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Recently I've been noticing a noise coming from my 2007 IS250. I took it to the dealership and they told me that they think it's a problem with the rear differential. They said they'd fill it with oil for $83 after they already charged me $77 to take a look at the car.
They said that once they fill it with oil, they would let me drive around on it and see if I still hear the noise, or if there are any leaks. Then they'd go from there to address a possible problem with the seals.
After they identified the problem, I did the job myself. All I needed to buy was 2 quarts of machine oil (specifics below), for a total of $20. I also paid for lift and tool rental at an auto hobby shop at a rate of $7/hour. The job took me about 30 minutes. My total cost was about $24, a significant savings from what the dealer was going to charge, and the oil I used was probably a higher grade than what they would have put in. I'd appreciate any thoughts or feedback from folks who may have had to get similar work done.
1. After lifting the car and performing a primary inspection of the rear differential, I noticed that it was covered in oil.
2. I cleaned off the excess oil from the general area and then noticed that the right axle seal appeared to be covered in oil, while the left axle seal was clean and dry.
3. I removed the fill cap with a 10mm Allen key attached to a socket wrench. I put my pinky finger in the opening and could not feel any oil. My finger remained dry, indicating that there was indeed an oil leak. Below is a photo of the fill cap, while it is still screwed in.
4. I then removed the drain plug and the small amount of oil that dripped out further confirmed that the oil level was low. I also noted a significant amount of metal shavings caught by the drain plug magnet. After cleaning off the shavings with a shop rag, I reinserted the drain plug three times, and each time the magnet caught almost the same amount of metal shavings.
5. When clean, the drain plug looks like this:
6. After the differential was completely drained of oil, I refastened the drain plug and added 1.2 quarts of Valvoline fully synthetic GL-5 75W90 gear oil. The user manual suggests genuine Toyota 75W85 oil, though I could not find this.
It seems that the noise has now stopped. However, a mechanic told me that I may have to take it into a shop to have them take apart the differential and inspect it for worn out bearings. Any thoughts/feedback would be appreciated. Has anyone had to deal with this repair before? What cost should I expect?
If you were hearing a noise, that means the carrier was low on oil...thus could lead to failure down the road. Judging from the amount of shavings that came out on that magnetic plug, there's something up.
Since the leak appears to have been the passenger side axle seal and you didn't mention replacing that seal, make sure to monitor the leak.Drop cardboard below it and continually monitor the amount that drips down.
If you were hearing a noise, that means the carrier was low on oil...thus could lead to failure down the road. Judging from the amount of shavings that came out on that magnetic plug, there's something up.
Since the leak appears to have been the passenger side axle seal and you didn't mention replacing that seal, make sure to monitor the leak.Drop cardboard below it and continually monitor the amount that drips down.
I also had a leak in my son's differential. Shop told us that in order to re-seal the differential, they needed to remove the axles....total price $1800....I find that hard to believe. They also said the axle seals (at the wheels) were leaking and needed to be replaced. This was included in the price. On a scale of 1-10, I am about a 2 in car mechanics knowledge...so bear with me. Does this all sound right?...or am I getting screwed?
Just poking my head in here to say that this would be a perfect time to upgrade to a used Y38 Torsen differential out of a BRZ/FR-S/86, since the pegleg Y50 you have there is externally the same dimensions. Only downside would be ~5% faster indicated speed than GPS will show, from the step in ratios.
The material you got off the plug used to be a part of your ring and pinion...the rest will follow eventually.
And jbryant: when I swapped to the Y38, I used just ramps and hand tools. The half shafts came out of the differential carrier by prying with a tire iron, they're just held in there by the tension of a wire circlip. $1800 would be--in my book--a complete rebuild service for a major component, not something like a $100 used diff that's a 1hr R&R...a rebuild service on something so readily available and replaceable would be pointless. This is why I call all ground vehicle mechanics con men.
I also had a leak in my son's differential. Shop told us that in order to re-seal the differential, they needed to remove the axles....total price $1800....I find that hard to believe. They also said the axle seals (at the wheels) were leaking and needed to be replaced. This was included in the price. On a scale of 1-10, I am about a 2 in car mechanics knowledge...so bear with me. Does this all sound right?...or am I getting screwed?
Following up from my post a while back:
The rear differential was pretty much destroyed due to the differential fluid leak that wasn't remedied in time. I went on eBay to find a Lexus differential that was taken from a junkyard, but that also had a warranty. Then I took it to a Toyota shop that was going to do the job cheaper than Lexus. I think the differential was around $500, and the labor was around the same. So yes, the price seems high. The Lexus dealer quoted me $4,000.
02-25-17, 12:44 PM
2007 IS250 Rear Differential
