R154 transmission leak from the rear

arknotts

formerly ark86
Jan 9, 2008
461
1
18
Ohio
My transmission seems to be leaking fluid from the rear right where the driveshaft goes into the transmission. I only have a small puddle when it sits after driving, but it has blown all over the underbody and exhaust from leaking while driving. I plan on pulling the driveshaft this week to see what is going on. But before I do that, is there a seal in there that I can replace? I looked at the TSRM online and I couldn't tell if it was a seal or just a bearing that the driveshaft yoke sits in. Do you have any suggestions on what I should look for? Thanks in advance.
 

arknotts

formerly ark86
Jan 9, 2008
461
1
18
Ohio
jdub;1317487 said:
It's a seal.
Thanks, that was simple. Should I just get this from a Toyota dealership or is there a better place to source them?

Island_Yota;1317493 said:
Id suggest doing it sooner than later, the transmission doesn't hold as much fluid as you think.
I have refilled it once with some cheap autozone fluid to keep the level topped off. It's been leaking since I got the car, but I don't drive it much (only on the nice weekends so far) so I'm not too worried. Once I get this leak taken car of I plan on putting some redline MT-90 I hear so much about in there. I just didn't want to waste such expensive fluid while it is leaking :nono:.
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
SM Expert
Feb 10, 2006
10,730
1
38
Valley of the Sun
I always use Toyota seals.

MT-90 is good for the tranny...you were smart to wait vs leaking it on the ground. get the seal fixed and get the MT-90 in there.
 

NTRA08

TWINKY
Jun 10, 2008
530
0
0
37
Conroe, Texas
ark86;1317497 said:
Thanks, that was simple. Should I just get this from a Toyota dealership or is there a better place to source them?


I have refilled it once with some cheap autozone fluid to keep the level topped off. It's been leaking since I got the car, but I don't drive it much (only on the nice weekends so far) so I'm not too worried. Once I get this leak taken car of I plan on putting some redline MT-90 I hear so much about in there. I just didn't want to waste such expensive fluid while it is leaking :nono:.

I would go to toyota. Those ones from auto parts stores seem a little cheap.
 

arknotts

formerly ark86
Jan 9, 2008
461
1
18
Ohio
OK, so I got a toyota seal from the dealership and I am trying to drop the driveshaft now. Can I just unbolt the carrier bearing and pull it out of the transmission? I tried that and it didn't quite drop far enough to come fully out of the transmission. The four bolts connecting it to the diff seem very tight, so if you have any tips so I can pull it without removing it from the diff that would be great.
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
SM Expert
Feb 10, 2006
10,730
1
38
Valley of the Sun
^^^ Doesn't answer the question.

Ark - You are going to need to unbolt the DS from the differential.
 

92TealSupra

Supramania's Parts Man
Sep 2, 2008
1,584
0
36
Great Lakes State
jdub;1320854 said:
^^^ Doesn't answer the question.

Ark - You are going to need to unbolt the DS from the differential.

Jdub quick question. You can't just take off the center support bearing and the drive shaft drop bar? it has to come off completely?

I am just curious because I took mine 1/2 off that way, I didn't want to unbolt it from the differential. I just did it on my '88 M/T.
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
SM Expert
Feb 10, 2006
10,730
1
38
Valley of the Sun
The ones I've done had to be unbolted from the differential...same experience the OP has. I guess it can be done, but taking out 4 bolts is not exactly difficult. You do need to marks the position of the DS on the differential flange and re-install at the same location.
 

arknotts

formerly ark86
Jan 9, 2008
461
1
18
Ohio
92TealSupra;1320863 said:
Jdub quick question. You can't just take off the center support bearing and the drive shaft drop bar? it has to come off completely?

I am just curious because I took mine 1/2 off that way, I didn't want to unbolt it from the differential. I just did it on my '88 M/T.

Yeah, I'm sure I only had like 1/2 inch more to go then then it would have come out of the transmission. Maybe I should try rotating the rear wheels a little to give the driveshaft a little more play to drop farther (if that makes any sense).
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
SM Expert
Feb 10, 2006
10,730
1
38
Valley of the Sun
If you do that, make damn sure the rear end is up on a set of good stands. Don't want to be reading that the car fell on you.
It may or may not work...going to depend on the length of the dust shield (attached to the tranny) for the front U-joints. Seems like a lot of effort to me when 4 bolts will drop it in just a few minutes ;)
 

92TealSupra

Supramania's Parts Man
Sep 2, 2008
1,584
0
36
Great Lakes State
jdub;1320876 said:
If you do that, make damn sure the rear end is up on a set of good stands. Don't want to be reading that the car fell on you.
It may or may not work...going to depend on the length of the dust shield (attached to the tranny) for the front U-joints. Seems like a lot of effort to me when 4 bolts will drop it in just a few minutes ;)

Yeah I was just curious as I have done it, just making sure something was not broken and I was able to do it because of that reason.

I always use dual jack stands, and shake the car very well to make sure they're secure. I would hate for anyone to ever have to be under a car that fell on them. I also keep all tires on as well which would help.

Thanks.
 

arknotts

formerly ark86
Jan 9, 2008
461
1
18
Ohio
jdub;1320876 said:
If you do that, make damn sure the rear end is up on a set of good stands. Don't want to be reading that the car fell on you.
It may or may not work...going to depend on the length of the dust shield (attached to the tranny) for the front U-joints. Seems like a lot of effort to me when 4 bolts will drop it in just a few minutes ;)
I think I'm just going to take the 4 bolts out. I've tried forever to get them out, but whoever installed the driveshaft last REALLY torqued them down good. I'm going to see if some air tools will help right now.

And don't worry, I'm really a safety freak...I double check everything before I climb under there and I even use ramps when possible.
 

jdub

Official SM Expert: Motor Oil, Lubricants & Fil
SM Expert
Feb 10, 2006
10,730
1
38
Valley of the Sun
ark86;1320817 said:
OK, so I got a toyota seal from the dealership and I am trying to drop the driveshaft now. Can I just unbolt the carrier bearing and pull it out of the transmission? I tried that and it didn't quite drop far enough to come fully out of the transmission. The four bolts connecting it to the diff seem very tight, so if you have any tips so I can pull it without removing it from the diff that would be great.

Al - He tried that ;)
 

92TealSupra

Supramania's Parts Man
Sep 2, 2008
1,584
0
36
Great Lakes State
aljordan;1320907 said:
I've pulled the driveshaft completely out of the rear of the trans by just unbolting the carrier bearing. I've done this many, many times.

Great to hear!

I just wanted to make sure "I" was not the only one that was able to do this.

Thanks.
 

arknotts

formerly ark86
Jan 9, 2008
461
1
18
Ohio
Everything is finished now and it's working great, so I figured I would update the thread. An impact gun made easy work of the diff bolts :icon_bigg. The driveshaft yoke ended up being a little corroded (I'm not sure why, maybe it was like that after the auto->manual swap by the previous owner). So, I used that as an excuse to order a 1-piece aluminum shaft from shaftmasters. Installed the new seal, installed the new driveshaft, and everything seems great so far. With the 1-piece I am also looking into making a custom driveshaft loop that bolts to the location where the center support bearing used to be. Thanks for all the help everyone!