A few months back, the driver side transmission oil seal started to leak. This is the sealing ring where the drive shaft goes into the transmission.

I called the local dealer after trying to find it myself online with no luck (too many contradicting part #s). I went up their with the one I pulled out of my RAV in hand; they didn’t match. They looked it up via my VIN; the part their system brought up wasn’t it. The tech then took my part into the back, opened an interdimensional portal, and brought back a new part that matched mine. Yay. I installed it and thought I was good.

Fast forward to now, I notice it is leaking again, albeit to a much lesser extent. Uuuugh. Maybe I didn’t get the last one to seat perfectly straight (it was a PITA).

Did I save the bag? Of course not. I’ve already called both dealers in Albuquerque and gotten 3 part #s, of which I’m only certain 1 is not the right one. The images on the Toyota parts site suck, so I have to survey Google images where I can see that part bag.

I really don’t want to take the RAV out of commission for enough time to bring the actual part to each dealer with the hope that they have one of whatever-the-hell-part-# it is in stock.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

If you are bored:

2011 RAV4 Limited 4x4 (1st and only owner)
3.5L V-6
Last 8 of VIN: BW050178

The 3 options given so far:

9031137004 - looks close, but not thick enough
9031150063 - looks closer than the next one, but still not thick enough
9031155005 - doesn’t look at all right in photos

It should look like this:

My power steering lines have been back ordered for a month.

Does Fel-Pro, National, Victor Reinz or some other decent aftermarket company make one for this application?

Looks like Rock Auto is listing a National seal that looks pretty close to what you have pictured.

My one complaint with Toyota is their parts search online. You very well may have to dig a lot on their parts site going through schematics and half the time none of it makes sense (items on subcategories that you'd never think would be there). Also have found never trust the images on their site. Once you find a part number, punch it into ebay and usually someone has a current photo with a listing.

Good luck as it is a giant ass pain.

Would this one work?

https://parts.toyota.com/p/Toy...3730/9031150048.html

or this one -

https://www.carid.com/2011-toy...seal-4519027541.html

The Timken part shows out of stock at the carid website but here's a link to a (the?) Timken distributor in New Mexico:

https://www.timken.com/locations/

1. PARTS PLUS OF NEW MEXICO
5900 OFFICE BOULEVARD NORTH EAST
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87109, USA
Phone: (505) 341-7000
Fax: (505) 341-7078

Here's the link to RockAuto that M1Garandy is referring to: (part#710732)

https://www.rockauto.com/en/ca...tput+shaft+seal,8636

The above RockAuto link is for the 4-cyl RAV4. Here's the link to the output seals for the 6-cyl. model:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/ca...tput+shaft+seal,8636

Regarding the ones mentioned, there just isn't a way for me to know if any of those are right without having them in-hand. That's the main bitch I have about this; it shouldn't be so hard to figure out which is the one I need.

I seriously considering just order several of the top candidates, fingers crossed that ONE of them is the right one, then returning the rest.

I'm going to look more into the Rock Auto options; at least those list the transmission. This one is for a U151F tranny. I'm leaning towards this one because the details seem to fit (Left; 4WD; Trans. code U151F) and the photo looks like the real deal.

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
A few months back, the driver side transmission oil seal started to leak. This is the sealing ring where the drive shaft goes into the transmission.

I called the local dealer after trying to find it myself online with no luck (too many contradicting part #s).

 
I have always used ToyoDIY to find my Toyota part numbers. You have to create an account (free), and then you are able to view the EPC (electronic parts catalog) for your vehicle (VIN is the best way to get there). The EPC shows complete schematics, relationship of parts, and the part numbers.
 
Do not buy from them, however. Armed with the part number, put it into a search engine and use one of the several discount sites, like Toyota Parts Deal, if you want the OEM part. The search engine will also lead you to aftermarket versions of the part.

When you bought the one that’s currently installed in the RAV4, have you tried calling the dealer and asking them to look at your purchase history? If they didn’t store the transaction by name, they may be able to look for the purchase by the card that you used.

Just a hopeful idea.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
When you bought the one that’s currently installed in the RAV4, have you tried calling the dealer and asking them to look at your purchase history? If they didn’t store the transaction by name, they may be able to look for the purchase by the card that you used.

Just a hopeful idea.

I did. No go.

Henryaz- I’ll give that a shot!

I’ve had great luck with emailing and ordering from Sparks Toyota for weird parts. Does your vin start with 2 or J?

https://parts.sparkstoyota.com...528/90311-35056.html

A 2.

quote:

Fast forward to now, I notice it is leaking again, albeit to a much lesser extent. Uuuugh. Maybe I didn’t get the last one to seat perfectly straight (it was a PITA).

It is certainly possible to seat the seal crooked or ding it up when installing it, as well as nick the seal lip with the shaft splines. It is also possible that you did install it correctly but there is excessive play at the shaft due to worn support bearings in the transmission. A small amount is normal, but if it moves excessively you'll have repeat failures.