Per dealership, it costs $200 plus tax to repack front bearings. It sounds a good deal, what do you guys think? i wanted to do it myself i just couldn't get the cone washers off!
repack front wheel bearings (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter mcalvarez73
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Trunk Monkey
Moderator
Hit around the lip of the hub with a BFH, they'll pop out. Leave the nuts just barely on so the washers don't go shooting off to a garage corner.
Anthony.L
Looking for the end of the road...
Get a brass hammer and smack the top of the studs with it hard. They will pop loose, leave the nuts loose on so the cones don't get lost and it will make sure you don't damage the threads.
$200 seems pretty cheap to me..... but like the others said, you really gotta hit the studs. I used a punch and a heavy hammer.
I'm surprised T only charges $200 for that service. That seems low. You sure it wasn't $200 per side?
I'm surprised T only charges $200 for that service. That seems low. You sure it wasn't $200 per side?
Trunk Monkey
Moderator
I wouldn't hit the studs directly, you can risk mushrooming the head or buggering up the threads if you're not really careful. Just tab your way around the flange, the vibration from the impact will pop them loose.
Yeah, $200 does seem cheap. Figure hour of labor per side and I doubt it books out at an hour per side.
Yeah, $200 does seem cheap. Figure hour of labor per side and I doubt it books out at an hour per side.
- Thread starter
- #6
thanks Trunk! the cone washers came right off after hitting the lip of the hub..
A brass drift or a brass hammer is the way to go. Some #$%@* at the dealership the PO frequented used something else and my drive flanges show it. Beat up. Bummer.
With brass, you can hit the flange or the stud, no problem.
With brass, you can hit the flange or the stud, no problem.
All you need to do is not fully remove the nut. Back it off until it is flush with the end of the stud. I HAD to use a combination of hitting the stud and tapping the drive flange near the stud to get mine off.
$400 bucks vs the knowledge you gain from doing it yourself about how the front end works is a no brainer choice for me.
Id rather spend a couple hours of my time then waste $400. Its a good time to remove the rotors for resurfacing and replace pads as well.
I totally agree. $200 is tempting, but once you have worked through the cone washers one time, the process can be completed very quickly. Initially, I was discouraged because the PO did not keep up on maintenance, so there was corrosion to work through.
A couple things to think about:
Do you trust the dealer to do as good of a job as you would do?
Are there other projects in that area that need to be attended to? (Brakes, CV boots, ABS Sensor?)
If you are on a budget (like me), $200 adds up, considering the replacement parts (gasket, lock washers...) and grease can be had for under $30. The cost can be larger if you have other projects that are in the same region.
Certainly, this assumes that you enjoy wrenching on your own vehicle. If you don't enjoy it, outsource it.
A couple things to think about:
Do you trust the dealer to do as good of a job as you would do?
Are there other projects in that area that need to be attended to? (Brakes, CV boots, ABS Sensor?)
If you are on a budget (like me), $200 adds up, considering the replacement parts (gasket, lock washers...) and grease can be had for under $30. The cost can be larger if you have other projects that are in the same region.
Certainly, this assumes that you enjoy wrenching on your own vehicle. If you don't enjoy it, outsource it.
Got my front wheel bearings repacked at Toyota dealership and they charged me only $96. I believe this was for both as the invoice does not specify which side (R or L) and refers to the job as "re-torqued front wheel bearings", as in plural. This was in September of 2011.
I can't believe anyone would even pay $200 for this let alone $400. I consider myself a 
maybe mechanic and this takes me about an hour.
A brass hammer or drift and the proper set of snapring pliers are your friends.
maybe mechanic and this takes me about an hour. A brass hammer or drift and the proper set of snapring pliers are your friends.
I'm getting ready to tear into my front end for the first time. Are the cone washers re-useable? Also, is there a wear specification for the bronze axle bushings?
Cone washers are indeed reuseable.
I like run them under the wire wheel and repaint.
Bronze bushing: no spec. replace when worn out
I like run them under the wire wheel and repaint.
Bronze bushing: no spec. replace when worn out
- Thread starter
- #14
i was able to repack my front wheel bearings today.. but wasn't able to remove inner bearings. how?
Does the bronze bushing just control the axial movement of the axle? Looking at the grease groove machined into the face of the bushing leads me to believe this is the case. The radial support is provided by the needle bearings... am I correct? Thanks.
Trunk Monkey
Moderator
Which bearings are you talking about? Bearings just fall off, are you talking about the races?
Something doesn't add up there.
New oil seals and gasket, plus new grease, is close to half that price.
Most dealerships charge about 80-100 an hour for labor.
There is no way they did this job correctly in under an hour and charge you $96 dollars.
The inner bearings are behind an oil seal on the hub. You pretty much have to destroy the old oil seal to remove it, i used a crow bar gently, screwdrivers did nothing. Then you can remove the inner bearing from the hub. The outer bearing will fall right off, however.
That doesn't sound like a repack to me. Tightened/checked the adjuster nut, maybe?
Yep. I bet that's all they did...and charged him $100 for it. *facepalm*
I'm going to be doing the wheel bearings on both sides, rebooting CV's on one side and replacing an entire axle on the other side coming up here in about a week once I get parts in from CDan.
Would there be any interest in me making a video tutorial on how all of this is done? (provided my simple brain can figure all of it out...
) I can re-read posts and look at the FSM all day, but I'm a visual learner by nature...and I would have to assume that there are others here that are the same way.
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