Front Wheel Bearing failure Advice

Hello all, need some advice hear. So recently iv noticed that my front end has been getting louder and louder as time and mileage increases. I thought it was just my Cooper Discover Mud Terrains but i never noticed them being this loud before. So today i jacked the front end up and spun both wheels. Passenger side spins smooth and quiet, but the driver side spins with no resistance but has a noticeable metallic grating noise as the tire spun. I even put my hand on the spindle as the tire was rotating and could feel the noise creating a vibration up the spindle. I tried wiggling the tire from the 12 and 6 o,clock position but there is no play in the bearing... Its just noisy. My assessment with this is the early onset of a failing wheel bearing.

So hear is my question... Iv heard some guys say that with these pressed in bearings the best thing to do is to replace the bearing asap because with the added heat the bearing tends to swell in the spindle making it very difficult to press out. In about 2 weeks im going to be tearing into the front diff to have 5.29 gears installed anyway. Ill just simply take the extra step and remove the one spindle completely and have the guy who's installing my ring and pinions just press me in a new bearing. Will it be ok driving on it for another 2 weeks without any problems.

 

Most likely, yes

 

If it's already gotten that hot your not going to do anymore damage but you take the risk of it exploding, mine had gotten just as hot and I ended up having to cut the bearing out of the spindle

 

Wow ok well im guessing damage is already done then. But if the bearing got that hot wouldn't it be a lot more difficult to spin the wheel. Like i said the wheel spins freely but its noisy. Also would anyone recommend NAPA for a replacement bearing. Id like to go to Toyota and get OEM but im on a budget.

 

It won't get hard to spin, it will just get so loose that what's left of the bearing will fall out, I changed out with napa bearings and still good to go

 

What gears are you changing from, just out of curiosity. I have 3.58s and I am in the market for cheap 4.10s or 4.56s as replacements as I have 31in tires now. Sorry to thread hijack.

 

Just don't let it get as bad as I did.....

I recommend checking this thread out. I bought a replacement from him after my rebuilt hubs started failing again. Fitment was great and they are working flawlessly.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/ma...2-hub-bearing-assemblies-order-them-here.html

 

Just realized you are a first gen. Sorry, different hubs

 

You got me all excited ,then I checked out the link.

 

I'm changing from 4.30s. I'm currently running 35s and a 6in lift.