Front wheel/bearing play question.

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MARKTLC80

MARKTLC80

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Mar 20, 2009
Threads
30
Messages
353
Location
Mt Prospect, IL
All,

I was doing a tire rotation and noticed that front passenger wheel has bit of a play when moved from side to side, there is slight ticking sound when the wheel is being moved. Is it a outer wheel bearing or there could be something else going on like bearing needs to be repacked . Browsed thru MUD bible and found some stuff here and there but still not sure on what to do, I have a 600 mile trip coming up this weekend and don't want to take any chances. Any advice is greatly appreciated. :cheers:
 
Repack or replace your wheel bearings...
 
Wheel bearing play would tend to be indicated by raising the front tires up and then wiggling with hands at the 12 and 6 clock positions. Side-to-side could be any number of items' cumulative slop in the steering system.

If you don't want to take chances, then inspect, replace, repack as necessary. If you go this route, check for indications of inner bearing race rotation around the spindle.
 
I would say (on the safe side) if there is noticeable play you are too late for re-packing. Just replace them. The bearings aren't to expensive and you have to break the axle down anyway...
 
Side to side can indicate worn tie rod ends and or loose bearing preload.

Assuming you've got grease in there, I'd reset the bearing preload and take care of it when you get back.
 
fj4068 said:
Wheel bearing play would tend to be indicated by raising the front tires up and then wiggling with hands at the 12 and 6 clock positions. Side-to-side could be any number of items' cumulative slop in the steering system.

If you don't want to take chances, then inspect, replace, repack as necessary. If you go this route, check for indications of inner bearing race rotation around the spindle.
Click to expand...


Correction I did move it side to side and as you indicated 12-6 and the play is present at both scenarios. Guessing I have to take it apart and replace them as they are the original ones and it's probably time to do it. Thank you for the info. I will post the results soon. :beer:
 
If the play is the same both up and down, versus side to side, then it is wheel bearing play. Unless it has super high miles on it, and/or it has been abused and never maintained, then just repack the grease on the wheel bearings and re set the 54 mm nuts at the correct spec. Bet the wiggle will be gone. These oem bearings are really high quality and rarely fail unless they have NO grease in them. John
 
Just noticed the same thing with my front wheel. So I decided to investigate the issue further. Started to take the hub assembly apart and as soon as I got the cover off, the one that's held on by the cone washers... a very large nut and lock washer fell off into my hands. The second nut that holds the thrust washer in place was half way down the threads. The bearing race was riding half way down the spindle and dug a nice groove in it. Decided to check the passenger side even though it seemed ok and discovered that the 2 54mm nuts were only finger tight! Gonna take this time and rebuild the whole front axle and do a birf swap while I'm at it!

I say check out the bearings and re-torque the nuts on the spindle, once you figure out how to get the cone washers off it's pretty easy to do.
 
This is a very dead thread but I shall resurrect it. Having the same play at 12 and 6 mentioned here. Toyota says I need a front axle rebuild, and asked me for 7700 for the job so I said I'd do it myself. Included in the parts pricing on my invoice is 2 entirely new front axle shafts and sub assemblies. Is that necessary at all if the play is coming from the outer wheel bearing? Originally brought the truck in for slight steering play if that gives any context that helps.
 
At best you only need the bearings. At worst, keeping in mind you only mentioned play, you need a new spindle and hub (which comes with the bearings installed). You'll also need the seals and gaskets. See my front knuckle data sheet post for the details.

You won't know until you tear it down. Unless your axles are clicking when you turn right or left, your Birfield bearings are probably OK. Replacing those requires a complete knuckle teardown. At that point, you might as well replace all the seals and the trunnion bearings, because you already have half the work done.
 
@jonahhady

$7700??

I had play at 12/6 and it was my trunnion bearings in the knuckles.. one on each side was toast. I used the rebuild kit for under $300 and only other money spent was supplies and tools I didn't already have. My spindles, birfields, flanges, axles etc were fine, but each truck may vary.

Sure it's technically possible every single part is worn out, but I'd say it's a lot more likely the dealership is just being a dealership. Even then, I don't know how we get to $7700

Can you post the invoice?
 
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Yes, 7700. Looking at it again, it includes front brake pads and discs but still. I almost laughed. And they made me pay a 250 dollar "diagnostic fee" because i didnt get the work done. They didn't even tear it down. Toyota of cool springs in franklin, TN
 
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Did some price checking... they're trying to replace every part at full pop whether it's necessary or not, and then some. For example, those cone washers are under $6 msrp, not 15. And $84 for grease 😂 axle seals and other parts are listed at double msrp or more. Almost every part is available for below msrp on dealer websites. OEM birfield $1341 msrp as noted, ~$900 from dealer sites, less elsewhere... and so on
 
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That dealership is a bunch of crooks. A 4-Wheel alignment isn't done on solid axle vehicles. The only "alignment" that is done on an 80 series is the TOE adjustment. The alignment measurements can be made but no other adjustments are available, just expensive parts replacement and lots of labor that not going to be included in that $176 estimate. I doubt that the dealership even has the capability to do those repairs

Learn to do these things yourself to save money or get some help from the local STLCA members.
 
jonahhady said:
Yeah, I'm gonna tear it down myself and see. I love this website.
Click to expand...

jonahhady said:
Yeah, I'm gonna tear it down myself and see. I love this website.
Click to expand...
You saved me from crying twice in the same day (see Knuckle rebuild, did I get ripped off, post #17)
Thanks!
You can practically replace everything, including tires, and still have enough left over to get me a nice Christmas present. Though cash is appreciated too.
 
Agree with all the above, worst case is your out roughly $1,000 in parts if spindles are toast leaving $6,700 for all sorts of fun stuff. Learn to do your own work, it’s messy but not rocket science. There’s a ton of good info here and folks that can talk you through your challenges, it’s really the only way to enjoy your 26+ year old vehicle at less than the cost of a second home.
 
Already said above, RUN from that Stealership.

@jonahhady

How many miles on the vehicle?

IME plan on having your vehicle down for awhile (minimum one week) in case you run into unexpected problems, worn/broken parts, have to order extra parts, supplies, etc. Unlikely you'll be able to complete the job in day or two, especially if it hasn't been apart in a long time and/or serviced regularly.

Once you have everything apart, post up photos of the axle shafts (where the shaft seal rides); you're looking for a wear groove; if it's too deep you either need to push the seal deeper or replace the shaft.

Ditto for the Birfield CV joints, best IMO/IME to take the axle shaft out of the CV joints. That allows you to clean and inspect the joints for wear. If not too much wear you can put them back together and run them.

One tip: if you mark the CV joints (permanent marker on the stub shaft for example, or stamp them with dots or a R or L) indicating which side they came out of (L, R), then you can swap sides, ie: Left joint goes to the Right side, Right joint goes to the Left.

When you do that the CV joints would then be running in what used to be their Reverse direction and you'll get more miles out a pair.

Also the Left side CV joint wears quicker than the Right. Been discussed on the forum years ago, may be due to the longer axle shaft on that side, so more torque going to the long side?? IDK, but it's a real thing, so swapping sides evens out the wear just like rotating tires.

Also IMO try to find a grease with at least 3% Moly, 5% Molybdenum may be better. One option is Valvoline Palladium 5% (hard to find, try Summit Racing), but there are others.

There are a dozen videos on you tube (search FZJ80 or 80 Series Front axle) you can watch ahead of time. It helps IMHO to watch a few different people doing the job as everyone has their own tips and tricks. Be sure to wash the axle/steering knuckles off well the night before you start.

Here's a couple good videos:



 
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