DupermanDave

I'm getting a rattling in my hubs when they're locked. Long story short, it has been determines I need to rebuild my manual hubs. So I have a few questions.

The truck has 250k miles on it. Should I just go ahead and replace the wheel bearings and all the bearings in the hub, or just regrease them? Also, If I go ahead and replace all the replaceable parts in the hub, what parts should I be looking for? (example, on Rock Auto I see 2 types of wheel bearings: cone bearings and regular round bearings.)

iamsuperbleeder

1) There's no beaings in the hubs; it's just springs and locking rings for the most part

2) Do you know when the last time they were replaced was? If there's 250k on the truck, and you don't know when they were last done, I'd say go ahead and do them if you're going to dig in there.

3) Have you done the 'ol "wheel bearing test" trick? Jack the front tire off the ground, put hands at 12:00 and 6:00 the tire, and see if you can wiggle it up or down or in and out any. If not, and it's pretty tight, then the bearings are probably fine and something else is making the noise. If it's way loose, then I would reccomend replacing the bearings, or at least getting in there and greasing and retorquing them.

Not sure what you're talking about by "round bearings" There's an inner and outter bearing set in there, and for each bearing there's a cone (part with the bearings) and cup (the race fore the bearings), so maybe that's what they're talking about. Unless they're talking about the spindle bearing, but I believe that'll make noise only when the hubs are not locked in.

tc

FIRST, search "spindle bushing". Your symptoms are very typical for a dry spindle bushing.

NEXT, when was the last time the bearings were packed? If you don't know, it's probably a good idea to do it. While you have it out, you can check the bearings and see if they need to be replaced. I agree with the post above, that if you don't know, it wouldn't hurt to replace them if you have the money.

DupermanDave

Thaks. That's a lot of help, since I didn't even know what the sindle bushing were (or what the bearings/bushings are in the wheel.) I'll be searching that.

Also, I don't know if/when anything was replaced on the truck, since the PO has only kept receipts for major stuff, like alternator replacements and starter motors. Not for bushings or catalytic converters or mufflers.
-edit-
I found a few good articles, but nothing specific to greasing the spindle bushing. Here is a good writeup I found: https://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech...imrockford.htm

Only problem is, that's replacing the bushing. Do I need to tear down the wheel/hub that far, or is there a faster way to grease it? Also, I've been doing a search for the past 15 minutes and all I'm finding are other threads with replies that say to search "spindle bushing", but no actual writeups.

tc

There's a writeup on how to build a tool to inject the grease without taking anything apart, but it's not that tough to pull the CV, pack the hole where it passes through the spindle with grease and reinstall the CV.

DupermanDave

So this is the steering spindle. Which part exactly needs lubed?



I'm doing all my research before I dive into this tomorrow.

tc

See the little brass/bronze bushing sticking out the end, with the CV inside? That would be the spindle bushing.

The wheel bearings are in the hub/disc rotor assembly which you took off to get to this point.

DupermanDave

I see. It's by the teeth/splines at the end (CV joint)? So how does it need to be greased? Just smear it on, or should it be packed in like greasing a throwout bearing? And the hub/rotor don't need to be removed to grease it?

By the way, the pics come from this article: https://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech...imrockford.htm

I haven't begun the teardown yet. Need to go get my grease from my parent's house.

tc

You need to get the grease between the CV shaft and the bushing. IMHO the easiest way is to pull the CV.

sb5walker

Here's an interesting technique that doesn't require fabbing a spindle lubricator, but instead uses a grease needle. I haven't yet tried it, but plan to try it next time I repack my bearings:
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=283617

A good write-up on replacing spindle bushings with needle bearings. Even if you don't plan this conversion, the thread has great pics and instructions:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f128...4runner-76360/

It's often a challenge to get the cone washers out of the hubs. Take a look at the factory manual to see what you're getting into:
http://www.the-roo.com/4runner/Suspension/frontaxl.pdf It's a good idea to back off the acorn nuts about half way and spray the studs & washers with PB Blaster the night before. You don't have to jack up the wheel just to remove the hubs (but you do to remove the rotors, of course.) Leave the nuts on there in case some of the cone washers release and try to go springing off into space (you should be so lucky).

The next day, pull the nuts off, respray with PB Blaster, and then hit the studs sharply straight-on using a brass drift and hammer. If you don't have a drift, screw the acorn nuts all the way on and then back them off an eighth inch or so, then use a twelve point socket that is one or two sizes smaller than the correct socket for the nut and hold that socket on top of the nut and hit it sharply with a hammer. You have to use the nut to protect the stud's threads from damage by the hammer, and you have to use the socket to protect the nut from damage. (Warning: if the socket is a cheap one, this may split it.)

If a few sharp strikes don't dislodge the cone washer, look for the split in the cone washer. Squeeze the sides of the washer with the smallest size vise-grips so that you're pinching the split together and wiggle it a bit. The needle bearing replacement thread suggests using a very thin, narrow tapered punch and inserting it into the cone's split and driving the punch in with a hammer strike. That's another technique I haven't yet tried but plan to.

The point is to avoid hammering on or deforming the cone washer - that won't help you, it will only ruin the washer. Likewise hammering on the side of the hub will damage it but it won't free the washers. If you find the washers are already damaged, buy some new ones from the dealer, but prepare yourself - they're expensive. To save yourself a lot of trouble next time, use a very thin coat of anti-sieze compound on the angled side and inside of the washers (but not the side facing the nut) before installing them.

As far as repacking the wheel bearings, make sure you get them properly tensioned. I can't stress this enough. If they are too tight, they will get hot and expand, making them even tighter. Then they are likely to seize. I did a "casual" job of this on my Triumph TR4 when I was in High School and the right front wheel seized and I really did nearly kill myself. These posts have some info that may be helpful:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116.../#post51204825
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116.../#post51237260

DupermanDave

If the CV has to come out, I'm just replacing the thing. I had a tear in the boot and had that fixed up, but always had a replacement in mind. If you're replacing a CV joint, is there any additional greasing required, or do you just insert them and put everything back together?

-edit-
looking over the FSM, I see there's one additional spot that needs greased. Looks like I'll need some different kinds of greases if they aren't supplied with the CV.