Wheel Bearings Changed (Pictures)

That's why I bought mine and kept it simple with the 4cyl/5spd ... hope to get at least 200k outta it ... I average 25k a year (long commute to work).

Know what you mean about not worrying before TW ... but it's nice to be informed and keep some dealer (stealer) or some other shop outta my wallet.

 

MQQSE,

How many miles on your taco?

 

I spoke to a friend who is a Toyota Mech. He told me that the bearings that were failing didn't have enough grease in them. I only have 38K on my truck, but when I need to do this I will try and remove the bearing cover and add some grease. (Remember that too little grease and the bearings will fail! & Too much grease and the bearings will Fail!)

The trick is not to over pack the bearings with grease.

 

58K ... too early for bearings to fail IMHO

... but like I said, I was expecting it and had already put it on my list for Spring after reading about it on TW....so on the bright side I'm ahead of schedule.

Oh ... if you're checking the math, I bought the truck used in May 2010 with 23K on it. That's how I come up with 25K annual mileage on average.

 

2k BEFORE the power train warranty goes out so you should be covered.

 

How hard was it to remove the sway bar that connects to the spindle?

 

Awesome write up! Sub'd for later...

 

Insert a allen key and then loosen the bolts. Pretty easy. To fully remove it you need to remove the skid plate and torsion bar hangers.

 

Peace and quiet. That is what I have now thanks to everyone for the photos and video. I just finished both front bearings and appreciate the help. I do recommend doing a better job greasing the bearings with Mobile 1 synthetic. The enviromentally friendly stuff they use I think is the reason these are failing at 60-70K miles. Also, order your seals and O rings from Sparks Toyota in Myrtle Beach.
Here is what I paid:
Bearings: (2) 66.00 free shipping on Ebay
Sparks:
90312-96001 V Seal 11.33 each
90316-A0001 D Seal 25.16 each
90301-A0005 O Ring 3.70 each
Total parts 146.38
Pressing Hubs 40. each
Total 226.38.
Sparks charges 10.95 to ship the seals and O Rings.
I only buy from my local dealer if they will match Sparks prices as the tax you will pay offsets the shipping. These guys have the best prices.
I had the bearings pressed at Pep Boys. While I was there they had an 07 that they were doing the bearing on the right side. The tech pulled the ticket for me, 200. parts, 300. labor for one side. I will have to find something to spend the money on that I just saved.

 

x2
Not sure who had briliant idea to use lithium biodegradable gease in wheelbearings. My old bearings had very little grease left. Bearings itself where ok they just started running out of grease

 

I replaced my front bearings on my 4X4 on Xmas eve. It had 100100 miles (no, that's not binary code). The symptons included a slight vibration that began around 30mph and a slight humming sound, about 25% of the sound my M/T tires used to make (I now have AT Wild Peaks). I also had about 1/16-inch play on the right side. After removal I observed both outside bearings were worn/damaged. Given all the off-roading I do, plus several memorable hard bumps, I think I got good mileage out of them.

I went with Precision bearings http://www.prec-auto.com/ through Amazon. They were $52 each. There are cheaper bearings from Dearborn, GMB, DTA, and others, but I was reluctant to go with the lowest 'bidders' - my daddy always said, "you get ...".

I also got the outside seals through Amazon: Timken #TM710477 ($12 for two!).

The O-rings I only found through the dealer, I think I paid $9 each. But, turned out my originals were in excellent shape. I lubed them and re-used them.

I also bought the inner seals but, again, my originals were in good shape, I re-used them as well. I will install them and the o-rings the next time I replace the bearings.

I bought a Harbor Freight 20-ton press in the hopes of pressing the bearings out/in myself but it turned out the hubs would not fit between the press railings. The hubs are 6.5 inches and the railings were about 6 inches across. All the current H-F presses have welded railings; it was after-the-fact that I realized I could have cut the railings apart and re-connect them with a bolt - a future modification. I looked for but could not find a large bearing splitter. That may have helped but I ended up having a shop press out the bearings. I did used my new press to press in the new bearings. I may submit a separate thread on this experience, along with the modifications to the press.

The rest of the install went without a problem. I used a wire brush on my drill to remove some light rust around the hubs and spindle, and I applied Threadlocker Blue on all the bolts. I also sanded and coated the inside of the disc rotors with bearing grease to allow easier removal in the future.

Another forum provided an excellent tip to removing and torquing the 170-foot lb axle nut. You hand tighten two wheel nuts on adjacent studs on the hub and run a 3-foot pry bar across them so that the bar locks when one end hits the ground. It worked brilliantly.

 

hope you post pics of the harbor freight press! been wanting to go this way...everyone around here wants $90 per side to press out old and press in New! can the bottle Jack be replaced in the press?

 

Below are a couple pics of my Harbor Freight press, #37999 .

The 1st pic shows the bottle jack in place. It is easy to change out. The jack sits on a little platform and is held in place by the pulling pressure of the two springs, and by the housing over the tip of the jack.

The 2nd pic shows the inside width of the rails. Below and to the right of the tape measure you can see the V-bracket welded to the rails. At 5.7 inches wide, it is too narrow for our 6.5 inch hub to hang down so you can slip the press plates between the hub and bearing assembly to press it out. A bearing splitter could help but since I couldn't find one, I can't vouch it will work.

I see three viable fixes. One, cut the V-bracket (then rig pvc pipe and a 3/8" bolt to keep the halves from falling off). Two, drop the rails to the ground and go find yourself two metal square bars. Suggested specs: 22.7" wide; 1" thick; and 3-6 inches tall. Three, design/weld a box to sit atop the rails. Suggested specs: 7" inside diameter; 5" high; and at least .5" thick.

I don't know that .5" plates are thick enough to press out the bearings. It will help that they have a V-cut in the middle edge of the plate. This will provide more contact area around the bolt that will be sitting in the bearing assembly. I was prepared to cut out the bolts in order to insert a wider press plate - I had bought some bolts at my local ACE. You would only need to cut off two opposing bolts. I think the bolt specs are 12mX1.25 and 30mm long.

Pics 3 & 4 show the condition of my bearings. Passenger side was pitted and driver side had imprints of the bearings - clearly the result of a hard impact. I remember several of them.

Look for the 20% off H-F coupon. Got mine in the mail today. Good in-store or online on a single item. That's what I used to buy this press a few weeks ago - 50 bucks off. Here is the online coupon I used and it's good for a few more days - . Use the # below the bar code if ordering online.

 

@ducati