Wheel bearings

Would you clean and repack the OEM sealed bearing?

 

I don’t know. I’ve never seen one. Is the seal removable?

Looking at some wheel bearing pictures on sites selling them, it appears that the wheel bearing is part of the hub assembly with no maintenance possible. But I did find a picture on a 4Runner site that showed an accessible needle bearing.

 

Not sure how it would work on the wheel bearing but I check roller bearings at work all the time with a screwdriver.
Hold the screwdriver against the shaft and put your ear up against the handle of the screwdriver, then spin it. (works like a stethoscope)
You can hear it....
That also works for checking fuel injectors and plugs.

 

A major issue is that the bearings aren't easy to access as far as I can tell. They're pressed into the hub assembly. You have to press the assembly apart to get to some ring inside to remove them I believe.


Here's a pic of an assembly from the website I bought them at. It's just easier to buy the complete assembled setup and swap out. Yeah, it's disposable culture or whatever you wanna call it, but the shop would want a TON of money in comparison to swap just the bearings.

 

That’s a much better picture. It looks like a pressed in sealed bearing. What I thought were bearing needles in the other picture, I now think are splines for the axle to mate to.

 

Yup, splines

 

Like so....
Sounds smooth...that one's good.

 

How you gonna do that on a Tacoma?

 

wheel off and spin it?
The screwdriver just needs to touch something close to it that's stationary.

 

FYI:

https://www.yotabearingsandhubs.com...x4-complete-koyo-front-wheel-bearing-assembly

Here's the link if anyone is interested. They also sell a kit of two for a little discount/

 

I couldn't turn the assembly by hand, much less spin it.

Where would you listen, since there are two bearings and they are behind the hub face? Not trying to argue, i'm actually curious where you'd put that to test, as I know those things can work.

I can't recall if spinning the opposite side tire spun the other side or not. Might work.

 

I can almost read the bearing number. I think it is a koyo du5496-5. If so it is a ball bearing.

https://www.locateballbearings.com/koyo-du5496-5lft-double-row-ball-bearing/

In any case, it’s not a bearing one can repack, but it should be easy to inspect it for excessive play, damaged seal, damaged balls or races. When they are really bad, you can feel it with your fingers.

 

Lol. ya I get it.
Up in my other post I started with "not sure how it would work on the wheel bearing"
good tip though for listening to things.

 

On a Gen 1 RAV4, I had the left front wheel bearing become noisy at 125K miles. At that time I had access to a hydraulic press (yes, I did replace both sides). If my Tacoma wheel bearing becomes noisy, I think I will buy the complete assembly to swap out.

 

What's extra fun is that I've read and heard that depending which of the two bearings in the hub is failing, it can differ how the sound is affected by turning. Like one bearing gets quieter when you load up that side, while the other gets quieter when you load up the opposite side (as in taking left or right corners). It wasn't obvious which side of mine was making the noise while driving. My mechanic put his money on the right bearing being the worst based on the sound going away on that sweeping corner in one direction. Our buddy put his money on the opposite side, and he was right. I swapped one at a time, left first to see, and it dropped the volume SUBSTANTIALLY. My wife wondered if I should even swap the other it was so much quieter, but I did anyhow, as I hear they usually fail close together. It quieted things up even more, but again, it wasn't nearly as bad. I'm glad I made the decision to do one at a time though, so I could really tell which was the worst.

 

I had one seize up on my old ford truck going around a rotary, that was fun. Zero noise ahead of time. 3 out of 4 went in my Subaru all between 30-45k in miles all humming as they started to fail.

 

There’s no one in there right mind going to grease and repack a Tacoma bearing. You’ll likely destroy the bearing pressing the 2 pieces hub apart and out of the bearing. It’s a one shot deal. Once it’s together, that’s it. You don’t get a second chance.

Which is even more of a reason, you need to buy a quality bearing form a reputable builder. Otherwise, you’ll likely be doing them again well before 100k like the OEM hubs.

@05Taco4x4 would be my first recommendation. Followed by bluepit and
If you just want to go “cheap” about the best is the Napa ones that use SKF bearings. LOOK at them before you buy them. The race will say SKF, if it doesn’t. Don’t buy them from Napa.

 

In any case, I don’t think listening for noise is a valid inspection procedure. It’s a clue, yes. Mechanical devices tend to make noise and human hearing varies a lot from individual to individual. Its possible I’ve just never heard any of my wheel bearings making noise and lived to tell about it.

 

By “bearing” are you referring to the hub assembly or the bearing(s) pressed into it?

I’m guessing you are referring to the hub assembly. The bearing is not repackable, but while I tend to agree that pressing out the old bearing and pressing in a new one is likely not cost effective, it’s likely very possible. I’ve replaced pressed in bearings on motorcycles where replacing the entire assembly would cost 10-1000 times more than the bearing.

In any case, my main thoughts are about inspection procedures, not replacement procedures.

 

I'm talking about the bearings. As in "repacking" them.
You can 100% replace the bearings. But it is much easier to buy the whole hub assembly.
Unless you have a press and the right setup to press the inner and out hub togather.

The reason Toyota charges so much is they quote you the full book time for pulling/pressing the hub togather.
My dealership here in Knoxville, didn't even do that. They told me they sent the hubs out to have them rebuilt.
Which I honestly don't believe. I'm betting they get the assembly and just swap them out.

@Bishop84 might know "exactly" how Toyota does it?
Do they press their own hubs, or order the assembly?

For guys like me, working in their driveway.
I don't press anything. I unbolt it, and bolt a new one in.