1st gen Tacoma rear wheel bearings.

I am wondering if anyone can confirm that new OEM Toyota rear wheel bearings are sealed? I am looking at having to have a passenger side rear axle seal done and my understanding is that if the gear oil has leaked past the seals to the brakes and gotten on the brake shoes that not only do those need to be replaced but the wheel bearing as well. I recently watched a video and Have had other people tell me that the gear oil can get into the casing of the wheel bearing and wash away or deteriorate/contaminate the grease that lubricates the wheel bearing as those are lubricated with grease not oil. So it can cause the wheel bearing to develop play overtime which would cause more wear and tear on the seals causing them to leak prematurely. Local shop is telling me that those wheelbearings are sealed so that they can check them but it’s not absolutely necessary to replace them as long as they are still OK. This is contradicting what I have heard can anybody verify that they must be replaced or not? Thanks.

 

No, its sheilded, but not sealed.

If that gear fluid gets to the outer hub....it has to go around that big bearing (unlikely), or tru it...

 

This is not a cheap or easy job to do.....needs special tools and a shop press...
so having to go back and doing it again would be expensive......


You could probably drive for a long time on a bad rear bearing....
but not fixing that leak and letting that differential run low on oil could be a disaster...

And on the new rear seal redesign....there are some 4-runners reporting failure within 20K....
SO you need a really good competent mechanic.

(6) Toyota Rear Axle Seal/Bearing Replacement (ABS Rearend) - YouTube




Cheapest I could find that bearing was $60 from Mcgeorge toyota online.....
while everything is apart.....labor wont cost that much extra....

 

Yup- leaky axle seals generally mean new bearings AND brake shoes. Once the gear only gets on the shoe material they are toast. The rear bearings are relatively easy to change, but you do need special tools and a press.

 

And if you dont have ABS....its a little easier and less parts....


I'm kinda of curious what someone would use to repack these...regular high temp bearing grease??....
.....or take it to the next level.....

 

Thanks for the replies just wanted to verify if those wheelbearings were in fact sealed or just shielded by the dust seals.

 

And that ring on the axle shaft that the new seal presses against, is supposed to be replaced in tandem with the new seal...

SO there is no escaping the shop press.....


Mickey mouse mechs will skip this....


Most old cars wont outlast those poor fixes....
....no so on the tacos......their repairs need to be done right...


what ever you do....dont drive it without topping off the diff fluid....


I can say same thing about the master cylinder.....always want to catch that before it leaks into the booster and destroys it too....$100 vs $850 in parts...

 

Last time I ordered this stuff from mcgeorge..

they sent me an email making sure I didnt have abs, and double checked everything I ordered for this job....
BEFORE THEY SHIPPED IT....

stellar people....

 

OP,
The OEM rear wheel bearings on my '97 V6 Taco 4x4 were sealed, not shielded. The clearance on a seal is normally much tighter than a shield. I learned that the hard way on the low hanging idler pulley bearing on the V6. But if you bath a sealed bearing in enough gear oil/dirty water/etc., the bearing will probably become contaminated & fail prematurely. When a press is not available, I simply split the old rear axle bearing/keeper off the rear axle (as shown below) and gently hammer the new bearing/keeper back on the well-greased axle using a split bearing/keeper as the driver. And as previously mentioned, McGeorge has been great to deal with for OEM parts. But occasionally, I do find a better price elsewhere so shop around before buying.