So I did some work on my 4Runner last week and noticed that my passenger wheel bearing has some play in it when I pull / push on the wheel from the 12 and 6 o'clock positions. I honestly think I have had a bit of play for sometime. I am getting ready to do a road trip in about 3 weeks. I don't think there is any noticeable noise yet but I don't spend a lot of time in the passenger seat so it is really hard to say.

Is there any reason to rush out and fix it? Usually I am very proactive with repairs but I have had wheel bearings last a long time before getting very loud.

One of the reasons I am very hesitant to replace it is that my experience with aftermarket wheel bearings has not been good. On an old GTP that I had, once I replaced the stock bearings around 100k the aftermarket ones never lasted more than 15k-30k miles. I used both Timken and Moog back then.

Thoughts? Replace? Wait?

Thanks!

Both of those brands are chinese junk. Look for bearing made in japan like NSK or BCA $52 each. Go to rockauto and look at the pictures. They will be stamped Japan.

Its a 2-3 hour job if you have a press. I was at 222,000 miles, so I did mine just as maintenance and peace of mind along with the LBJs.

Torquing the axle nut too tight or too loose is the biggest reason for failure. Dont just bang it on with an impact wrench.

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Thanks for the response. I am guilty of hitting the CV axle with a hammer to separate it from hub. Aside from that, I use a torque wrench for anything suspension or engine related.

Didn't realize you need a press for the bearings. Need to find out where or who can press in a new bearings near me. I also need to find out a better way to remove the CV from the knuckle when replacing CV axles and the hub from the knuckle when doing the bearings.

This guys been selling complete front hubs over on TW for a number of years now, not sure i have seen any bad reviews.
Just have to bolt it on.

Wheel Bearings & Hubs Press Service *** OE NSK*** | Tacoma World

Came here to recommend this guys product. I replaced my oem ones with his about threeish years ago. No problems at all, even running super wide -38 offset wheels and 33's for the last two years until recently.

How to

Toyota 4x4 how to replace front wheel unit bearings - Metal Tech 4x4

Thanks. That’s some good information with a lot of detail. Without a press and some specialty tools, it looks near impossible to do correctly.

Going to try and call around to see if anyone can remove and press a new bearing and seal onto my exiting hubs. If not, then I can look into the options offered by others here in this thread for assembled units.

Around here CarQuest usually has a machine shop. $20-$40 each to press them in/out. Or if you plan to start diy your repairs, you can buy a 20 ton press at harbor freight for $140 on sale. Mine has paid for itself over and over again

O'Reilly's has a hub puller that you can rent. You can remove the hub while the hub/wheel bearing assembly is still attached to the knuckle if you don't have a vice. For 2WD, you'll need to remove the entire hub assembly since there is a locking nut on the backside holding the hub onto the wheel bearing.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c...kit/ren1/67213

Man, you got me thinking now about a press. I am tempted to check them out at Harbor Freight. I haven't been buying any tools these days since I have most of what I need. Lately I have been renting specialty tools from Oreilly's since they are free and typically don't use them often. I am guessing I would need the OTC bearing separator tool as well. Not sure if that can be rented or what the cost is.

Thanks. I am guessing you would use this tool regardless of whether pulling the hub on the car or while the knuckle is in a vice???

The large splitter at HF isnt big enough. I found a used splitter on ebay that was 7” from screw to screw and its perfect for any job. Truck parts are bigger.

Yes but you don't need to remove the knuckle. Just the hub/wheel bearing assembly. If you have 4WD, it's actually easier to use to puller while the assembly is still bolted to the knuckle (still attached to the vehicle). Once you remove the hub, then you can unbolt the wheel bearing.

This technique is fine but the trick is to leave the nut threaded on flush with the end of the shaft. That way you don't deform the threads on the end when going to town with a BFH.

I have always left the nut on and flush when doing so.