Convert Front 4WD Bearings from Press Fit to Bolted Assembly

Is there a kit or way to convert the front press fit bearings to a bolted bearing assembly? I'm sure fairly sure this would involve replacing the knuckle either way.

 

Not enough demand to design and build a mass market low cost kit.

I am sure what you want can be done with a little thinking for the cost you could have a life time of front wheel bearings swapped.

For about $5000.00 in parts if you do the labor yourself you can swap to Dana 44 front spindles giving you what you want. check out Solomotorsports.com
Fabricated spindles

easy front bearings adjustment or replacing on the trail

 

If first gen front bearings had dismal failure rates, there would be a kit. There's probably a "kit" out there that address both LBJ's and bearings that's not wallet friendly. Buying a press and new LBJ's is far cheaper than the alternative. IFS long travel and SAS come to mind.

 

40s n tons

 

In theory you could modify a second generation steering knuckle. That would take lots of work and experimentation till all the bugs were worked out.

Another very expensive option.

 

Weld the cv? Is this considered a solid axle....

 

Only if you also weld the control arms to eliminate all vertical travel.

 

Heck, why not.

 

With but one exception, I have been getting over 10 years of offroad use out of every set of KOYO front wheel bearings (FWBs) in the deep mud/high water here in MS. The only unusual FWB problem arose when the last shop pressed the FWBs in backwards which caused them to fail in less than 3 years. So I am now on my 4th set of KOYO FWBs in 25 years of service with my '97 Taco. No real need for a FWB upgrade for my use. Are FWBs failing faster for you rock crawlers?

 

My FWB failed after two years. I had a shop press them in. Either they failed to to put it in the right direction or the bearing was bad. Since replacing the press bearings is a huge pain I was hoping there was a mod to do away with it.

 

I noticed the 2nd gen knuckle was similar but would take a lot of work to refit.

 

2 years is WAY too soon IMO. There is another possibility for the early failure of your FWBs. Unfortunately, I think there are a lot of shops that are not pressing the FWBs correctly. If the bearing cone is not supported correctly while pressing the hub in, the bearing can be damaged which can definitely shorten its life. I threw in the towel and press my own FWBs now. And the bearing cone is supported correctly when pressed (below). The last shop that pressed my FWBs bearings in backwards was a full-time auto repair shop that has been operating for decades. They should have known how to do it. Lacking that, all they had to do was press the FWBs in the same orientation as they came out. Very sad work on their part.

The sleeve under the ram is resting directly on the bearing cone which supports it as the hub is pressed in. Pressing the hub in without correctly supporting the bearing cone can damage the cage or even release all the ball bearings:

 

I replaced the front wheel bearing myself as suggested in this thread. Leid was right, the bearing had been put in backwards and that is why is failed so soon.

 

Just for reference, below are the internals of a KOYO DU5496-5 FWB. When the bearing is pressed in backwards and the axle nut/hub nut is torqued to spec, all you are really doing is distorting the metal shield/seal towards the bearing cone underneath. At 203 ft./lbs. of torque on my hub nut, the shield was distorting inward just enough to limit the movement of the bearing cone underneath it. But no actual preload of the bearing was taking place. The only "preload" on the bearing was the residual load from pressing the bearing. And it opened up a little bit every time I hit a pothole until there was significant play due to zero preload on the bearing. I probably had 1/2" or so side-to-side play in both front tires after 2-3 years.

Outer bearing cone with integral metal shield/seal is on the left. The inner bearing cone on the right has no integral metal shield/seal. But a separate large black seal fits onto the inner bearing cone.


This is the correct bearing configuration with the metal shield/seal facing toward the hub, outside of the knuckle. You should be looking at this bearing orientation when the hub is pressed into it.


This is the inner side of the bearing with the large black seal. If you are looking at this side of the FWB when you go to press the hub in, the bearing has been pressed into the knuckle BACKWARDS! When everything is fully assembled, it is very hard to see enough detail of the bearing to identify an orientation problem. And everything will appear to have been assembled correctly right up until your front tires start getting play in them. Unfortunately, several of us already have this T shirt. So do it right the first time or just have a pro like zippsub9 do it for you: For Sale: 4x4 Manual Hubs, Spindles, Knuckles and CVs | Tacoma World.