front differential side bearing replacement.. done!

procedure is as stated by Metallikatz3. I'd rank this a 9/10 for difficulty. This is due to the stubborn bearing...see step 9. But let me add some info about my experience...It sucked but can be done (pictures to be posted)

1A. Jack up truck and remove the wheel.
1B. I drained gear oil before starting (make sure filler plug can be open BEFORE draining) and replaced with new when done.
2. Take off the caliper, rotor, and break line support on knuckle (more room to wrestle with the CV shaft) [I supported caliper to right with bungee]
3. Remove the dust cap over the axle nut
4. Remove wheel nut (breaker bar worked fine with 3 foot crow bar between lug bolts)
5. Separate the upper ball joint and steering tie rod to pull the spindle out far enough to get the cv off. OR OPTIONAL....
5 -Optional- I separated LOWER control arm from knuckle at LCA attachment point. only 2 bolts here. then swung entire piece out of way while sliding off axle. Also separated the anti say bar. supported to left with bungee. time: 00:30

6. pry out the cv from the diff. I needed a 10 pound sledge to pry this out. I used a large wedge and whacked away. I expected to damage the dust seal so I had bought a new one in preparation. After steady increase in hammering it finally started to move. time another 00:30
7. Remove cv shaft from truck and set aside
8. Pry out oil seal from diff (they sent me the wrong oil seal so I was careful not to damage the original). Always line up parts to make sure you have the right ones before removing.

9A. Use slide hammer to pull out bearing (pain in the ass) ***this did not work for me. the bearing refused to move. eventually I ripped the rear (inner) edge of the bearing off with the slide hammer bearing tool and the needles came out. I had a strong magnet on a screwdriver to fish the few that tried to hide. I ripped out the carrier and the rest of the needles. AND counted to make sure I had them all (34).
9B. Now I am stuck with a damaged outer race. I tried a punch to try to pry it out. this just damaged the punch and put a hole in the outer edge of the race. Fed up and pissed off...I grabbed a LARGE screwdriver and 10 pound sledge and hammered away till I broke the race. Yes, I scored the bearing carrier but was able to smooth things out with a file.
Time: 2 hours of playing with this piece of $hit

10. Install new bearing (I put mine in the freezer for a while) Freezer trick worked well. Make sure you you pound lightly and evenly. 00:05
11. Install new oil seal (omitted... see above, but wanted to do)
12. Replace C-ring then Wrestle new CV shaft into place (same large screwdriver pounding same sledge) It went together easier then it came apart.
13. Bolt everything back in and torque it down.
14 fill diff with correct gear oil

It was one stubborn bearing...but cheaper then a new diff ($1400).
Total time estimated: 5 hours.

 

Kevin, Thanks for your post. Congrats on replacing the bearing. I look forward to seeing your pics. Welcome to the forum.

 

Kevin, good job...sounds like it was a major pain. After all that, what's the verdict on the vibes? Any better?

 

Thanks for updating Kevin. Glad to hear an "honest" explanation of the difficulty. Not to say others weren't honest, but when working on vehicles things never seem to go easy for me...something in the process has to always be a PITA! Like Ben asked, how's the vibe now?

 

Went to dealership with a ripped cv boot. They quoted me 5400 dollars to do all this work. Will be doing this withing the next week.

 

Did you type 5400? or is that a typo? What state are you?

 

Hey guys, i went through all of this as well, i dont mean to double post but the original thread i followed and posted pics in got kind of long and convoluted. About the bearing removal with a slider hammer. There is a little attachment you can make if you have some basic tools that allows you to get the bearing out of the diff in just a few hits from the slide hammer.

Here are the pics i had from when i did it.







its just a piece of plate steel ground down with a grinder disc, drilled out and tapped to your slide hammer threading size. The concaved corners allow you to slide it behind the bearing, then pull it flat up against the backside. giving you a large surface area to pull it out. Mine came out perfect with no dents or needles falling out! Hope it helps someone.

 

Looks great man. Would it be possible for you to put a tape on it so we can get the length and width of the metal please. I don't need it, and I hope I never do but I would like to make this tool if I do end up needing it. Thanks.

 

no typo. 5400 bucks to replace the front diff and the front driver CV. I only brought it in for a cv boot. I thought you could just replace the boots but i realize you cant. I asked if it was a joke then I politely said hell no. I have a little extra money so i thought id bring it to the dealership while i was on a trip. I'm in Louisiana

REALLY dont have time to work on the truck but if I can make 5000 in a day I sure as hell will.

 

Forgot to mention....NO MORE VIBES!!!! It certainly works. I wish I had a better bearing tool. I even tried a pilot bearing removal tool with a spreading collet. perhaps 06RadiantReds tool would have worked.

A quick note on this bearing. the reason it did not vibe in 4WD is that it sits in a gear that spins with the axle when 4WD is engaged. When disengaged, the gear is still and the axle spins inside the the bearing.

 

showing bungees holding breaks and knuckle out of way. I eventually pulled them tighter to open the area up a bit more.



Axle removed.



Closeup of old bearing. AFTERTHOUGHT...glad I left old seal in as it helped catch some of the needles that came out. I would suggest leaving it until you get the bearing out. it makes the "gap" smaller



snap-on slide-hammer bearing puller. I later tried the pilot bearing tool. neither was successful.



the diff side of the axle. there is some wear on the shaft but it was not scored. I did not consider this bad enough to warrant replacement. Though if I ever do this again, I will.



Putting it back together. I replaced all seals and the dust cover. but did NOT replace the diff side oil seal due to the wrong part being sent. No leaks so far.

 

Still seems a little high. Dealership cost to replace the front differential is about $2,200 ($1,600 for new front diff, misc $ for oil, and the rest is labor cost). Dealerships charge around $800 for the CV Axle replacement because Toyota's axle costs around $400! My dealership parts guys said they always recommend aftermarket on the axle due to the cost. But if they're replacing the front diff then the axle should only be the cost of the part alone (no extra labor). So where they're coming up with $5,400 is unexplainable. BTW, this is all using Calif labor rates which are likely a lot higher than your State's labor rates.

 

Few more questions.

So where do you guys find a plate of steel like this?

How did you determine how far to set the new one in?

And even with it in the freezer to shrink it, what did you use to tap it back into place?

 

ok here we go, 2300 for the bearing and seal and 800 for the CV. They added in installing me a new sway bar for 1600.

 

Do you guys have part numbers of what you used for the whole bearing replacement job?

 

DamN!

 

Copied from someone else, so I haven't verified the accuracy.
Needle Roller Bearing - 90364-35010 $11.31
Oil Seal - 90311-47012 $7.56

 

It was just some steel my dad had lying around.

When resetting it, we actually left it out just a bit from being flush with the diff housing. This is farther out than stock, but based on how/why we thought the bearings are failing, it was a test to see if this would make it last longer. The farther in you put it, the more load will be on it. (so far about 8k miles and no new noise)

I did not use the freezer trick. It went in pretty easy with a socket that was very close to the same size. Just take it slow and make sure its going in straight. I don't remember if we greased the outside or not, but it couldn't hurt.

 

Thanks Ryan. I'll be replacing my bearing and the cv axle this summer. Now if the snow would just quit! BTW, we're doing another snow run next Saturday if you can make it. I know you couldn't make it on the last one.

 

wow that bearing seems pretty cheap, being it is from the dealer.

i think this one from rockauto.com is equivalent but it's $27

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1432865,parttype,1664