icerunner

I know that the front wheel bearings are some what sealed on the 3rd Gen 4 runners.. (a YT search did'nt answer my question)


With the steering knuckle off the vehicle (or stripped down and on the truck),
My question is can they be carefully regreased with a small needle fitting attached to a grease hose (on the end of a grease gun)?

This is a question for those in the know... Is it possible to inject grease into the front wheel bearings ?

Also, as another option can you buy aftermarket or OEM rebuilt Steering knuckles complete with the bearings installed and greased?


My rig has 160K miles I would like to extend the life of the wheel bearings.

Bigblock

You'll more than likely damage the seals and shorten the life of the bearing.
Bigblock

icerunner

Do you mean the small seals on the actual bearing itself or the replaceable inner and outer knuckle/ hub seals?

Bigblock

The one on the bearing.
Bigblock

icerunner

Hey, lets open this up for some discussion ...
We all know that a bearing fails for one main reason and that is a lack of lubercation. Old sealed bearings will eventually wear out likely due to the oil grease that get displaced, washes out or wears out.
I think that replacement front bearings do not come pre-packed with grease, they have to be manually packed w/ grease before they are pressed into the steering knuckle right?

Would there be any mechanical way/ technique to force fresh grease into these bearings under pressure while they are still in the steering knuckle?

Bigblock

When seals wear out dirt gets in.Most of those bearings will be destroyed if you dismantle them.Why dont you try it and let us know how well it works.
Bigblock

icerunner

Hey,
How does dirt get in when there is a dust cap on the hub assembly, maybe if the truck tires are under water for a significant time. Other wise I cant see how dirt will get in even if the bearing seals go?

Ohio4R

The bad seal will attract dirt into it and cause the grease inside to come out or become thicker or more gritty, causing the bearings to fail.

Jeff B. in Michigan

Ha... finally a search worked for me... I was trying to figure out the same thing. I have a 98 4Runner and believe it has sealed bearings. I also have 160K miles on it and plan to take it to FLA later this month.

I guess I will leave well alone on the re-greasing of bearings but I want to confirm one thing:

** Does my 1998 4Runner have the sealed front wheel bearings?

If anyone knows when they changed over to sealed style.. please let me know.

Thanks,

Jeff B

crolison

All taco's and 3rd gens are sealed bearings.

Only way to fix your problem is press in new wheel bearings, trust me....

I took my manual hub spindles and had my new bearings and junk pressed in.