Prerunner Front Wheel Bearing WHY question???

Aint' that the truth.

 

As a mechanic for over 45 years, I totally agree with you. Ever since they went to sealed bearings it became a constant repair job as opposed to the old tapered bearings which you could service easily with grease and a cotter pin every few years and seldom needed replacement. Often newer isn't better but cheaper for the manufacturer to build and more work for the garages. At one time, you could grease ball joints, u-joints etc. but I guess they lasted too long and saved on zerk fittings.

 

As I have stated clearly from the opening title, this is a 2WD Prerunner, not a 4WD or 5 lug truck.

Not once did you read a complaint from me, I merely asked why pressed together.

Seems the longtime experienced mechanics, have no issues or complaints about old school designs.

 

Not so much calender time of almost 10 years old, it just turned 70,000 miles the other day. Guessing it may have 71,000 around the end of December.

 

Ironic, years ago, was seriously looking at getting rid of the Tacoma and getting a first series Ford Raptor.

 

There are two sealed tapered bearings mounted face to face in each front assembly. The outer side of each bearing is sealed and the insides are open so they can technically share grease with each other.

The one below has just started to go bad. Only occasional noise when driving and was quiet when rotating it even with the pads removed.



Housing / race below. One per wheel.



Good LH and bad RH bearing that were pressed off the hub. The one on the RH was the mating bearing with the first pic



The one below sounded like gravel. Not my truck. Lucky this didn't fail catastrophically



Edit:
New Toyota bearing assy. Basically one bearing drops in each side and it's held together by the plastic insert which gets pushed out when the hub is pressed in.

 

Because its easier to keep 95% of the front components interchangeable between 4x4/prerunner versions. The PreRunner is essentially the 4x4 model without the front drive components. Rather than designing separate spindles and components that attach a different spindle, requiring more part #'s, keeping stock, manufacturing requirements; they simplified it by having a different hub.

 

That was meant for those that have no clue how to get them running properly and think they are superior to FI. I still love the sound of an old school V8 with a big ol Holley double pumper and going WOT. There is something to be said for that nastalgia.

 

Not sure but this has been mentioned several times so far it's just falling on deaf ears

 

Just my $.02. I Didn’t read all prior posts.

Take it or leave it or move on.

 

I'm not I just mentioned that a few times already so have others it just doesn't seem to be working. I was more making a joke. Guess my punch line wasn't so good.

 

Got it after re reading a few times. My bad haha stay at home dad with a 6 month old. Read it differently at first.

We good

 

I know the feeling my man single father with a 6yr old been where you are it'll get easier and more fun.

 

It’s pretty common for bearings to be pressed on one side and slip fit on the other. Occasionally you’ll see double pressed bearing. Rarely are bearings slip fit on both sides. You need to keep the bearing race from spinning whether it’s pressed or preloaded. It’s just easier to press the bearing then rely on an assembly line worker to preload the bearing properly. Plus interference fits don’t change much over time. Retaining clips fall off or get left off. Just makes sense in high capacity manufacturing to press the bearing.

 

Also, forgot something. Some bearings are not preassembled sealed units. They are still common on trailers. Either way the outer race is still pressed in. It’s just that when you take it apart the “bearing” part comes out easily. But the race is still pressed so it’s not that different than the sealed units.

 

Just be glad we don't have to take off our hubs to get a rotor off. *Honda, cough, Chevy

 

Yep, I was in a buddies shop and he had the front of a Suburban all apart. I asked him what was up. "Just doing a brake job. Might as well put in new wheel bearings while it's apart." WOW! What a dumb design.

 

No no, keep going guys, don't stop now. This thread has been the highlight of my lunchtime reading digest.

Highly entertaining all the back and forth.

 

Prerunner or 4wd, same setup, no ball bearings, awesome, that is now settled, thank you.

Fair enough, pressed together is from a manufacturers standpoint better. Slap a one item assembly onto the hub, pressed, install the nut and stake it. Done.

Disregarding the nonsense posts, made by others, if the bearings are pressed onto the hub shaft, and not able to slip, what pressure determines the correct bearing preload.

Old designs, the bearing was a slip fit onto the stub axle. You spun the hub, tightened the nut a given torque, backed off to zero, then depending upon the manufacturer, either aligned the castle nut and cotter keyed the nut, or added a slight few inch pounds of torque and then cotter keyed it.

What is the assurance that on assembly in the press, the guy using a 10 ton press vs the guy with a 50 ton press, each have the correct preload?

If pressed until seated, the nut will clamp at the bearing position. If the bearing is not pressed fully, the nut determines the preload. 200 lbft on that wheel bearing nut is a lot of bearing preload.

 

Because the two halves of the inner race squeeze together until they're touching and then they stop. When pressing the hub through the inner races, from the top down for example, you support the lower half of the inner race from below. When cranking the hydraulic lever down, experienced mechanics can feel when the two halves meet and you stop cranking the press before damage is done. The preload isnt an adjustment that you need to worry about anymore, you just press the hub into the bearing while supporting it correctly and the preload takes care of itself