clemsontaco
Member
So here is a short breakdown of what happened:
Thursday (12/13) @ roughly 3:30pm:
I was driving on I-75N (just north of Lexington, KY) going about 70mph and all of a sudden it felt like the left rear tire blew out. After gaining back control, which was quite difficult and nerve racking, I was able to pull off into the emergency lane and further inspect the damage. I immediately noticed that not only was the tire missing but the wheel as well as the axle hub housing cover were also missing (see first picture). In fact, the axle was even on fire and leaking oil (I was able to put the fire out using a towel). I then located the tire, wheel, and axle hub housing down the road and noticed that they were all still attached to one another. I also noticed that part of the axle shaft was still attached to the wheel and it seemed it had somehow separated or completely sheared altogether (see second picture). I initially had the truck towed to Evans Auto Care in Cincinnati as it was a shop that was highly recommended.
Friday (12/14):
After getting the truck on a lift, multiple mechanics then inspected the truck and concluded that the failure occurred in the pressed bearings in the axle assembly (see last picture) causing the axle to essentially jam and overheat (the reason for the shearing). I then explained to the mechanics that I had my axle seals replaced on 10/29/2012 by a Toyota dealership in Anderson, SC. The mechanics stated that it is very likely that the mechanic(s) who did the axle seal work either damaged the bearings when pressing the bearings or over tightened the collar that keeps the bearings in place (later learned that when the axle seals are replaced, the bearings are in fact not even touched by the mechanics). To be sure that this was in fact the case, I had the truck towed to Joseph's Toyota in Cincinnati for a second opinion, and in this case--a Toyota mechanic's opinion.
Saturday (12/15):
The Toyota mechanics were able to inspect the truck and ultimately came to the same conclusion as the previous mechanics at Evan's Auto Care. I then contacted the Toyota dealership in Anderson and gave them a heads up on what was going on. They stated that the service manager did not work on Saturdays but will contact me first thing Monday.
Monday (12/17):
The Toyota dealership here in Cincinnati called me this morning and clarified a few items for me. They first stated that when the axle seals are replaced, the pressed bearings do not have to be removed, which is basically the opposite of what they stated before. But they did state that the seals could have something to do with the axle shearing off but were not completely sure. Secondly, the mechanics now put most of the blame on the gradual wear and tear of the bearings (even though I never heard any odd noise or felt anything out of normal). I explained that it is in fact quite odd that gradual wear and tear on this bearings would lead to such a catastrophe and they agreed.
The dealership in Anderson (who originally worked on the axle seals) called and stated they would send an adjuster up to inspect the truck either Monday or Tuesday.
So I have a few questions for you experts out there.
1) Do you agree with these mechanics?
2) Is it possible the work done on the axle seals could have effected the presses bearings in any way especially considering the work was done just over a month ago?
3) I have heard about many rear differential problems with the 05' Tacomas but has anyone heard of similar problems with the 1st gen Tacoma rear differentials?
4) I know there are a lot of good used differentials out there (frame recall = a bunch of scrapped Tacomas) but how much should I expect to pay for one?
5) Any useful information will be greatly appreciated.
Thursday (12/13) @ roughly 3:30pm:
I was driving on I-75N (just north of Lexington, KY) going about 70mph and all of a sudden it felt like the left rear tire blew out. After gaining back control, which was quite difficult and nerve racking, I was able to pull off into the emergency lane and further inspect the damage. I immediately noticed that not only was the tire missing but the wheel as well as the axle hub housing cover were also missing (see first picture). In fact, the axle was even on fire and leaking oil (I was able to put the fire out using a towel). I then located the tire, wheel, and axle hub housing down the road and noticed that they were all still attached to one another. I also noticed that part of the axle shaft was still attached to the wheel and it seemed it had somehow separated or completely sheared altogether (see second picture). I initially had the truck towed to Evans Auto Care in Cincinnati as it was a shop that was highly recommended.
Friday (12/14):
After getting the truck on a lift, multiple mechanics then inspected the truck and concluded that the failure occurred in the pressed bearings in the axle assembly (see last picture) causing the axle to essentially jam and overheat (the reason for the shearing). I then explained to the mechanics that I had my axle seals replaced on 10/29/2012 by a Toyota dealership in Anderson, SC. The mechanics stated that it is very likely that the mechanic(s) who did the axle seal work either damaged the bearings when pressing the bearings or over tightened the collar that keeps the bearings in place (later learned that when the axle seals are replaced, the bearings are in fact not even touched by the mechanics). To be sure that this was in fact the case, I had the truck towed to Joseph's Toyota in Cincinnati for a second opinion, and in this case--a Toyota mechanic's opinion.
Saturday (12/15):
The Toyota mechanics were able to inspect the truck and ultimately came to the same conclusion as the previous mechanics at Evan's Auto Care. I then contacted the Toyota dealership in Anderson and gave them a heads up on what was going on. They stated that the service manager did not work on Saturdays but will contact me first thing Monday.
Monday (12/17):
The Toyota dealership here in Cincinnati called me this morning and clarified a few items for me. They first stated that when the axle seals are replaced, the pressed bearings do not have to be removed, which is basically the opposite of what they stated before. But they did state that the seals could have something to do with the axle shearing off but were not completely sure. Secondly, the mechanics now put most of the blame on the gradual wear and tear of the bearings (even though I never heard any odd noise or felt anything out of normal). I explained that it is in fact quite odd that gradual wear and tear on this bearings would lead to such a catastrophe and they agreed.
The dealership in Anderson (who originally worked on the axle seals) called and stated they would send an adjuster up to inspect the truck either Monday or Tuesday.
So I have a few questions for you experts out there.
1) Do you agree with these mechanics?
2) Is it possible the work done on the axle seals could have effected the presses bearings in any way especially considering the work was done just over a month ago?
3) I have heard about many rear differential problems with the 05' Tacomas but has anyone heard of similar problems with the 1st gen Tacoma rear differentials?
4) I know there are a lot of good used differentials out there (frame recall = a bunch of scrapped Tacomas) but how much should I expect to pay for one?
5) Any useful information will be greatly appreciated.
