chad99

Ok i searched the forums and I know my axle seal is bad and or my bearings and my rear drums (from the gear oil)....

But I still have a few questions about it....

1) People have said that you can tell if the bearings are bad if you jack up the rear end and push and pull on the tire (in the direction of the axle) and if there is any play then its the bearings....im sure thats correct but I cant figure out how the axle can move slightly when it is bolted by those 4 bolts to the axle housing (where the drum backing plate meets the axle).

2) Also is a sure sign of a bad bearing when you can see the leak near the wheel studs and NOT where the 4 bolts are that are mentioned above?

I guess i will have all these questions answered when i pull the axle out maybe this weekend if i have time or next next weekend but just some questions i had running in my head.

Thanks

chad99

ok so i jacked up the rear axle and pushed and pulled in the direction of the axle but didn't feel any movement at all....im guessing its a very good sign that my bearings are still good, just gotta change the inner seal?? i only have 75K miles on the truck.

I still wonder how the axle is suppose to move when it is bolted to the axle housing?...

Also i checked again and i still dont have any oil leaking where the backing plate bolts to the axle housing all the oil leakage is comming from near the wheel studs.

Thanks

JuJew

Great questions...wish I had an answer...unfortunately all I have are the same questions...

...took my 99 into the shop for wheel balance and they told me the rear left seal is leaking, they said they will replace said seal and bearing on left side as well as both break pads for "around" 500 dollars...

...I prefer doing this myself, so I will be watching this post closely. Please share any information you have.

NPE701

If you're replacing the rear seals - might as well replace the bearings, whether they are good or not.

It's a tough job, the bearings have to be removed anyway. They will go some time after that anyway (being soaked in gear oil doesn't do any good to the grease inside) - why do the same job twice.

Unless you have a press and have experience doing this - let the professional do it as pressing the bearings back on required a lot of precision.

MudHippy

It's not impossible that your bearings are still good. Replacing the axle shaft seal requires no where near the effort involved in trying to remove the bearings. And aren't anywhere near as expensive to replace, either. You can examine the bearings while still installed on the axle by removing the oil sealing covers on them. If they remained functional and there's no evidence of oil contamination, simply repacking them and replacing the rubber coated covers (bearing oil seals) will be sufficient. They last a long time, several 100k miles when not abused.

Farmerunner

I did my seals a year and a half ago, and didn't change the bearings. I put 25000 miles on it and had to do the seals again. I took it to a local shop this past december, the bearings still looked good, so they left them. It has another 10 000 miles on it since then.

The only reason I didn't do the bearings the first time was because of my limited know how. The second time I asked the guy at the shop to do the bearing and he decided not to because it looked good.

Take it for what it is worth. I replaced the seals four times in my truck and had the bearings done two of those times. It has 35000 miles on the current bearings and they seem fine.

funrunner91

on a toyota if you change the seals change everything or it will costs more in the long run and fail on you at the worst time. i changed mine 2 time, once the cheap way seals only then they went out and i did everything the next time around. for the rear end with the axle rod $1,400 i know its a lot but you will feel the difference.

crbocaj125

The inner seal is what holds the fluid in, and is replaceable without removing the bearing. From what I have learned, if the fluid has reached the drum, it has been passed the bearing (sealed bearing) and past the outer seal (dust seal) and your bearing should be bad. I did not have the money or time to get my bearings done, so I just did my inner seals myself and have been driving on the oily bearings for about 10k.

Mason Dixon

I dug this thread up from a few years ago and saw something which I would like to find out if is true or not, he says: "I haven't had the rear apart, but if it is like most other rear axle bearings I've encountered, they don't require packing either, and are lubed by the gear oil in the axle."

Is that true, I thought they were sealed with thick bearing grease?


https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...repack+bearing

MudHippy

That thread talks about front wheel hub bearings on 3rd gens., which are sealed. Rear axle bearings are different, ball vs. needle, but are sealed (removable seal) with the same high temp bearing grease. These are repackable, as opposed to the front on 3rd gens. They are designed to be "maintainence-free" but not "maintainence-impossible". I've never heard of wheel bearings lubed by axle oil, that's ludicrous. IT'S GEAR OIL, NOT FOR WHEEL BEARINGS!

leonardator

The bearings only cost $50. there is no point trying to re pack them with grease. you would probably damage it more by exposing it to the elements than leaving the grease in it. FYI: On semi-trucks, all of the wheel bearings are oil bearings, steer and drive. We did the seals and bearing on my friend's 96 and it was not too difficult.

etan

YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR DIFF BREATHER IF THAT'S THE CASE. I CAN'T SEE CHANGING SEALS 4 TIMES IN THAT SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME....

A COMMON CAUSE FOR AXLE SEALS TO CRAP OUT IS BECAUSE THE DIFF BREATHER IS BLOCKED UP CAUSING THE FLUID TO BE FORCED OUT.

JuJew

How would one clean the diff. breather?

Sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but i have only had a 4Runner for 6mos.

MudHippy

Well, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't have access to a press. I've done it without one on 3 different axleshafts, all extremely stubborn.

And about repacking them, not needed if they're not contaminated. You should remove the cover and check to see. If you intend on reusing them. I currently have bearings on both rear axle shafts that have around 215,000 miles on them. They've never been repacked and are in perfect shape despite the constant abuse of the trail.

MudHippy

Is this a hijack? Here's my previous post asnwering that.
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...5#post50476475