rear wheel bearing advice please

Yes sir. I would personally not touch the good bearing; imo it would be a waste of $$.

I have 170k on my truck and the other original OEM rear bearing that I did not replace is still running strong.

I am also running 35's and the equivalent of a -70 offset wheel with the -38 SCS wheels and 1.25" spacers. I also have a constant 1000lb over my rear axle between my decked system, tools/gear and GFC.

With only 69k on your truck, I wouldn't even think of replacing the good one. The one that has gone bad was absolutely a fluke. Replace the bad one and call it a day.

At the end of the day, if replacing both puts your mind more at ease, then go for it; as long as it is a reputable shop doing the work, you can't go wrong either way.

 

thank you for your input

 

Absolutely, good luck with it either way! Parts going bad are never any fun.

 

Interesting- any ideas what you attribute the fluke to? Manufacturing or installation? Cause if it was manufacturing, logic would say replace the other as well, cause it's from the same batch. Installation on the other hand... would be impossible to provide evidence for.

 

Manufacturing or even more so, failed seals accelerating wear and ultimate failure? No way to say exactly but thats just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt...

 

It's a bearing.

It was not made by Toyota. There is no reason that bearing needs to come from Toyota dealer.

 

I don't know how you use your truck, or what abuse the bearings have seen. I agree that 70k is relatively low in milage for failure. But in general, unless a supplier has to comply to production specifications, they don't have much reason to hold product to strict standards. Any time I have gone with non-OEM parts for the critical stuff, I have had to do the work again. And I'll admit, 2nd gen trucks and parts aren't my jam. But yeah. I've never had good luck with aftermarket parts lasting as long as OEM parts.

 

I appreciate everyones opinion. I understand that we all have opinions and now way to know the failure unless its an inner seal that will be found when its removed.

being new to toyota just trying to see what people have done in the past

 

Most axle bearings fail due to corrosion and/or abuse, one is a lot easier to control than the other.

Corrosion is typically not isolated to one side, the other has equal chance of failing soon.

All tacoma rear axle bearings are dry and not lubricated so they are susceptible to this.

 

If I can find a good discount on a factory bearing then I would install them again. No part is perfect 100% of the time.

Since I have had it my driving has been 95% highway 4% backroads 1% off asphalt when responding to fires or injured hunters and my yard where my house is being built

 

Failed axle seals, soaking the bearings in gear oil is a fluke I failed to consider, but in my experience (and unfortunately I've had many) both seals tend to fail, so both bearings are exposed to the same abuse. I know it's not apples to apples, but experienced zero indication of bearing failure despite many seal failures soaking both OEM bearings in gear oil. I replaced my rear bearings while rebuilding my rear axle (145k), but not because they failed.

 

Knowing (as mentioned before) Toyota does not make the bearings, my suggestion would be to at least to stick to OEM suppliers. Napa is not an OEM supplier (nor is Napa the manufacture). Most bearings (at least for the 1st gen) are Koyo bearings, and have equivalent part numbers if you do the research. But Napa... They don't have to sell the same product OEM does, and they are willing replace the part for free rather than making a good part in the first place (cause they know a majority of people aren't going to claim warranty on those parts).

Either way.. Replace both with a good quality OEM or OEM supplier part.

 

I will start looking for the manufacturer of the factory bearing

 

So are koyo the maker of the factory rear wheel bearings? I see there are timken parts with koyo bearings on a few sites

 

OEM parts are generally of trustworthy quality, Toyota doesn't make the bearings obviously, they do set the specification for the parts they purchase however.

Yours might have failed because someone dropped it in the factory, or perhaps the previous owner slid hard into a curb - no way to tell.

Some parts are carefully calibrated like a MAF sensor for example and it is well worth buying OEM. With a common stock part like a bearing, purchasing the best one available helps head off troubles, where it is purchased is less important.

I purchased hundreds of (industrial) bearings over the years and worked with my suppliers to get Japan or European made bearings, we tested "good brand" China made ones and just didn't get the service life from them.
SKF used to be the top US made bearing, I'm retired and don't know anymore.

Parts from NAPA are generally a safe bet, especially if you select a premium grade.

As far as doing both sides, the good side might last 20K or 200K, no way to tell.
I personally like to leave good working factory parts alone.

You will save $90 on the job if you do both sides now but have to spend an additional $488 to save the $90.

Let us know how it works out.

 

I know. My thoughts exactly on spending money to save money. was just thinking maybe i could save more repairs or down time later. i work 12 hour days and volunteer fire fight. free time is not a luxury for me most the time.

 

SKF and Koyo are oem to Toyota.

The oem bearings I put in today did not have either stamp or identifier. But they are bloody expensive.

 

Yeah, I'd have both sides replaced but I likely wouldn't have the brakes redone if you don't have to.
I'm at 139,000 miles on my stock rear brakes and they still have plenty of life left in them. I also keep my rears adjusted and always use my parking brake if it's above 20 degrees outside. Where I live, that's about 360 days per year.

 

Well jeez! It depends. If bearing came apart, or if you see or find glitter in differential oil, change both sides. I did both of mine, because side gear in diff shucked off a piece. 100,00 miles or so. Experience told me that metal ground up in fluid can affect other bearings, on diff, as well as axle bearings. So, replaced differential from Oem dealer, plus axle bearings. Haven’t regretted it.

 

when i changed the diff fluid I found no metallic glitter. I was actually surprised how clean it still was