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The seal leakage and play are related. The oil pan bearing failed (yes, there is one since the axle has to pass through the oil pan on the side opposite the front differential), allowing the shaft to run out of round and wallow out the seal.
Dude, that's gold!! And it makes perfect sense. But wouldn't I hear some kind of noise if the bearing failed?
BTW, she went into the shop this morning. Really liked the feel of the place I dropped it at and they had multiple LS460's in both the employee lot and general yard.
Shop called and confirmed the multiple leaks, but said that the seal on the passenger side calls for the motor to be removed in order to replace. One of the mechanics there is confident he can do it without removing the motor but I'm still looking at over 20+ hours of labor expenses on top of seals and any other parts needing replacement.
The good news is they ran a magnet through the diff and wherever else they could and didn't get any metal shavings. The story may be different once they crack it open but for now that's a serious relief.
Shop called and confirmed the multiple leaks, but said that the seal on the passenger side calls for the motor to be removed in order to replace. One of the mechanics there is confident he can do it without removing the motor but I'm still looking at over 20+ hours of labor expenses on top of seals and any other parts needing replacement.
The good news is they ran a magnet through the diff and wherever else they could and didn't get any metal shavings. The story may be different once they crack it open but for now that's a serious relief.
You gonna snag a used diff or wait it out?
Also, when it leaked after the fresh fluid install, was it that red nasty stuff again?
I'm gonna wait and see on the diff, really hoping I caught it soon enough and it's okay with a reseal and refill. The fresh fluid was definitely tinted brown, but wasn't anything like what was leaking down the diff originally, just contaminated by the fluid that was still in there.
Talked to the mechanic today, diff is toast and the rh cv axle is to blame as suspected (the bearing is part of it).
Good news is I found a diff with 18K miles for $340 shipped from Indiana and a cv axle with 32K miles for $280 shipped from Michigan. Just need to talk to him again tomorrow and make sure he can 1) get it off the lift and rolling, and 2) doesn't mind shoving it outside for a few days so the parts can get shipped in.
Well damn. Hell of story. I was hoping for a better ending for you as it wasn't making noise. No clue it would be out of fluid and not making a ruckus below your feet.
See if you can grab a couple of pictures if possible.
Fingers crossed the shop accommodates your parts delay.
I'm with you. I just don't understand how there were no signs of issues with the diff or that axle. I have a feeling the bearing was bad since I bought it but since the overall level of engine noise was so low I just chalked it up as "normal". I may get it back and find that she's even quieter than I had thought for the past year I've had it.
They were okay with the delays, just part of the deal. The options they gave me were $1800 for a diff and that they'd need to look for a used axle as Lexus was quoting them $1600, definitely wanted to find them on my own.
Got the parts ordered this morning and they should be in by next Monday or Tuesday. Rental goes back next Thursday afternoon so I'm hoping they can wrap it up quickly once they come in.
^ The bearing to blame can be seen here
Will definitely score pics of the old diff to update this thread.
JM2C but I'd venture to guess water went in, the innards went south, and that bearing/half shaft took the brunt of trying to keep the ring gears carrier in place.
The bearing on that shaft has a pretty easy life for the most part, but should its seals fail letting the grease out and water in, well that changes things.
I don't see a lot of missing metal but the fluid definitely shouldn't look like mud. Considering the diff I found only has 18K miles on it and only cost me $340 shipped, I'm glad the mechanic recommended replacing it. Will also be nice knowing the one going in is still factory sealed whereas, as you can tell from the red rtv gasket, this one was cracked open previously for who knows what reason.
Sucks you're going through this, but as soon as I saw that movement from that axle I knew the diff was toast. Sounds like you got a great deal on that differential. Kind of stunned an axle costs that much through Lexus, what's it made out of? Solid gold?
You won't be able to tell much from the pictures if that differential is bad, wear isn't usually all that obvious until you measure it...unless we're talking about metal in the differential.
I've never seen fluid burned or cooked onto the gears like that. As if the only reason it lived this long was that it did only short trips???
The carrier bearing on the side is not looking so hot, like it got pretty hot and lost material. I'm stunned it never made a peep but unlike being the ONLY driving DIFF on say a RWD vehicle, if it was never doing work, it's possible for it to just go along for the ride and remain humble.
Glad you have new parts coming in. Even the side gears look bad in that.
The one thing I will add is that the interior definitely took on water. I wonder what her real story is??
EDIT: FWIW - Its pretty common practice to use FIPG like is used above there to seal the case halves... Yoda has been using orange'ish red Form In Place Gasket (FIPG) stuff for years on the post engine components. While the pan of the engine or other engine parts are Grey FIPG.
Last edited by 2013FSport; 01-28-18 at 06:19 PM.
Reason: FIPG
Yes, the red sealant is likely Anaerobic factory material. The use of a liquid sealant allows tighter assembly tolerance since it's metal-to-metal without gasket compression thickness variation.
01-18-18, 11:03 AM
