WHEEL BEARINGS WOES :(

So I did my first oil change on my new to me Tacoma. Bought it back in March of this year it a 2010 double cab pre-runner with SR5 and TRD package. Oil change went well so started to rotate my tires. First wheel is the right front, jacked the truck up and by habit I always check my vehicles for play in the wheel.......DAMN I had play. Verified that it wasn't steering or anything else and it was coming from wheel. Here we go luckily the truck came with a certified warranty of 2 years and I bought an extended warranty also. The bad is I bought it at a Hyundai dealership not knocking Hyundai but they don't specialize in the Yota. So they changed the bearing but said that someone has changed this bearing before, and their was more damage then they thought and needed to order more parts from Toyota and no dealer has this part around the area they said it was a castle nut that goes on the spindle. This was Thursday and the part woul take 3 to 5 days to get here. So I'm stuck driving a 2013 Hyudai Azzera this thing has a 40k price tag. But I miss my truck, hope I get back quickly.

 

The castle nut is probably for either the upper or lower ball joint. They probably removed the whole spindle from the truck to replace the wheel bearing unit. Best of luck, hopefully everything goes well.

 

I doubt it's the spindle nuts, probably the bearing retainer that takes the special tool to disassemble and to properly torque when reassembling.

My guess is the guy that did the work tried to just beat it apart and trashed the nut. Ask them to show you the special tool so you know it was properly assembled.

If you do some searches here, the tool is referenced.

PK

 

My thoughts exactly, I watched the video on you tube and thought man I hope the guy thats going to do this job knows what he's doing. Thanks for the info.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/200626-front-wheel-adjustment-nut.html

The proper torque is 200 ftlbs. Doubt it could be done easily without the tool.

Best of luck with it.

BTW, I am assuming you have a 2wd truck.

PK

 

Yes its 2 wheel drive they have a Toyota dealership right next door so hopefully if the run into any problems they can ask them for help. I don't like other people working on my truck but it's warranty work .

 

I did bearings on my Volvo years ago, the instructions stated the bolts were not to be reused, replace with new.

 

Well got the truck back yesterday afternoon, drove it to work and everything seems kosher. Total bill was $867.34 billed to the extended warranty. Ride is a lot quiter but the funny thing is I thought the truck drove well before. Keep in mind that I just bought it in March, will be going on vacation to Nags Head NC in 2 weeks and will be driving this down their I wish it was 4x4 so I can drive it on the beach but I'm happy with what I have.

 

So they replaced only one bearing ? If right one was dead, than left one is not far behind it.

 

I learned a lesson a long time ago. I bought a Ford truck at a Buick dealership. Had engine problems from the get go. They had my truck for 11 days and were unable to fix it. Ended up having to fix it myself. I would only buy a used Toyota (if buying from a dealer) from a Toyota dealership.What good is a warranty if they aren't familiar with working on that particular vehicle?

 

I have the option to take the vehicle wherever I want too, as far as anything else going wrong I'm covered for the next 40k miles electrically and mechanically. I think as long as do my part and try to catch things before disaster strikes I should be fine. I hope I don't have to use it anymore but its almost paid for itself in one visit.