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how hard is it to do front wheel bearings?

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Old 07-18-2007, 12:52 PM
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how hard is it to do front wheel bearings?

Its a 92, with manual hubs. the drivers side front wheel bearing has some play - which translates into sloppy steering and probably accounts for some uneven tire wear i've been noticing...a friend said we would just have to repack the bearings and set the preload

i've been reading in my chilton manual about this procedure, but its a little vague...anyone who has done it who has some tips? am i actually removing the hub from the axle or what?

thanks
Old 07-18-2007, 01:09 PM
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Hopefully this can help.

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...15componen.pdf
Old 07-18-2007, 01:15 PM
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Or this
http://toyota.off-road.com/toyota/ar....jsp?id=186138
Old 07-18-2007, 01:27 PM
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It's a chore and a half, take ya all day to do both. Enjoy!

Things to expect:
1) Hub stud headache, cone-washer removal difficulty and fouled threads from the attempts.
2)Mauled spindle nuts and/or damaged or missing locking ring.
3)Trashed rear wheel bearing/hub seal, maybe not if your carefull when you remove it. Which you will have to do to properly repack the inner bearing.

Last edited by MudHippy; 07-18-2007 at 01:52 PM.
Old 07-18-2007, 06:13 PM
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Originally Posted by MudHippy
It's a chore and a half, take ya all day to do both. Enjoy!

Things to expect:
1) Hub stud headache, cone-washer removal difficulty and fouled threads from the attempts.
2)Mauled spindle nuts and/or damaged or missing locking ring.
3)Trashed rear wheel bearing/hub seal, maybe not if your carefull when you remove it. Which you will have to do to properly repack the inner bearing.
Id suggest just changing the seal.. no sense going to all that troulbe to reuse it... And those cone washers! arg... i find a brass punch and a hammer work best....
Old 07-18-2007, 10:38 PM
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Ha

I repacked my bearings a week ago.. Only took a few hours but I've done this a few times, hehe..

The trick with the cone washers I've found is just hitting the hub kinda like you'd hit a stuck brake drum.. The cone washers with some penetrating fluid usually will pop out.. Some can be toughter than others but I've been able to remove every cone washer I've EVER encountered with just a hammer =)

You need a 54mm (I think thats it, someone else please testify if im wrong) SOCKET.. When I first taclked IFS hubs 2+ years ago (to replace rotors) Only socket in town that would fit was a 2 3/16" Craftsman ($32 ouch).. but no ONE carried a 54mm socket, LOL ... Anyway its a bit lose but it works.

Make sure you either replace the star washer or are confident the tabs will hold when they're bent down.. Else the nuts WILL come lose overtime. (wheel play).

*Not sure what seal they're talking about damaging. You shouldnt have to replace the rear oil seal on the hub.. UNLESS it's damaged. The outer oil seal on the dustcover is easy to remove to

Have fun =)

Just for giggles heres some photos I snapped when I repacked my front hubs last week:

Here is what you'll find once you get the hub off (except your starwasher tabs should be pushed in):


Heres what you'll get to once the hub is removed:


Heres the rear oil seal on the hub (IMO if its fine, it doesnt need to be replaced).. It's really NOT hard to do all of this once you've been through it once. Now if you mash it up getting it out.. well then duh..


Heres a diagram from the FSM:

Last edited by drew303; 07-18-2007 at 10:43 PM.
Old 07-19-2007, 11:33 AM
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thanks for the info


looks like its going to be a long day


this might be one of those things i just want to pay somebody to do
but i know thats the wrong attitude
Old 07-19-2007, 12:12 PM
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it's a pain in the ass, but do able. this is one of the first things i ever did, so if i can do it in a parking lot w/ rudimentary tools and no prior knowledge of cars, anyone can do it. i'd get a new lock washer since you'll probably find the one in there has been reused a few times
Old 07-19-2007, 12:19 PM
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It's actually not hard. If you have a little mechanical sense the job should only take a couple hours.

Wabfab sells a 54mm socket for $15 which works great. And DO NOT hammer on the body of the hub to get it off! A few smacks with a SOFT (rubber, plastic, etc.) hammer can help, but the best way to get those cone washers out is to get a chisel into them and tap with a small metal hammer. What you are trying to do it cause them to twist along the axis of the stud, causing them to break loose. Once I figured out this method pulling the hubs off became way easier.

Your 54mm hub nuts might be mangled if the last person in there tightened them down with a screwdriver and a hammer. But just be careful and you'll be okay.
Old 07-19-2007, 12:50 PM
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This is an easy job.

Obviously jack up the front of the truck and remove the tires.
Turn manual hubs to FREE.
Remove 6 manual hub bolts and remove dial face. 10 mm
Remove C clip with snap ring pliers.
Remove manual hub nuts and washers. 12 mm
Use a BRASS drift on the end of the 6 studs and hit the other end with a hammer. Work your way around several times and then try to use small flat head in the cone washes slot to get them loose. Repeat.

There should be NO reason to mess up any thing if you use the proper tools. This is a finess thing to get cone washers off and not brute force.

Bend star lock washer tab flat with a flat head.
Remove 54 mm nut. 54 mm or 2.125
Remove star lock washer by bending the other tab flat as this holds the two 54 mm nuts together.
Remove 2nd 54 mm nut.
Remove claw washer.
Remove outer bearing.
The rest is easy as the inner bearing is inside the back of the rotor.

I did my 87 in about 2 hours and I am a slow old

Last edited by rworegon; 08-02-2014 at 04:17 PM.
Old 07-20-2007, 04:42 AM
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A 2-1/8" socket is the non-metric equivalent if you can't find a 54mm socket.
Old 07-20-2007, 08:23 AM
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Repacking is easy.
Replacing in harder...

Pounding the races in/out is a PITA.
Use a brass drift and a 5lb sledge (dont swing it - tap it).

One of these days I'll make a SST type race press so I can use a H frame press on the bearings...
Old 03-27-2012, 05:58 AM
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So....... I didn't have any of these cone washers on my 4runner when I pulled the driver side apart. They should be post removal of the hub (I just took the whole thing off with the 6? bolts that were there, left the face of it on. I read somewhere a few minutes ago that that should be disassembled as well?????) and pop out while trying to take the entire hub off, right????? Definetely nothing popping out, and I now have everything dissassembled and ready to put back together. I stopped yesterday to make sure that a punch and hammer was a safe process to remove the wheel bearing cones. Also, I am reading in places that are calling the cones 'races.' Same thing????

I want to make sure everything is done absolutely right on the driver side, then I am going to do a write up for YotaTech as I go on the passenger side.
Old 03-27-2012, 06:59 AM
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If you look at the picture in post #6, the cone washers have been removed but they were on the inner set of studs coming off the hub with 6 bolts holding them in.. The PO might have just put the bolts on and forgot or lost the cone washers. I'm not sure how essential they are but its probably a good idea to buy 6 of them somewhere for reassembly.
Old 03-27-2012, 07:27 AM
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Originally Posted by photoguy2354
So....... I didn't have any of these cone washers on my 4runner when I pulled the driver side apart. They should be post removal of the hub (I just took the whole thing off with the 6? bolts that were there, left the face of it on. I read somewhere a few minutes ago that that should be disassembled as well?????) and pop out while trying to take the entire hub off, right????? Definetely nothing popping out, and I now have everything dissassembled and ready to put back together. I stopped yesterday to make sure that a punch and hammer was a safe process to remove the wheel bearing cones. Also, I am reading in places that are calling the cones 'races.' Same thing????

I want to make sure everything is done absolutely right on the driver side, then I am going to do a write up for YotaTech as I go on the passenger side.
Do you have Aisin hubs? I've got a set of Milemarker hubs kicking around somewhere that don't use cone washers.
Old 03-27-2012, 08:13 AM
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There is a great 5 part tutorial on youtube. Here is the first one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbpCU...6C73B167A6FA2E

I still have to repack mine, and this is the one I'm going with. I have to replace my cv boots though at the same time, so I have more work to do.
Old 03-27-2012, 09:38 AM
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Everyone complains about the cone washers.
They are so easy once you know how.
Use a brass drift, place it on the studs, and hit the drift with a hammer.
A couple hits and the tone changes, which means they're loose.
Another hit and the come right off.
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