After a birfield repack, it doesn't hurt to....

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flintknapper

flintknapper

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Check your wheel bearings. Mine on the passenger side had become loose. I did a complete front axle service a few months ago, but noticed today that the tire on the front pass. side had a little wear that the others didn't.

Jacked her up and grabbed the tire at 12 & 6 O'Clock, and sure enough....wheel bearing was loose. Re-tightened and took for a test drive. Will continue to monitor it.
 
Thanks for the info! How many miles from that full service till now??? I have forgotten but what method do you use to set the preload, by feel or by scale? Thanks again, a good thing to add to the checklist! :cheers:
 
Well, maybe it is time for a confession.....

I was rotating my tires a couple weeks ago. 10,000 miles post re-building my front. Noticed the PS was a little loose, also.

After cussing the design (no cotter-pin or similar way to really secure the hub nuts) I opened her up to find that I did not bend the tabs on the star washer!!

Red face and all, I adjusted her to a 10lb pre-load and bent the tabs...this time.
 
flintknapper said:
Check your wheel bearings. Mine on the passenger side had become loose. I did a complete front axle service a few months ago, but noticed today that the tire on the front pass. side had a little wear that the others didn't.

Jacked her up and grabbed the tire at 12 & 6 O'Clock, and sure enough....wheel bearing was loose. Re-tightened and took for a test drive. Will continue to monitor it.
Click to expand...

Even if you did it right the first time, it isn't unusual to have to come back and re-tighten the bearings. Usually, after the second time, it stays tight. But it's a good thing to check regardless.


Kalawang
 
Synchronicity.

I did exactly that today: Checked my front wheels for play.

Did my repack almost a year ago, but check every once in a while to be safe. For the first time since my repack I had a little play in my front left wheel.

Tightened the hub nut by feel.

Hayes
 
turbocruiser said:
Thanks for the info! How many miles from that full service till now??? I have forgotten but what method do you use to set the preload, by feel or by scale? Thanks again, a good thing to add to the checklist! :cheers:
Click to expand...


Probably got about 4-5 K on it since the axle service. I wish I would have checked it sooner. I was surprised to find (at the furthest point on the tire)... that "movement" was about 1/4". It had actually started to show up as tire wear on the outside of the tread. That is what alerted me.

I used the scale method (again), and I suspect the bearings are well seated in their races by now. Odd, that the other side did not require any adjustment, but all is good now.
 
Bearing Trouble

Hey Guys, I think I need to replace my front Bearings, but I'm not sure. There's a tick tick tick ticking when I'm driving, but does that mean they have to be replaced or just repacked. If replacement is necesary which bearings should I invest in?
 
SurfCruiser said:
Hey Guys, I think I need to replace my front Bearings, but I'm not sure. There's a tick tick tick ticking when I'm driving, but does that mean they have to be replaced or just repacked. If replacement is necesary which bearings should I invest in?
Click to expand...

MAF has the Koyos on sale. Go check out the garage sale section on their site.
 
Last edited:
SurfCruiser said:
Hey Guys, I think I need to replace my front Bearings, but I'm not sure. There's a tick tick tick ticking when I'm driving, but does that mean they have to be replaced or just repacked. If replacement is necesary which bearings should I invest in?
Click to expand...

Might be your birfs seeking attention.

-B-
 
After checking and retightening my wheel bearings three or four times, I finally took it to Toyota and they tightened the fronts to spec for $119.00 Peace of mind - I was getting worried that I'd be driving with a loved one and one of my wheels would come off at 75 MPH.
 
Beast II said:
After checking and retightening my wheel bearings three or four times, I finally took it to Toyota and they tightened the fronts to spec for $119.00 Peace of mind - I was getting worried that I'd be driving with a loved one and one of my wheels would come off at 75 MPH.
Click to expand...



Not a bad idea if you have any doubts about your mechanical abilities.

I've been "wrenching" on my own vehicles for 35 yrs. because (for the most part) I enjoy it, I save money, I know its done "right". I did have the bearing (on one side) loosen up, but I don't believe it was because it was improperly adjusted. I checked it again last weekend...and it seems fine.

I take the same position as you though. Two of the most important people in my life.. (Wife and Daughter), are often in the Cruiser, so I don't want anything to happen.
 
tarbe said:
Well, maybe it is time for a confession.....

I was rotating my tires a couple weeks ago. 10,000 miles post re-building my front. Noticed the PS was a little loose, also.

After cussing the design (no cotter-pin or similar way to really secure the hub nuts) I opened her up to find that I did not bend the tabs on the star washer!!

Red face and all, I adjusted her to a 10lb pre-load and bent the tabs...this time.
Click to expand...

Tim,
Did you check the drivers side also?

You're lucky that the you did not forget to bend the Fax star on the driverside. At least that's my assumption. The PS tire rotates clockwise relative to the spindle. The DS rotates counterclockwise relative to the spindle. Since a DS spindle does not have reverse threads and the rotation of the wheel is mostly counterclockwise you may run the risk of having the DS damage more than the PS. Rotational friction will keep a PS side wheel on more than a DS.
 
If I replaced the wheel bearing and races I would tell customers to swing by in a couple k miles to readjust the bearing so all was well after the bearing would seat. I also would talk about toyota reccommend intervals for wheel bearing repacks 30kmiles(book only states the front, but a full floater has front and rear bearing that need repacking). How over the years that I have used bigger more agressive tires and this takes it toll on the bearings/races as well. I tend to readjust my front wheel bearing about ever 10k-15k miles for a nice tight set. The biggest thing I do not like is the soft thrust washer, If the spindle has gotten a little loose and the bearing spins, it digs into the thrust washer and wears it creating a loose set on the bearing. I did check into haveing harden thrust washers made (similar hardness to the rears), but the machine shop wanted about $15 cost apiece an a couple of hundred at one time. A little costly.
readjusting the bearing with out pulling the hub is way less than a hour labor. Not too much time a couple time a year for me, for keeping the bearing tight.
later robbie
 
SurfCruiser said:
Hey Guys, I think I need to replace my front Bearings, but I'm not sure. There's a tick tick tick ticking when I'm driving, but does that mean they have to be replaced or just repacked. If replacement is necesary which bearings should I invest in?
Click to expand...

Listen to the wise ones. Click click click, did you read the never ending cracked birfield thread. Really investigate that before its too late. Also if you replace the birfs, replace the seals while you are in there at the least. This is what I have learned. A little money spent now can save a lot of time and money later.
Teresa
 
I don't quite get the point of this thread.... I think it is wise to check all four wheels for play, every time the wheels are off the ground for maintenance. It only takes a minute, and it will catch a developing situation long before it becomes a serious problem.... hopefully.

I'm not saying you shouldn't recheck your wheel bearing preload after a Birf job - that is a smart move - just that you should check all the bearings for noticeable play, all the time....

John Davies
Spokane Wa
 
Beowulf said:
Might be your birfs seeking attention.

-B-
Click to expand...


LOL ....:popcorn:


Do a search on birfs and get this looked at right away. Something is wrong in there. Does it do the clicking a lot etc.?
 
Click click click isn't going to be wheel bearings. If your bearings are so bad they're making audible noises, you're looking at a destroyed bearing and impending failure. Look elsewhere.

DougM
 
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