Wheel bearings

Has anyone had wheel bearings go out under 80k?

 

They typically last about 100k-120k
But they have been known to fail earlier.
Even more so if you wheel the truck in water a lot. (water crossings)

Yeah, under 80k is a little early.
But it's just one of those things that can happen.

Be sure to change the knuckle seal at a minimum when doing the bearings.

 

I know you're a knowledgeable guy, but where do these numbers come from?

I know it happens, buy I've never had a bearing failure under 200K, and I've driven several vehicles, both foreign and domestic to nearly 400K on the original wheel bearings.

IDK, but it seems like the TW estimates on wheel bearing and U-joint lifespans are drastically underestimated, IME.

 

Typical failures is all subjective. I've seen bearings fail in 20k and I've seen them last 500k. Driving style, aftermarket accessories, climate and use contribute heavily to the lifespan of bearings and joints. 80k isn't out of the realm of a possibility. The good news is, a bolt on replacement is fairly cheap (under $200) and can be done in an hour in the driveway.

 

My fronts went out right in line with that 100-120k. I changed them around 125K, after thinking for a long time that it was my new E-load duratracs getting loud.

 

Yup, I didn't even use a driveway! First side probably took me close to an hour, the other took like 20 minutes, and I'm no mechanic!! What's funny is I decided to have my local offroad shop change my rears when they were replacing my front lower ball joints. He called to tell me they didn't need it yet, but I had him toss a new set in since they had it apart. Figured with the camper and years of being overloaded they'd be fried! Apparently not.

 

Yea, they get noisy.
Last set I replaced were the originals on a 2004 4Runner with 277K on the clock, running 33's nearly it's whole life, and spent a LOT of it on rough fire roads.
They too, went nearly simultaneously.

China hub assemblies were $55 bucks on Amazon. lol
At that point in the machine's life, that's all she got.

Failures this early shouldn't be happening.

 

The rear is a whole different animal! Those suck...press and a special tool is REQUIRED.

 

I think that's great how many you got on that rig, but I'm not bothered by the fact they went out when they did. I know my old chevy truck had 234,000 miles on it when I sold it, and they were all original, but it had it's own issues. It ate alternators. Luckily it was a 10 minute job to change them. From what I've heard, 100-120 was common, so I bought one when I was around 85K just to have one in the off chance one failed. The fact I made it as long as I did was cool for me.

I also use/abuse the truck, so even happier I got that many miles. It's all in your expectations.

 

Oh yeah, I wasn't going to touch them!!! Figured getting them done was cheap insurance since they already had the truck in.

 

The alternators thing is funny.

I had an old F150 back in the day that went to just shy of 400K on the original engine (straight 6) and Mazda 5 speed trans. Was still running when the dealer gave me $1,500 bucks on it towards a new one.
Never replaced a U-joint or wheel bearing, but Holy Hell that thing chewed up and spit out alternators.

 

It's like they knew it would happen so it was easy to change, slide the belt off, two bolts out, swap alternator, bolts in, belt back on. done. haha. Swapping an alternator in a Tacoma at a shell station was not nearly as easy...

 

From my own personal experience on 3 different tacomas. And from the general reports on TW.

Most start to get noisy around 100k

As for u-joint. I’m still on my factory joints at 174k. Grease them once or twice a year. As are the ball joints and carrier bearing. All factory.

The Tacoma is just hard on wheel bearings for some reason. Some will claim it has to do with the CV axle constantly turning inside the bearing. But don’t believe that is the case.

The worst issue I had so far was a rear axle seal. Out comes the axle when that happens. And I hate the smell of gear oil.

 

I’ve never replaced a wheel (or any other) bearing on an automobile in my life. I have however replace various bearings on motorcycles and bicycles.

How do you guys determine a wheel bearing requires replacement? On motor cycles and bicycles, I clean the bearing and visually inspect it for obvious signs of wear, corrosion, excessive play, and damaged seal (if a sealed bearing). If all looks good, I repack it and re-install it (if needed).

What type of bearing are Toyota wheel bearings? Needle? Ball? Sealed? Oil bath? I would guess greased needle bearings with an external seal intended to last for the life of the automobile.

 

On the 2nd and 3rd Gen Tacomas.
You’ll get a noise going into a curve.
By the time you feel “play” it will be roaring like a lion.

The best way to “feel” it, is to jack up the truck. Then place the jack under the control arm and take weight off the suspension. Next, grab the tie rod and spin the wheel. You will kind of “feel” the bearing if it’s bad.

But 99% of the time. A noise is the first indicator of the bearing failing in these trucks.

 

I determined mine weren't my tires on a sweeping curve in the mountains doing around 55 or so. Was the first instance of near silence I had experienced in my truck in YEARS. It was like WTF, it's quiet. I then ordered a second bearing, swapped them both out, and the next road trip was noticeably more relaxing!!

 

I want to say by sound and play.
If you jack up the front and spin the tire you can probably hear it.
Grab the tire at 6 and 12 and shake it to see if there's any play.

 

By the time you get play at 6 and 12. You will have heard it. You’d have been hearing it for months. The noise always shows up before the play in these trucks.

 

I don’t personally think inspecting via noise is good enough. I’ve heard bearings make noise, cleaned and repacked bearings, and then went on my merry way. Also, if you don’t actually inspect the bearing directly, how do you know it’s the bearing making the noise?

 

Yeah, feeling play on these probably means the bearing has already fallen apart. Mine was stupid loud, and I had zero play, and I could spin the wheel by hand with the front jacked up and it'd spin along easy.