and pull the drive flange out of the rear end housing. When you remove the old seal, be careful not to scratch the plain bearing that sits behind it (I'm assuming that Lexus uses a plain bearing and not a roller). Maybe someone who's actually done this on a Lexus can chime in. Good luck.

Letsride

It is actually way more involved than that. Once that driveshaft flange is removed you will have to reset the bearing preload. Not something done easily on jackstands in the driveway. Take it to an offroad 4x4 shop that specializes in rebuilding rear ends.

captainva

iTrader: (1)

Letsride I need to replace the front seal on a diff that I have out of the car. Would something like this torque wrench work for that? I know that I would need a tool but anything that you'd recommend? The preload should be only a few in/lbs so its hard to find something that will measure that.

Letsride

Yes that is the exact one you will need to use. You can set it up on a bench but its very difficult to do in the car. I would also do the side seals while you have it out.

captainva

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Letsride. Yeah the side seals are likely also leaking. If I'm that far I may as well check the tooth pattern since its a higher mileage diff which I'm not totally sure how to do but I'll figure out. I just need to make time