Repeated wheel-bearing failure

Howdy guys and gals! I've got a 2010 taco sr5 model, I've got 94,000 on it, and I'm heading for front wheel-bearing set #4. That's right, 4. I live and work in a very remote location in northern Alberta, Canada. There is absolutely no pavement to drive on for about 200 kms (120 miles-ish). I'm wondering if anyone could help me diagnose why I'm chewing thru bearings like some sort of monster. I've bilstein 5100s on it (stock height), and Wrangler-Territories on it (a great off-road/mud tire, btw) on the stock 16 steel rims. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this,
-Grant

 

Who is installing the wheel bearings and are you using OEM bearings? Improper install can cause a very quick failure. Also, how are you diagnosing the wheel bearing being bad?

 

Same spindle everytime?

I would be thinking that spindle is just not right where the bearing is pressed in. I think it is nj636 that sells the complete setup, hopefully that will stop your failures..

 

Mileage on first failure?
My 06 failed at 75k, I got the bearing/hub kits with koyo bearings from eBay. So far so good at 94k.
The guy I got the kit from does this full time. He mentioned that most shops do not know how to press in the bearings correctly.

 

linkee

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...s-4x4-sale-complete-best-price-ever-save.html

 

I'd suspect improper installation. Are you replacing the seals and o ring each time?

 

first failure was at 30,000 km. made an audible gravely noise from driverside tire. was still under warranty. second failure was at 36,000 km, still under warranty (passenger side this time though). both were replaced with oem toyota parts thru warranty. third time, both failed while I was hauling a friends honda 450 quad in the bed of the truck. too much weight I suspect. last march, bought 2 new complete assemblies thru ebay, and had them installed by a local mechanic. now i'm changing axles (outer boot clamps slipped, black grease everywhere), and noticed that the seals on the back-side (closest to the motor) are close to worn out. not gone yet, but well on their way. I believe the seals and o-rings were included in the complete assemblies I bought last march.

 

And thanks for the link!

 

Considerign conditions you are driving in, you always will get shorter life out of the bearings. However, having said that still they should last more than 20 000 miles.
My bet it's combination of bad environment and not quality install.
The way to do it is.
1. Pack new bearing with Mobil 1 synthetic grease when you get one. When I say pack I mean really really pack. Use grease gun needle to put grease in between rollers in the half that can not be split (outer bearing with metal seal. ) Mobil 1 Syn Grease works great to prevent any moisture and its very good for bearings.
2. Make sure there is some grease on the hub side where seal rides on the spindle
3. Press half of the bearing first by putting pressure on inner race (one that needs to slide on the spindle.
4. Once outer half of the bearing is pressed than press the inner side. (reason for this is that when you pressing both sides at the same time you can stretch plastic cage that holds rollers. Once that cage is broken bearign is done.) Pressing separate halves prevents that
5. Make sure you tighten axle nut to spec. after 100-500 miles go back and re tighten again.

Hope that helps.

 

i havent seen any mention of the hubs being replaced at any point? i allways recommend to replace hubs when a bearing fails....more often than not, this is what happens when they dont get replaced.

 

I completely agree, PACK THE BEARINGS. I got a new set of bearings from Toyota that had surface rust. They only come with shipping grease. Some dudes will argue it's not shipping grease, and those same dudes seem to replace bearings a lot.

 

Have you ever tried to cut the bearing open with a metal band saw ??? I'd be curious to see the condition and possible causes (Rust, scored, foreign matter, lack of lube, etc.. )

 

The hubs were never replaced, I still have the old bearings in a closet. I could take a photo and upload it I suppose. The climate up here is very cold, windy, and dry in the winter, and dusty and hot in the summer. But once it rains on this clay, she turns to mud soup pretty quick!

 

I just did my bearings and hubs in my truck. I bought the hub and bearings from bamatoy on here and installed myself. I noticed my spindle had a little rust at the bottom where the hub mates. I used a little marine grease to hopefully make a good seal and not allow moisture into the bearing. I also noticed the seal on the back of my spindle and also the seal in the cv shaft was worn. I replaced those as well. Maybe you have one of the conditions my truck had. Mine had 118km on it when the bearings went out.

 

Are you running highly offset wheels or wheel spacers? That will reduce bearing life in a big way.

The inboard seals are not part of the bearing assembly, so unless they came in some sort of kit, you didn't get them. They seal against the outboard CV joint, and must be replaced. Also, the mating surface on the CV joint needs to be free of grooves, rust, or other damage. Should be OK if you're installing new axleshafts.

Don't buy cheap bearings of questionable quality - SKF or KOYO are about your two choices for decent quality. Timken are mostly crap these days, and skip any of the no-name off-shore stuff.

Be sure the bearings are well packed with decent wheel bearing grease.

Be sure the hub is true and not out-of round and no grooves where the outboard seal rides, or just replace it.

Sounds like poor quality parts, incomplete or improper repair to me. I use my truck in harsh conditions too, not as much as you maybe, but it's no pavement princess, and no issues like you're having.

 

I don't think my wheels are off-set (they're stock size tires on 16 rims). And I'm not using wheel spacers either. I'll check into those inboard seals though. Thanks for the advice people. It's -36 here today!

 

Ouch. Hope you solve you bearings prob. It's to cold up there, they're protesting. 83 here yesterday, cool today, only 72 ish.

 

Fine clay particles and -37 Degree weather is definitely extreme service for the seals. I'd check into the seals, specs for wear and temp conditions, etc. There are probably a number of manufacturers that have slight differences in seals. I'd check to see that you have the best seal material for these conditions.

I'd also chat with Bamatoy to see what he suggests.

I had an I/O boat that yearly trashed the open style gimbal bearing. I finally swapped it with a sealed bearing and it was still there whe n I sold it years later. Not sure if the Toyota bearings are closed/sealed - but I'd check that too ....

 

I'd rather that than the 30ish inches of snow we just had in less than 40 hours.

 

Thanks for the kind words! I am doing pretty well with these for sure. I do as mentioned, and I inject all of my bearings with additional, high pressure high temperature bearing grease. (Only one that does this) and I show the proper process for pressing the hub into the bearing on the opening post of my bearing thread. If you don't do it that way, you are destined for failure. One of the most common causes of failure is improper installation of the hub into the bearing. OP, you do need to replace the inner seals when you replace the bearings. Never a good idea to reuse the original ones.

You do know that Koyo owns Timken? If you buy a Timken bearing for the Tacoma, when you open the box it will have "KOYO" stamped on it. Manufactured at the same plants overseas, however Jtekt does have a plant in South Carolina I believe that has recently started production. Either way, Timken and Koyo are the exact same bearing, and are the nest ones for this application. SKF is a good company, but their bearings for this application do not hold up over long term.