anyone ever changed a front wheel bearing on a 95-04 taco or 3rd gen 4 Runner? (1 Viewer)

[ken_79-fj40]

So I'm midway through changing a front wheel bearing on my 00 4Runner and I've hit a roadblock. Got the hub out, pressed out the old bearing, pressed in the new one, pressed the hub back in, but now I can't get the ABS ring and it's retainer to go on the back of the hub. When at the dealer today I looked at their parts diagram and it shows the ABS ring as one piece. Mine came off in 2 pieces and it doesn't look like it broke. Everything is clean and smooth. The ABS ring is on and it just spins. The innermost piece which I have referred to at the retainer won't press on and lock it in place. I've got about 3/8" left that it needs to go and my 12 ton press just won't put it on. I've got an I believe 40 ton here at work but I'm a bit nervous about putting that much pressure on it.

 

[yotarunner98]

you have to replace the abs ring with a new one. pressing it on and off stretches it enough that it won't be tight the second time around. when i had a toyota certified shop press my bearings they used a 50 ton press and ended up on the pressure gauge using 43 tons of force.

good luck!

 

[ken_79-fj40]

Did the ABS retaining ring sit flush with the back of the hub before you installed it? I thought that was how it was when I took it apart. I took the whole thing apart again today at work and everything looks fine, except the ABS ring and the retainer are loose and the retaining ring sits about 3/16" higher than the back of the hub. And everything is touching and it can't be pressed together any further. The ring won't actually come off but it spins. One of my coworkers was thinking that the axleshaft would sandwich the ABS ring between the bearing and the retainer and all would work fine. The thing that really sucks is i'm about 90 percent positive it was the CV shaft making all the noise in the first place. The old bearing exploded coming out and all the pieces look fine with no scoring, and it didn't have any play in it. So a new CV axle is on the way too. Might as well do it while it's apart.

 

[d0ubledown]

from my research in swapping to manual hubs from flanged hubs...it took an extremely big press to swap out the bearings of the flanged hub setup. close to 50T rings a bell...so you probably didnt have enough oomph on the press.

 

[ken_79-fj40]

Well I took a look at the CV shaft this morning and I think all is fine. The outer retaining ring certainly does not sit flush. There is a mark on the end of the shaft where it seats. Also when we had it apart again yesterday the end of the hub where the ABS ring and retainer go on has a very slight groove in it but it bumps up at the end. No amount of force will press the end pieces on any tighter. So the more I think about it the more I think it's fine the way it is and that the axleshaft will indeed clamp everything together. Perhaps I'm just convincing myself but time will tell. I should have the new CV axle either today or tomorrow so I can put it all back together. It won't be the end of the world if I need to take it apart again and change the ABS ring.

Update: my friend's thoughts on the ABS ring were dead on. Once the new axleshaft was tightened down it locked the ABS ring and it's retainer in place. So no ABS light. But the damn thing is still making noise. The really obvious noise it was making before is gone but it still sounds like it has a bad wheel bearing. I'm starting to think maybe I damaged the bearing taking it in-out so many times. Odd thing is it seems to get quieter the faster you go, and it makes more noise when on the brakes, but it doesn't seem to change in pitch around corners. It's not terrible so I'll probably leave it be for a week or so and see if it gets worse.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Little thread resurrection here, but how did this work in the long run? I am in the middle of my own front bearing replacement and had the exact same question.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Yeah, I have the FSM. I was asking specifically about the ABS rotor and retainer freely spinning after being pressed on. The FSM doesn't say anything about whether the ABS ring and retainer are supposed to be loose like that. I don't want to put the whole thing back together if that isn't right.

 

[ken_79-fj40]

Little thread resurrection here, but how did this work in the long run? I am in the middle of my own front bearing replacement and had the exact same question.

Funny I just happened to come across this. Actually I wound up changing both front bearings (the first one twice) and both front axles. I used the ABS rings over again on both sides no problem. But the noise was still there. It wasn't until it started blowing gear oil out the driver's rear brake drum that I realized it was a rear bearing making the noise all along. And that was a royal PITA to change. The rear ABS ring and it's 2 retaining rings can't be reused. And you need to make a tool to press the bearing off the axle. I happened to have an old axle housing laying around so I cut the end off and welded ears to it to make a tool. But in all after all was said and done the truck has been perfectly fine for the last 30k miles or so since I did all the work. I'm actually trying to sell it now.

 

[SteveH]

I had a shop replace my RF wheel bearing, only to discover later it was the LR wheel bearing. The Toyota tech even rode along with me, and we both concluded it was the RF bearing. Only when we put it on a lift, in gear, running, did we hear and see that the LR wheel bearing was shot. The ball bearing set used in the rear axle is far too light-duty for this truck, IMO.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Funny I just happened to come across this. Actually I wound up changing both front bearings (the first one twice) and both front axles. I used the ABS rings over again on both sides no problem. But the noise was still there. It wasn't until it started blowing gear oil out the driver's rear brake drum that I realized it was a rear bearing making the noise all along. And that was a royal PITA to change. The rear ABS ring and it's 2 retaining rings can't be reused. And you need to make a tool to press the bearing off the axle. I happened to have an old axle housing laying around so I cut the end off and welded ears to it to make a tool. But in all after all was said and done the truck has been perfectly fine for the last 30k miles or so since I did all the work. I'm actually trying to sell it now.

Thanks, my question was also confirmed by a couple other guys that have done it before. I got the one front side all done; now I am debating what to do with the other side, pull it apart and replace that bearing as well, or just leave it with the old bearing. I will probably pull it apart, but it was such a PITA. to get the other side apart that I am not anxious to dig into the other one.

I also have the parts to make the rear bearing tool. The first big project on my 2000 SR5 was to replace the rusted through rear axle housing, so I kept my old rusty housing around. I have now made a diff mount out of the face of it, and have cut off the ends to make the bearing puller tool. Recently got a welder, so I can finally actually make the thing.

Once the weather gets warmer and I can ride the motorcycle to work, I will be pulling the front apart and mounting my new knuckles, UCA's, and some 13WL Tundra calipers and rotors. I have debated also doing the UCA/LCA bushings while I have it apart, but I think I will be putting that off a bit.


Steve, I guess you can just be glad that you guys figured out it was the rear before paying to replace the front.

 

[Jetboy]

Thanks, my question was also confirmed by a couple other guys that have done it before. I got the one front side all done; now I am debating what to do with the other side, pull it apart and replace that bearing as well, or just leave it with the old bearing. I will probably pull it apart, but it was such a PITA. to get the other side apart that I am not anxious to dig into the other one.

I also have the parts to make the rear bearing tool. The first big project on my 2000 SR5 was to replace the rusted through rear axle housing, so I kept my old rusty housing around. I have now made a diff mount out of the face of it, and have cut off the ends to make the bearing puller tool. Recently got a welder, so I can finally actually make the thing.

Once the weather gets warmer and I can ride the motorcycle to work, I will be pulling the front apart and mounting my new knuckles, UCA's, and some 13WL Tundra calipers and rotors. I have debated also doing the UCA/LCA bushings while I have it apart, but I think I will be putting that off a bit.


Steve, I guess you can just be glad that you guys figured out it was the rear before paying to replace the front.

I would re-consider your choice to swap on tundra calipers unless you are really needing a little extra braking power. I've done the Tundra swap on my 4runner and I wouldn't do it again. What you'll notice is that brake warping wasn't an issue until these vehicles started hitting 80-100k miles. That's about when the rear brakes go totally out of adjustment. The nature of the rear brake adjustment using the e-brake along with automatic transmission drivers generally never using the ebrake leads to the rear drums going out of adjustment and not performing any meaningful braking function.

Once all the braking load it put on the front brakes, you end up overworking them and getting warpage.

The tundra brakes provide only a little bit more surface area for braking, and are no larger in diameter. They do have a heavier disk, but that's of little value IMO. The 4runner brakes stock are noticeably larger than those on an fj60, (I believe bigger than fj80's), and definitely larger than my fj40, and the ones on my 40 stop 38's without breaking a sweat.

My new tundra brake rotors warped in 6 months just like my 4runner ones. Once I gave the rear drums a full replacement, I haven't had any issues withs the front brakes. Stopping power is great. I have no issues towing my sailboat or comming down little cottonwood canyon (4k feet of elevation in 7 miles).

Just thought I'd give you my opinion on that. Save your $400 and get the rear brakes fixed, put new 4runner rotors up front and good quality pads and I think you'll be money ahead and fix your brake problems.

 

[SteveH]

Actually, I did replace the front before doing the rear. The front wheel bearings are so incredibly beefy that I sure wouldn't replace them just due to miles/age - unless they are clearly shot.

I have to chuckle - my Tundra swap rotors warped in 6 mo - or they have pad-material buildup on them. Anyway, they shudder when you hit the brakes. I may remove the rotors, and wire-wheel them, and see if that fixes the shudder.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Yeah, I have read alot about the tundra brake swap, and I am at the point where I need to replace the calipers (so rusty I can't break the bleeder valves loose to bleed them), pads, and rotors anyway, and I decided on the tundra brakes since Toyota upgraded the 4runner to them for the 4th gen anyway. I certainly didn't pay $400 for them though.

The front bearing are pretty beefy: a double set of needle bearings; it's like 2 of the rear bearings on each side.