How to diagnose front wheel bearing failure - 2nd Gen

I just replaced both my front wheel bearings at 50k. I searched and couldn't find a thread on diagnosing wheel bearing failure, and the failure mode on 2nd Gen's is a little unique.

Symptoms of front wheel bearing failure:

1) Howl. This comes on gradually, making it hard to detect if you're running more aggressive tires. I've had worn tires sound worse than my wheel bearing just did.

2) Vibration - initially I felt this in the gas pedal and floorboard, but it was subtle at first. Eventually I could feel it in the steering wheel. Some people report that a long turn at speed increases or decreases the vibration, indicating failure. I didn't get that symptom.

To diagnose:

1) Check for play in the bearing. To check this, get the front wheel off the ground, grab the tire at 12 and 6, and with force try to rock the tire. If you can, bad bearing. If you can't, try putting a pry bar under the tire and rocking the tire that way. The odd thing about 2nd gen's is that I couldn't feel any play even using a pry bar. This might be due to the more modern non adjustable style of bearing used in 2nd gens.

2) Spin the wheel by hand and listen for clicking noises. Also compare how easy it is to spin one front wheel to the other front wheel. Sometimes this will work, but I couldn't get much out of this step. The wheel has a lot of inertia once you get it going, and the brake is still dragging and making noise. So the symptoms get masked.

3) (Thanks to BamaToy for this tip.) Pull the wheel and the brake caliper. Using your fingers, grab a stud and spin the hub. It should spin easily, and fairly quickly, with almost no noise. Mine was difficult to move, and would stop as soon as I stopped spinning it. Also, it made some obvious clicking sounds.


My truck has had 33's (or perhaps bigger from prior owner) for almost all the 50k miles on the truck. IMHO, Tacoma's don't tolerate larger wheels very well. The seals on my truck were in pretty good shape and the area inside the spindle/hub that the seal protects was pretty clean, so I don't think contamination caused the failure. I'll still keep my 33's, because they're not very old, but if I were buying tires I would be going the tall/skinny route just to keep the weight down, and to minimize leverage on the bearing.

 

I think I am having the same issue with a new 2014 with only 13k on it!!! tell me more, which side was it? and anymore info would be great!

 

That's good advice. The 12 and 6 position can also point towards bad ball joints. 3 and 9 for tie rods. I was taught to grab diagonally, or closer to 1.5 and 7.5 for bearing inspection.

 

When replacing my brake pads (and machining rotors) around 80,000 kms I noticed a difference between driver and passenger side using this method... Barely noticeable though.
Grabbed my stethoscope, set the probe on the hub and it was clear as day!

Luckily I had 10 days left of powertrain warranty and the dealer agreed with my assessment and warrantied(?) it.

Going to keep monitoring the right side (and eventually the left again) everytime I rotate the wheels/tires from now on.

 

My truck has had 33's (or perhaps bigger from prior owner) for almost all the 50k miles on the truck. IMHO, Tacoma's don't tolerate larger wheels very well. The seals on my truck were in pretty good shape and the area inside the spindle/hub that the seal protects was pretty clean, so I don't think contamination caused the failure. I'll still keep my 33's, because they're not very old, but if I were buying tires I would be going the tall/skinny route just to keep the weight down, and to minimize leverage on the bearing.[/QUOTE]

Granted my truck is a GEN 1, I purchased it brand new in 2000, it had factory wheels & tires on it for possibly another week, which at that time was swapped for a set of 33's, & eventually for 35's, which is what's on it now. I just replaced the driver's side bearing about 3 months ago, at a lil over 360,000 miles. I ain't buying the,"don't like big tires" thingy, SORRY... Now I am in the process of having to replace the same bearing again, but I feel this is due to the fact that I didn't replace the hub as well, cause the local dealership told me they don't replace the hub when they replace the bearing & the shop that pressed it out told me they normally do & I listened to the dealership. But the front passenger side is still factory & I'm a firm believer in if it ain't broke, don't fix it... Now it may play out in the 1st mile after I get it going again, but at over 360,000 miles, I CAN'T COMPLAIN IF IT DOES...

 

[/QUOTE]
My truck has had 33's (or perhaps bigger from prior owner) for almost all the 50k miles on the truck. IMHO, Tacoma's don't tolerate larger wheels very well. The seals on my truck were in pretty good shape and the area inside the spindle/hub that the seal protects was pretty clean, so I don't think contamination caused the failure. I'll still keep my 33's, because they're not very old, but if I were buying tires I would be going the tall/skinny route just to keep the weight down, and to minimize leverage on the bearing.[/QUOTE]

Granted my truck is a GEN 1, I purchased it brand new in 2000, it had factory wheels & tires on it for possibly another week, which at that time was swapped for a set of 33's, & eventually for 35's, which is what's on it now. I just replaced the driver's side bearing about 3 months ago, at a lil over 360,000 miles. I ain't buying the,"don't like big tires" thingy, SORRY... Now I am in the process of having to replace the same bearing again, but I feel this is due to the fact that I didn't replace the hub as well, cause the local dealership told me they don't replace the hub when they replace the bearing & the shop that pressed it out told me they normally do & I listened to the dealership. But the front passenger side is still factory & I'm a firm believer in if it ain't broke, don't fix it... Now it may play out in the 1st mile after I get it going again, but at over 360,000 miles, I CAN'T COMPLAIN IF IT DOES...

 

I replaced my drivers side bearing at 60k, passenger side is going now around 80k. Both of mine have caused the tires to cup pretty bad. Thats how I knew they were gone..

 

Sorry for the double post, was just trying to quote the part about big tires, MY BAD...

 

A more detailed test. Jack it up.

try to wobble at 12:00 and 6:00. If it wobbles, this is either a bad bearing OR bad ball joint.

try to wobble at 3:00 and 9:00. If it wobbles, this is either a bad bearing OR bad tie rod ends.

If it wobbles both directions, either you are amazingly unlucky and need both ball joints and tie rod ends, or more likely a wheel bearing.

My '07 seemed to behave just a tad "loose" when driving. I decided to give it a check. Raised right front wheel, spun it, dead quiet. But when I grabbed it had slack in both directions. Replaced right front wheel bearing (NOT a lot of fun but not that hard) and problem went away. Left was rock solid.

I have seen people drive with them so bad you would think the wheel would come off. I worked on a Honda Passport last year (4wd) and when I heard the noise there was no doubt what was wrong - right front wheel bearing. As I started to disassemble, all sorts of crap fell out. Individual tapered bearings, pieces of bearing spacer, metal filings, and a partridge in a pear tree. This poor guy spent so much buying a house he could not afford, that he couldn't afford to keep his vehicle up at all. He asked me to take a look at "weak brakes." Turns out he had run them all down to metal, the left rear caliper apparently wore through the metal pad backing and the rotor eventually ripped the piston out. "weak brakes". He had zero brakes as the system was dry, all the fluid having gone through the rear caliper that no longer had a piston.

Back to the bearings. I have seen several flavors of failures. Most common allows the above play, which in the old style bearings where there is an inner and outer tapered bearing with a spindle and a spindle nut, that is the kind of feel you would get if the spindle nut is several turns too loose to preload the bearings. I have seen them not wobble but make a gross noise. Mine made zero noise but had enough slack to allow the wheel to wobble. Hit the brakes. Crack / seam in highway. Could make the wheel toe in/out slightly and cause the steering to wander a little. And there is the ultimate bearing failure where the wheel comes off. When I was very young, my dad and I were driving out to a house he was building (contractor) in an old International pickup. We were going down this long hill when he commented "wonder who in the hell lost a wheel, look at it go..."... Needless to say it was _us_.

The clue was when we started to turn right and the left rear drum hit the ground. Funny today, but could have been tragic obviously.

 

So on a related note, When you replace a bearing, what kind of grease should you use on the backside (inside knuckle) for the bearing/joint assembly?

 

Mine was pretty well greased and ready to install. But there is certainly nothing wrong with adding some good high-quality (high temp also) grease like good old mobil 1 synthetic. I have a cute gadget to grease bearings. Looks almost like two plastic funnels that nest. Separate them insert bearing and re-nest. There is a grease fitting on the other side that hooks to your usual grease gun. Pump until grease can be seen in the gap between the two funnel parts. The grease is forced through the bearing. Not so workable if the bearing is sealed up.

 

An additional way to diagnose the front bearing would be to jack the front with the tires off the ground. Spin the tire and grab the tie rod. If you feel any vibration on the tie rod. The bearing is starting to wear or is already worned. If no vibration is felt on the rod and its smooth while the tire is spinning. This means that the bearing is still good. An alignment shop taught it this trick.

 

Thanks for all the info.. I've been chasing vibes for awhile. Some of the above exactly what is going on with my truck. Gonna take a closer look, and probably replace both wheel bearings!!