Wow, I am gone from this thread a couple of days and it explodes! Hahaha.
To save some space I will edit out unnecessary text in the quotes.
The reason most shops and dealers recommend the hub also is due to the tendency of the inner race to almost fuse to the hub shaft after a lot of miles. I've seen many times the inner race having to be carefully cut off with a cutting wheel because it will not budge on the hydraulic press and/or cannot even be set-up safely on the press. I've seen this happen with both Toyota and Honda bearings most commonly, but other vehicles have done it also.
As a technican I cringe everytime I see someone have to cut, hammer, and chisel the inner race off and worry about damaging the hub. So our dealership has gotten used to the habit of recommending an entire assembly to avoid wasting time and potentionally damaging a part that will be reinstalled.
Its sort of why no one really rebuilds alternators or starters anymore; its cheap to do; but most technicans don't want to waste the time and potentional issues to rebuild them when you can get a new one for a decent cost ready to go; that and some people don't even know how to rebuild them.
I agree 100%. Out of all of the Toyota assemblies I have taken apart in my shop, I would say 10% had zero wheel hub damage. (And yeah, I still have about 15 or 20 rebuild kits for the old GM alternators from the 70s. Used to rebuild them all the time!)
You saying that it is easier to just call parts is no different than the dealership that I went to and the tech call tie rod ends because they were frozen and he was too lazy to apply some heat to free them up.
The biggest problem here is that it takes very little heat applied to an already used wheel hub to render it brittle, and more susceptible to cracking. In the early 2000s there were several articles in auto publications that said applying heat to a wheel bearing race or wheel hub to assist in removing the bearing was not recommended due to potential cracking that could go unnoticed.
autozone bearing
Decide for yourself. In any case the same bearing can be found at rockauto for $40 less.
Not sure on the price specified, but that particular bearing actually varies between $70 and $80 just over the past 2 months.
There are some rules to auto repair that should be followed. Certain components should be replaced in pairs. Wearable parts like Calipers, Shocks, Bearings, Tires, to name a few. While you could get away with doing one side it isn't good practice. At 100K+ your bearings are not failing because of a defect. They are failing because they have reached their service limit. One side failing means that the other is on barrowed time. If you plan on keeping your vehicle for another 100K, it makes sense to do both at the same time. If you plan on trading yours in a few months, it may be worth rolling the dice. Have you ever seen the results of a failed wheel bearing?
I will agree with you on this point, and may draw some flack from others. I do recommend in a lot of situations that you replace certain things in pairs. I do however understand that some people do prefer to consider hub bearing assemblies as individual swap items.
Another vote here for the pre-assembled hub/bearing. That way it's a simple r&r affair. I went with the Bluepit's with the Koyo upgrade. Didn't know there was a vendor on the forum that sold them...or I would have supported them.
I too agree about doing both sides at once. It just makes sense. The bearing is normally trash due to wear/age. Since both bearings were installed at the same time, it makes sense that since one is bad, the other cannot be far behind.
No worries, BluePit does put out a good product. I just put out the same product, but cheaper. ALL of my assemblies as of this past week will have the Koyo bearings. Not as an upgrade, but as the primary bearing. Mine are a lot less than his Koyo set.
This job is a COMPLETE PITA!!! I have done this and after hours and hours I went ahead and bought the preassembled hub/bearing combo and the job was easy after that.
I woud buy the setup from bumper2bumper auto in a heartbeat! Thats the absolute best deal I have seen and almost half of what my assembled units cost.
Good luck!
Thank you for your kind words! Let everyone know about me and I would greatly appreciate it.
Why would you buy a complete unit? You have a press. I can understand someone who uses your 4runner like you do needing a new hub. If you are pressing new parts you don't have to deal with the old and pressing the new parts takes even less than dealing with old. You can buy the exact same parts that bumper2bumper is selling from Rockauto for $120. Essentially you are saying that you are willing to pay $70 per side for someone to do the work?
Um, before you go saying ANYTHING about what I do, or buy, you better check your facts. Stop making statements about me of which you have no basis in fact.
To take a look at what it takes to build these, go ahead. If you look at Rock auto right now, as I am, the average purchaser like you and the others on this forum can buy the Bearing that I use for $70, and the hub for $41. Then the seal for about $10. That adds up to $120. That doesn't even include shipping, which is, for those 3 items, about $16. So now you have bought just 3 new items, for a total cost to your door of $126. (By the way, I also include the o-ring seal in the back, and 4 new installation bolts, but let's not split hairs here) Now if, like you have suggested, you could take those components down and get them pressed in for $15. You now have $141 invested, NOT counting your time to get to the shop, or the gas to get there and back. So you have now saved $43 each unit. Again this is NOT including your gas or time to go get it pressed in. By the way, that place that presses in your bearing, are they giving you a 12 month, 12k mile warranty on their work? Did you check on the details of the warranty from RockAuto? Hmmm...
There is no contradiction. That is exactly what I said. Cost vs convenience. For $20 or so I would be willing to give up some hard earned cash to save a few mins, but for $200, probably not.
Even being the frugal bastard that I am, I still wouldn't buy a new assembly. I could buy all new parts (hub, bearing, seals) for $120, pay a local shop to press them and still have and extra $50 in my pocket vs what it cost buying them from bumper2bumper.
Still not seeing your savings of $200 per side. Especially considering the o-ring and new bolts are not included. If someone were to reuse their own bolts and o-ring, and buy just the components and take them down to get them pressed, it would cost about $141 each. Two sides would be $282. Buy a pair from me for $368, means a difference of $86 total, not $200. Again, if you get my assemblies you don't have to take anything to a shop and wait. Total time spent would be the 5 minutes it takes to order them, and about 1.5 hours to replace a pair of them (This is the average time my customers have said it takes them)
Like I have said before, they are paying for convenience as well. To them the $86 is a cost they are willing to give to save the headache of having to scrounge up the parts, drive to a shop, wait on them, drive back home, and THEN install. With mine you open the box, remove your old hubs, install mine, and drive on, with a warranty.
the reason i asked that question to YOU, is because you were giving BWI a hard time for suggesting to his customers that they replace the HUB along with the bearing. something i also agree with.
but yet you come along and suggest they replace parts they DONT need.
and you can say what you want about me, i dont give a shit. :welcome:
I have seen plenty of hubs have problems as well. I completely agree with BWI.
