How to flip rear wheel bearing retainer?

Hi all,

I replaced the rear axle seals/wheel bearings a couple months ago and the driver side seal began leaking again. I gave my axles to a shop and got them to press/install the new bearings in but they installed the retainers in the same direction.

I've since learned that when installing the new style axle seals the bearing retainer should be flipped with the shamfered edge facing the wheel. I did the grease test I noticed that I'm not getting good contact between the seal and retainer. Is there any way I can remove and flip the retainer myself without a shop press?

I was hoping it would be possible to cut off the retainer and hammer on a new one with a piece of pipe?

I have a 2002 tacoma 4x4 non-abs

 

Sorry to rain on your parade but no way Jose that you're going to get that off or a new one on without a press. May just want to take it back to that shop and ask them to flip it for you.

 

There are plenty of destructive ways to get those off without a press.

There are also plenty of not recommended ways to put them on without a press. Right diameter pipe over the end so it rests on the retainer and a BFH.

 

I can't imagine those methods working out well. And probably more of a pain in the neck to find that 4' long pipe that's the perfect diameter than to just take the axle that's already out and run it down to a machine shop to have them flip it

 

It amazes me how many people that will pay someone to do a job that they don't feel capable of then come here and ask how they can fix the f&ckup. Go back to the shop and tell them you paid them to do a job, f&cking do it right!

 

Isn’t that the direction the retainer is supposed to go so that upon reassembly, the retainer pops into the seal easily instead of getting hung up on the seal like the other side (sharp) of the retainer might?

Were OEM parts used the first time?

 

exactly

Why I’m loathing doing this job in the future myself correctly
Or
Pay to get it done and stress out after shoddy work product after delivery/paying for job

 

Not sure what tools you have but it’s really not that bad a job if you have the Toyota bearing puller tool and a press where the shelf halves are either far enough apart to fit the tool or the shelf halves bolt together so they can be disassembled to get the tool in. My HF press didn’t allow for the bearing puller tool to fit so I sold that one and bought a northern tool press that bolts together.

Other than that the job really wasn’t difficult at all. Some drum brake disassembly and then cutting some old inner races off once the bearings are pulled.

 

I'm more than comfortable doing the job, just don't have a shop press. All OEM parts were used but if you check out timmy the tool mans videos it is recommended to flip the direction of the retainer. Toyota changed the way the seal sits on the retainer a few years back and it tends to leak if the retainer isn't flipped.

 

Interesting. I am not a 1st gen owner, but I commented because the 3rd gen uses an almost identical setup which I have dealt with. Our retainer has it like yours, with the tapered side facing the seal. Sounds like the updated design is not ideal with where the seal lip now lands.

To answer the question in the post, I would say no you will not be able to remove and reuse. You definitely can cut it off easily enough with a dremel and cold chisel, but will need a press to push it back on. You could hammer it on with a sleeve like stated above but that really isn’t ideal.

 

i have neither
but
got access to press NP and Oldsilver said that the bearing pull tool is half the price since he bought one few yrs ago
$100-$130 now

but thanks for your 'motivation' for not being a absolute bear of a job
i have seen vids where they kept together the drum brake assembly
unk if this is possible
appears you took off......to fit/use bearing tool? correct?
thanks

 

Where is the seal making contact? If it's not touching the retainer, then it needs to be further up on the axle (based on the orientation of the photo).

 

mmm while I agree that if you pay a shop to do something, they should do it right... but in this case, the shop did do the work right. Inverting the retainer is something Tacoma owners have figured out, over the years, and the OP would have had to explicitly ask the shop for that. Not their fault at all, so a little unfair to take a shot at them.

 

At the OP- If you're real handy with an angle grinder it's possible to cut it off and hammer a new one on, but I really wouldn't suggest it. The other thing is that if you do the press work, I think you gotta press the bearing out to get the retainer out. It's been awhile since I've done that..

I would do some more digging to make sure that you absolutely NEED to do that. You have way too much grease all over that bearing and retainer to truly see where the seal interfaces.

 

At least on the 3rd gen, you have to disassemble the drum shoes to get the parking brake cable out of the drum. Otherwise your movement to remove the axle shaft from the axle housing would be limited by the parking brake cable. I would suspect 1st gen is the same. But disassembling the drum is pretty simple, basically just unhooking 4 springs. Way better than the drums in my Jeep and old Ranger.

 

I'm with you on that. Had I known to flip the retainers, I would have told the shop to do that and avoided this whole headache. I know that flipping the retainer isn't standard practice on most vehicles so I wouldn't expect them to do so.

I talked to the shop yesterday and they are going to flip the retainers. They will cut the old retainers off and I'll get some new ones from Toyota that they can press on

 

I heard that Toyota changed the design of the rear axle seals a couple years ago so now they ride on a different part of the retainer, hence the reason to flip them. Is that true? Otherwise the retainer shouldn't need to be flipped right?

 

Couple of years ago = 2004ish or something like that.

 

According to the Timmy....you have to do the grease test and make sure the new seal lip is riding right in the middle of that ring.....

If you ask a shop to do this reverse this will probably void the service warranty......,but has to be done...

....and even then it still has to be grease checked before reassembly.......
they may get the old seals.....you never know......


To fix yours....you may used new seals and flushed out with outer flange...
and not drive em in and seat em all the way

 

Trusting others to do this is extremely risky......
.....really only shops that deal with the toy trucks and 4runners all the time are gonna to be wise to this....



As far as I know only Timmy has correct solution to this....

the rest of you .......are sitting ducks....