Wheel Bearing? - (No Longer) A Rear Differential Issue

It without a doubt will be a solution to a problem. The old bearings were very noise when turned by hand. The new ones are nearly silent as expected.

I am curious (as well as cautious) as to why Drcoffee wanted to see photos.

For science! and maybe for future reference. What did the parts cost you total?
 
It without a doubt will be a solution to a problem. The old bearings were very noise when turned by hand. The new ones are nearly silent as expected.

I am curious (as well as cautious) as to why Drcoffee wanted to see photos.

Nothing sinister. This will help others muster the courage to tackle it themselves and save a boatload of money.

My only suggestion would be to flip the retainer so it faces outward. It gives your axle seal more room to ride on the shoulder, more centered.
 
For science! and maybe for future reference. What did the parts cost you total?

Without pulling receipts and everything, I'll estimate (if anything, it will be an over estimate).

Bearings themselves (NSK Assemblies)

$58/each from RockAuto
Retainers/Seals/Gaskets/Snap Ring/Washer (I ordered all of these, just in case anything was worn or damaged during removal) $82.00 shipped from NorthGeorgiaToyota

Presswork - $50/each.

<$200 in parts
<$110 in presswork

Gear oil to top off.
 
Nothing sinister. This will help others muster the courage to tackle it themselves and save a boatload of money.

My only suggestion would be to flip the retainer so it faces outward. It gives your axle seal more room to ride on the shoulder, more centered.

I saw your recommendation for this in your write-up, I thought that was why you wanted photos.:cheers:

I may regret it, but I just had him do the assembly "as expected". That is two new retainers and washers, if the first time around got me to 140,000 I hope that I won't have to do it again.

I will definitely let you know if I regret it (not flipping them).
 
Without pulling receipts and everything, I'll estimate (if anything, it will be an over estimate).

Bearings themselves (NSK Assemblies)

$58/each from RockAuto
Retainers/Seals/Gaskets/Snap Ring/Washer (I ordered all of these, just in case anything was worn or damaged during removal) $82.00 shipped from NorthGeorgiaToyota

Presswork - $50/each.

<$200 in parts
<$110 in presswork

Gear oil to top off.

That is freakin awesome. Both axles for under $350
:tea::thumb:

You saved about $2,000
 
That is freakin awesome. Both axles for under $350
:tea::thumb:

You saved about $2,000

It seems daunting sometimes if it's a job you've never done before. But the satisfaction of having accomplished the task, and the money saved, is a great reward.
 
When I was removing the parking brake cable from the rear left dust shield, one of the small aluminum bolts broke that holds the cable to the shield. After looking at RockAuto, you can buy the whole cable assembly for less than $15.00, see this link.

I plan on trying to reassemble everything tonight if I have time. I'm going to see if by any chance I can get the broken bolt piece out, but so far no luck. Then I'll see how secure everything feels with just one of the bolts. Seeing as how you can buy the whole cable assembly for the left side for so cheap, I'd gladly just swap the entire thing to get a new mount that holds the cable in place. What I don't know is how difficult is it to get to the other end of the cable and replace that whole piece?

This is the bracket/mount I'm talking about.

B063IYg.jpg


If that other end of the cable is easy to get to, seems like a no brainer.
 
Happy to say that this is resolved. Was able to put everything back together over the weekend. Drives like a champ, I didn't realize it could be this quiet. For anyone with any mechanical know-how, this isn't a hard job or even that bad of a time consuming job. The main thing is finding someone that is good at the press work.

Regarding the parking brakes, they aren't fun but in my opinion they are not as bad as I thought they would be. It probably took an entire hour for the first side but I think the second side took half that. The service manual helped to answer a lot of questions such as "which way does this part go?".
 
When you tore it down, did you find gear oil on the bearing? Did you do the grease test before bolting it back together?

You can see how much of the retainer shoulder is lost to the bevel in the 4th picture. If the seal is even close to the bevel on the grease test, it will probably leak by the seal.

One way to check is to pop out the ABS sensor and look into the the hole for fresh lube. I would check it now and in a week from now. If its dry, you are fine. Any sort of wetness, re-do it before the bearings are washed out
 
When you tore it down, did you find gear oil on the bearing? Did you do the grease test before bolting it back together?

You can see how much of the retainer shoulder is lost to the bevel in the 4th picture. If the seal is even close to the bevel on the grease test, it will probably leak by the seal.

One way to check is to pop out the ABS sensor and look into the the hole for fresh lube. I would check it now and in a week from now. If its dry, you are fine. Any sort of wetness, re-do it before the bearings are washed out

I did not notice gear oil on the bearing when I took it apart. I did not do a grease test, how would you do this?

I'll try to check that sensor over the next few days. In that case, you are talking about what exactly? Replacing the seal and/or flipping the retainer?
 
When you tore it down, did you find gear oil on the bearing? Did you do the grease test before bolting it back together?

You can see how much of the retainer shoulder is lost to the bevel in the 4th picture. If the seal is even close to the bevel on the grease test, it will probably leak by the seal.

One way to check is to pop out the ABS sensor and look into the the hole for fresh lube. I would check it now and in a week from now. If its dry, you are fine. Any sort of wetness, re-do it before the bearings are washed out

And which 4th picture are you talking about? The ones I posted or something else?
 
Drcoffee,

I went back through all of your write-ups and finally get the big picture. I see exactly how you did the "grease test" and no I did not do that. I'll be honest, for some reason I was picturing the retainer "sealing" against the bearing and it did not make sense to me that you'd place the beveled edge outward towards the wheel.

I now get it. I see that the axle seal seals against the retainer, does it not? In which case, if the seal goes to far up axle towards your differential, then it loses the ability to seal due to the beveled edge of the retainer, correct?

I get it now, I wish I had gotten it last week. :clap2:

There are two things I do not completely understand.

If leaking into the pseudo sealed bearing is an issue, why is it that the original bearings took me to 140,000?

If the leaking issue is due to the "redo", what exactly is the problem in causing it? Is it the seal being pressed too far in or damaged during installation? Worn parts?
 
Drcoffee,

I went back through all of your write-ups and finally get the big picture. I see exactly how you did the "grease test" and no I did not do that. I'll be honest, for some reason I was picturing the retainer "sealing" against the bearing and it did not make sense to me that you'd place the beveled edge outward towards the wheel.

I now get it. I see that the axle seal seals against the retainer, does it not? In which case, if the seal goes to far up axle towards your differential, then it loses the ability to seal due to the beveled edge of the retainer, correct?

I get it now, I wish I had gotten it last week. :clap2:

There are two things I do not completely understand.

If leaking into the pseudo sealed bearing is an issue, why is it that the original bearings took me to 140,000?

If the leaking issue is due to the "redo", what exactly is the problem in causing it? Is it the seal being pressed too far in or damaged during installation? Worn parts?

So back in the early 4runner days, toyota used a flat axle seal and it seems all the measurements worked fine and the seal road upon the retainer. Mid 2000’s they redesigned the seal and its contact point was moved inboard slightly and the new seal rides on the bevel vs the shoulder. The FJC was designed slightly better, but the seal still ride just 2-3mm in from the bevel. So by flipping the retainer, you have a100% chance of the seal seating upon the center of the retainer.

Yours probably will not leak. But if it does, flip the retainer and you wont leak again.

You want to seat the axle seal all the way into the recess so that it seals properly to the axle housing and is perpendicular to the axle.

Was the old bearing wet with gear oil?
 
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Which rear ends are compatible

Which rear ends are compatible with my 2003 Toyota 4Runner 2wd v6 gear ratio is 3.90. I need a ring and pinion gear. I would much appreciate it if someone could help me out. I’m willing to buy from someone I’m in Clarksville Tennessee area. I would like to get the whole hog head so I don’t have to rebuild but I will if I have to. Please someone help me out 702-934-3775 my names Dominic
 

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