Left Front Wheel Hub/Bearing

I have had a pretty bad vibration going on for a while now that is really bad at 35-45 mph and then around 65 is goes away. I took the wheels to get balanced three times ($300 total) and that kind of fixed it for a bit but not completely.
Then had a bolt through my tire and went to go get it fixed and when they put it back on and tightened the lug nuts, they came and got me and said to check it out. Once it was tight it moved like an inch in all directions like the lugs were not tight, thought they were. I mean it was moving all over the place. SO i took it to the dealership and they said they would fix it on warranty. Called me back today and said it was not covered because i had a lift and bigger than stock tires on it. Typical.
They told me the wheel bearing was bad, the hub was bad and the tie rod was bad. I get how the bearings and hub could be bad, but how does the tie rod go bad? They said $1000 to fix it and I told them to give me the keys back.
Is this something I can do on my own? I dont have a press so not sure how to do that for the bearing. Sorry this is so long but any advice would be appreciated

 

I had that happen to my Corolla. Hit a 2x4 on the highway, and later needed the hub and bearing replaced. Would've cost around $300 IIRC.

My guess is you could buy the hub and bearing assembly, and just swap them around by removing bolts. But I'm not positive.

Do you have a service manual? There's a link to download one in the thread in my sig. Could look at that and see if you can just buy entire assemblies and swap them.

Closest I've come to anything like that was swapping the front differential on a 79 ranger. We just got an entire from axle from a junk yard, and swapped. Few mounting bolts, couple U bolts on the drive shaft, etc. You might be able to do the same. Get entire hub assembly (from studs to drive shaft) from a yard or dealer, and swap it out. But I'm just guessing here.

 

thanks for the help. I just got back from attempting to talk to the service manager at the toyota place. what a jackazz. i told him i called other toyota places and they said it should be under warranty and basically he told me to f off. his boss is going to get a nice letter.

i will look into trying to swap it out. not sure how that will go but i will see what happens. thanks for the help. never replaced a hub and the bearing and the tie rod but there is always time to learn

 

Hmm, the truck my new Tacoma is replacing is a lifted Mazda B4000 (ford Ranger). I'm sure you know this but when you lift the truck, it causes a lot of stress to be added to parts that where not designed to handle. Shock loads are one thing, but once you have a constant increase in the amount of load and stress on a part (like the bearing), they wear much faster. 3k Miles would be all my bearings were good for. I know why. Running bigger tires, and especially increasing the offset will put tons of extra stress on the bearings. Think like the tire is a lever acting on the wheel bearing (fulcrum). So, not only does the diameter effect forces on your bearings and other associated parts, but so does the distance from the outside of you tire to the wheel bearing. Obviously, the longer this distance, the greater the constant stress.

Good thing you caught it. If left untreated, you run the risk of catastrophic bearing failure. On the Twin Traction Beam front end of rangers of yore, the outer bearing pretty much held everything on. Not sure about the Tacoma, but I would estimate if you allow the bearing to fail completely (one inch of play is Alot) there is a very good chance that the tire will remove itself from your company. Now - I've seen some odd things, like a car who's chassis was so stiff, you could drive with one tire removed, but something tells me the Tacoma, like the ranger will nose dive. Since your lifted it will ride on your lower A-Arm/ball joint and grind it into oblivion. (best case). Worst, well - use your imagination - hit a car, the tire could go into on coming traffic and kill, or seriously hurt someone, etc.

I know this from experience. I was lucky. Came buck from mudding, 70mph on the northway, and my tire passed me, thats always an Oh Sh!t moment..

Basically, get the bearing replaced, make sure if you do it yourself you pack the bearings with a high quality, high temp grease. You may want to look for a grease that far exceeds normal duty since that can increase your bearing life. Also, if you do water fording, or like to play in the mud a lot, dirt and water can get into the bearing and also shorten its life. It is highly recommended to repack your bearings after such an excursion.

My $.02

CoreyJon

 

The wheel on my car fell off on the lift and almost hit the tech apparently! Needless to say I was pissed 'cause I was at the dealer I bought the car from the day before and they wouldn't fix it. They didn't have the parts or some such thing. Well, the second dealer didn't either, but they had one overnighted and sent a driver 100 miles to get the other from another dealer. Wish the first dealer had the brains to do that.

 

coreyjon
thanks for that reply. lots of good info in there that i was not aware of. This set of bearings lasted almost 20k miles with 325/65/R18's on there so i guess i should be glad it lasted that long. The other ones are still going strong but i will keep a closer eye on them.
Is it true you have to press the bearing in there or can you buy the more expensive bolt on hub assembly?

 

Just got back from the mechanic, because there is obviously no way im using the dealership and its going to cost $699.
Mechanic said there is no way the hub is not bad and if it was it would be after extracting the bearing that is in there now that is bad.
Anyone know if you have to have a new hub or if you can put new bearings in?

I have noticed alot of post on the internet about 2005 Tacoma's where only the Left front (like mine) is going bad on both stock wheels and after market wheels. Seems like it is a reoccuring trend

 

Most all opinions I've got regarding your question is yes. Most people tend to think that prolonged vibration is bad for, among other things, the hub.

 

I have the same problem with my recently bought truck. Apparently, the pervious owner had very large after market rims on it. My front left bearing is out. The dealership isn't honoring the warranty either because of a small wreck the previous owner had also. None of this information was giving to me at the time of purchase. It wasn't reported to carfax. Then the dealership told me it was going to be over 1000 bucks to fix. I said hell no i want my keys. A friend of mine that works at an auto parts store told me the whole hub assembly needs to be replaced and it hub is about 100 bucks. Does anyone know if it is difficult to replace the hub assembly?

 

I am having a problem with a roaring in my front end. I have a 05' DC 4x4 and I have had new tires and alignment. There is no extra movement on the hubs. I bought the truck with Enkei rims that were on it at the dealership. I did by the truck new. Could the rims with a set of 255/70/16 tires cause the bearings to go bad or is this a common problem?

 

I know this an older thread but my wheel hub assembly is bad and being replaced today. IT'S the left front also. 05 dc lb. SEems recurring problem on these tacos on the left front, how come?

 

They like to blame it on oversized after market rims being put on these. I beg to differ since I had the original rims installed by toyota. It has to be a cheap bearing. I replaced my bearing with a after market bearing that had a higher tensil or heat rating. It was a little over a hundred dollars at City Auto Parts in red bay, Alabama. I had it installed by a well known mechanic in this area since it is a pressed bearing. He charge $80 bucks labor. Toyota dealership wanted $240 dollars for a new bearing and then labor for installation. I have since totaled my 05 DBL Cab 4x4. Headed down the interstate and it just went crazy at 65 mph. I went end around and flipped down the highway. I had Toyo tires that were only a few months old and then Toyota recalled the newer modeled 4x4's (08' and 09's) for defective drive shaft impellers or something. Good Luck with your Truck.