I'm starting to notice that my driver side wheel bearing is going out. I've been thinking of doing it myself but I'm a little worried about getting the bearing out and setting the new one in properly. I have read that it needs to be pressed in by a shop. Is it possible to get a bearing puller kit and do it myself? And what about the tolerance? I see that it needs to be 0.005mm. Do you think it would be cheaper for me to take the axle housing to the dealer and have them replace the bearing? I'm looking for the cheapest but safest replacement for this. I'm putting a list together of the parts I need to get and I'll post it soon to see if I'm correct.

If you want to do this type of stuff occasionally you can buy your own hydraulic A frame press from Harbor Freight for what a shop is going to charge you (or maybe a little more) to do it and then you will have a tool to do all sorts of cool things. ;-)

Its not industrial grade and I don't buy much from Harbor Freight but this thing is fairly small and has pressed in/out every single thing I've thrown at it:

6 Ton A-Frame Bench Shop Press.

They have bigger and H frame models but I wanted something I could store in my basement and carry to the garage when needed.

As to your direct question, you'll need to remove the axle hub from the steering knuckle and then press out the old/in the new bearing. Piece of cake with the press. Put a little heat on the steering knuckle around (but not on) the bearing hole before each of the press operations and it will go in/out like butter.

I got the part numbers that I think will work. I cant find the snap ring though.

NATIONAL Part # 710570 Oil Seal Front Wheel; 4WD; Inner
NATIONAL Part # 710571 Oil Seal Front Wheel; 4WD; Outer
NATIONAL Part # 517011 Taper Bearing Assembly Front Wheel; 4WD; Inner

As for the press... I might consider it! I live real close to a harbor freight so I might just go and check the press out. I'm assuming there is only one bearing that I need to buy? That's what the breakdown shows. I might also replace the upper ball joint since I will need to remove it. Any manufacturers recommendations for the bearings or ball joints?

The snap rings will need to be replaced as they are usually destroyed while your trying to pull the hub to get to them.

I pulled both mine off and pressed the entire assembly out from the back side, I didn't have the toyota specific jig to hold the knuckle straight while pressing in the new bearing so I took them both to the dealership.

I got lucky and found a service writer that was cool, he said for $60 cash one of the mechanics would do both of them on the side (new snap rings included)

I ordered the parts so it'll be about a week before I get everything. Also I got a 12ton press from Harbor Freight. The 6ton didn't seem like it had enough room for what I want to do with it so I decided to spend a little more on the bigger box frame version. I'm going to do the upper ball joint also since it will be much easier to press everything on and off when the carrier is off the vehicle.

Please let us know how it went! I'm in the process and have two runners that need it done so buying the press would pay off big as long as it's not too hard.

So far its been nothing but a pain in the ass. Couldn't get the ball joint off of the arm. Took the whole upper arm off and the axle connected to it. Still couldn't get the ball joint off when it was off the car. Pickle fork did nothing. Had to cut it in half and press out the two pieces. When the upper portion popped of the arm on the press it sounded like a gun shot! Was incredibly rusted up. The next problem was the spindle and wheel carrier. For the life of me I can not get that separated from the axle carrier. I actually ruined the I-beam on the press and nothing budged. Can't think of anything cept taking it tomorrow or Monday over to Toyota and seeing if they can just pop it off and put the new one on for cheap. Good learning experience though! Ill post pics later of the carnage!

Resurrecting an old thread, but I'm tackling front wheel bearings, ball joints, control arm bushings, tie rod ends and half-shafts soon in my '98 4runner. How did gstai's ball joints finally get worked out?

Not sure how his truck turned out, but I've done the front wheel bearings with the 12 ton HF press....

Introduction, and eventualy upgrade thread......

sorry I didn't take too many pics or do a proper write up, but its pretty simple to do if you follow the service manual.