dnh

I am very familiar with what blown wheel bearings sound like on a boat trailer.

I hear something similar when slowing down in my truck (not from brakes just coasting down), a whining sound from front left tire.

(1) how do you take care of / grease / maintain bearings in an 89 4 Runner
(2) if that bearing is blown how expensive is it to fix it?

Thanks a lot.

abecedarian

proper maintenance would be to disassemble the spindle sufficiently to allow removal of CV stub shaft, the inner and outer bearing races, cleaning the assembly, repacking the bearings with the proper grease and reassembling and setting the pre-load properly. Save for the CV stub, just like the bearings on your boat trailer.

If the bearing is bad, you will obviously have to purchase a new inner and outer bearing set (which should include the outer races). You would then have to disassemble the spindle just as if you were repacking the bearings. You should not have to remove the spindle from the truck unless you are unable to remove the outer bearing race(s) from the spindle. Otherwise, it is mostly the same as the wheel bearings on your boat trailer.

dnh

Thank you sounds labor intensive. Any idea what to expect from a mechanic to replace the bearing? I dont think I could do that time wise as I work all the friggin time anyway and have 2 little kids and cant spend a weekend doing that.

Thank you again.

Slowstrike

It shouldent take a whole weekend you can do it in about 2-3 hours even if its your first time.

You will need a 54mm socket however or a tool made to remove the spindle nut.

You can get away with replacing either the inner or outer bearing if one is obviously damaged and the other is not.

The bearings are cheap like 20-40 dollars a piece. The hardest part is removing the dam cone washers . USE A BRASS DRIFT and hit the gap in the washer.

toyotatom93

I have the same exact problem, only my squeal started happening after a mechanic supposedly repacked the front bearings. Makes me wonder if he did anything or tightened something to much, or if I should even bring it back.

toyota4x4907

Care to enlighten us newbs as to what bad wheel bearing sound like? I have a squeal noise coming from somewhere either under or at the front of my truck. I think its the U-joints, but you never know! And i'm sort of a worry wart....

leebee

a squeal could also be caused by the wear indicator on the brake caliper. depending on how far gone the bearings are, a squeal might require inspection, cleaning and repacking. if it is making any sort of grinding or sounds like loose gravel, then replace bearings, seals, races and check the spindle for abnormal wear or damage.

keep in mind, if one side is putting you on notice, the other side usually isnt too far behind. this would also be a good time to give your braking system a detailed inspection, front and rear. trust me, you dont want a wheel bearing to let go on you at highway speeds. been there, done that, now i keep a change of underwear handy.

lee

Slowstrike

[QUOTE. trust me, you dont want a wheel bearing to let go on you at highway speeds. been there, done that, now i keep a change of underwear handy.
[/QUOTE]

x2 When I had only two bearings break loose it sounded like I was dragging a drive shaft. Its a really screechy scratchy noise.

You can also feel a bind and pop sometimes as the bearing moves in and out of original position.

Usually when one tab that seperates the bearings (they are the needle type bearings) breaks the two bearings that were next to each other float freely in the two slots they occupied and make a whole choir of noises.

spoon914runner

first i dont know if im even posting this the right way. Anyways i took my 91' 4runner to a jifffy lube and had a full inspection and oil change done and when i left i ran over a small bump in the road and i mean tiny when i did so it made a noise similar to pull a bolt through a washer real quick ( if that makes any sense) and i could feel the vibration through the floor board i took it to a toyota dealer and they looked at it charged me 50 bucks to do so and said that the noise was just a bushing. But they also told me that my wheel had some play in it they said it was a wheel bearing and now they want to charge me another 225 dollars to change it out. I was gonna tighten up the nut to take the play out and then fix it when i got back home on saturday but the road trip is 721 miles and im worried any tips, tricks or how toos would be greatly appreciated.