Another wheel bearing question???

zguy1

zguy1

Member
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!
 
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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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Drcoffee said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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
 
Drcoffee said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
weaves said:
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/...ough-hub-remover-and-installer-kit/ren1/67213
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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.
 
zguy1 said:
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???
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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.
 
zguy1 said:
Thanks for the response. I am guilty of hitting the CV axle with a hammer to separate it from hub.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Update here... Called all local auto parts stores (Advance, Autozone and Oreilly’s) and none of them press bearings in. Carquest appears to not be local here in Illinois or at least nearby. Called my local Toyota dealer, who have been pretty helpful, and spoke to their service department. A master tech said that do not replace bearings alone on an old hub spindle. They sell all new parts and press them on when repairing.

At least I know what my options are. I’m leaning towards trying to rebuild mine vs buying a preassembled unit. If I did go with a preassembled unit, I would most likely go with the ones recommended here that use the Koyo bearings. I will most likely leave the bearing as is for my trip unless it starts to make noise prior to then.
 
zguy1 said:
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.
Click to expand...

The harbor freight press is terrific. When I did my front bearings I just used the pre-assembled kits. Super easy. But, I didn't have a press at the time. now I do. I got it to have in case my rear bearing go, you need the press for that and a special pulling tool. Knock on wood my rears are still good at 253k. But I've also used the press for a few other things, plus if you decide to do ball joints or control arm bushings, etc, the press is the ticket, but you'll probably still need to rent a kit with the sleeves/cups or have several sizes of steel tube available to use. If you get into your own fabricating of odds and ends that press will be golden. Swag offroad has a press brake made for the HF 20T press. There is a weld-it-yourself version and I think a fully complete one for more $. Then you'll be able to bent small pieces of thin-ish plate and sheet metal. Basically, if you like DIY projects, a the HF press is a no-brainer. I think it's easily the most valuable tool they sell. That and the 2T engine hoist.
 
zguy1 said:
Update here... Called all local auto parts stores (Advance, Autozone and Oreilly’s) and none of them press bearings in. Carquest appears to not be local here in Illinois or at least nearby. Called my local Toyota dealer, who have been pretty helpful, and spoke to their service department. A master tech said that do not replace bearings alone on an old hub spindle. They sell all new parts and press them on when repairing.

At least I know what my options are. I’m leaning towards trying to rebuild mine vs buying a preassembled unit. If I did go with a preassembled unit, I would most likely go with the ones recommended here that use the Koyo bearings. I will most likely leave the bearing as is for my trip unless it starts to make noise prior to then.
Click to expand...

Beware the ones on eBay featuring fake Koyo bearings. (Yes, the Chinese have sunk that low.) How do you tell if they're fake? They're unusually inexpensive.
 
Too Stroked said:
^^^^^ This! And with him, you get a top quality bearing assembled correctly.
Click to expand...

Where can we contact him? it looks like his user profile no longer exists on the Tacoma forum. I'm doing some maintenance on my front end suspension, replacing the front axles and figured I mine as well do my wheel bearings as there is some play in them.
 
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