Safety wise I mean. Mine have been shot for a while, but I don't have the $ or tools to replace them (I wish I did, it sounds like the IFS is about to fall apart!!). I just want to make sure I'm not damaging anything else by not replacing them.

Thanks!
-Daniel

p.s. Those who had a shop replace them, how much did it cost?

 

Or does anybody have a detailed description of how to grease them or replace them? I dont want to tear everything down and not know what im doing.

 

Complete writeup here:
http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/front_end/

If you go long enough for the bearings to fail, you can damage the spindle and more. Just get the 54mm socket and have at it. Not that hard to do.

 

Kinda like asking how important is the steering wheel . Wheel bearings are very important, not very expensive, and not to hard to grease pack and adjust, if you don't want to do it yourself, call up a mechanic and ask what they charge to repack the bearings.

 

Just did my bearings last week - it's really not that bad. The only special tools you'll need are a 54MM socket and torque wrench. You'll probably save a couple hundred by doin' it yourself ... I did both the inner & outer on both sides and think I spent ~$100 for the bearings & seals and about 4 hours of work (now that I've done 'em and know how ... next time I figure 2 hours tops). Wish I had that write up handy last week, would've made my life a bit easier.

But yeah, they're important -- I'd just replace 'em if you have it apart rather than repacking the old ones.

 

better t oreplace them then trying t orepack ones that are already jacked up... if they are already damaged you need to replace the races as well....

 

THANKS FOR THE QUICK ANSWERS GUYS!!!

OK after reading the write up from 4X4wire, I'm a little confused. Is it necessary to remove the hubs (I have 4WD)? I've never removed the hubs and have to admit it seems a little intimidating - which is why I have yet to touch the front end. I'd like to replace them myself and soon (i was SLOWLY backing out of a parking lot and someone asked what was wrong with my truck).

 

I had my whole front end fixed about a year ago and now Ive noticed that the wheels squeak when im goin down the road. I assumed it was the bearings, but i dont know for sure, its not the brakes...unless they're touching when not applied.....but sometiems i can move the steering wheel a little back and forth and the squeaking goes away. When they did the front end i had alot replaced, including the spindles. I just dont want to run on it for too long if its serious. And i dont have the 54mm socket, so i cant check it myself. and its pretty pricy at some places for work like that.

 

For your model (same as mine I assume) you don't need to actually separate the hub from the rotor unless you plan on replacing the rotors. All you gotta do is remove the 6 or so nuts to remove the flange off the hub, which will give you access to the OUTER bearing. BTW - this is a good time to do brakes if ya need. Even if you just need to have the rotors turned, don't separate the hub ... I've heard most shops prefer to have the hub attached when turning the rotors.

You will however need to take the rotor/hub assembly off the spindle to get to the INNER bearing. Once you get the 54mm nuts, washer & snap ring off, the entire hub/rotor assembly will slide right off the spindle. It's on the back side and held in by a seal. **Hint, if you can't find a 54mm socket (I couldn't) ... just get a 2 1/8" one, it's the same size. (also, most of those massive sockets are 3/4" drive, so you'll probably need a 3/4" to 1/2" adapter as well ... I did in order to use my 1/2" drive torque wrench). Some local auto shops will even loan or rent the socket to ya if you don't feel like buying one.

Oh, and to make things easy on ya, you might want to build a couple custom tools to use during the process --- will make your life much easier. I used a simple pry bar with a small cut piece of wood (about 3" X 1" X 1") - as leverage to pry the old seal out. Then I cut a piece of 2X4 (about 4" long, just big enough to cover the whole seal) ... to seat the new seal in ... piece of cake.

 

Sweet Gman thanks! I'm taking on the task next week! I'll let every know how it goes. One more quick question... Is there any special grease (hi-temp or likewise) I need or will normal stuff be ok?

 

Definitely you will need high temp grease to pack the bearings with. Those rubber mechanical or surgical gloves come in handy to wear while packing the bearings. For the grease I used Valvoline #614 "Multi-Purpose Grease" - get at least the 16oz size so you'll have enough ... used about half of the can greasing my bearings, spindle, and about 50 rags

 

Hey guys I think I have the parts list ready to go... Let me know if this sounds right, I'm probably going to order from DiscountAutoParts.com

INNER WHEEL BEARING:

Part # JLM104948 - Cone / Front wheel inner - $14.15

http://webepc.com/cgi-bin/sewse?/u/w...12.cmm+discap2

Part # JLM104910 - Cup / Front wheel inner $6.26

(same URL)

Part # SET47 - Set / Front wheel outer $12.42

http://webepc.com/cgi-bin/sewse?/u/w...12.cmm+discap2


I included the URL's in case the discription isn't the best (sorry but I just finished a 10 1/2 hour day). This seems pretty cheap (cost-wise) so I'm concerned it's not the right (or all) parts I need. Help a tired brotha out!

Thanks!

Daniel

EDIT- The links don't work... I guess the site uses Java or something of the sort so the URL doesn't change. So I guess can anyone tell me if those look to be the right prices?

 

whenever you replace bearings, you need to replace the race. they're matched sets.