Front Wheel Droning

[GremlinMobile]

So my DS front wheel makes a droning sound that correlates with speed. The tire is in good shape so I figured it must be the bearings. Putting it up on a jack, I had a little play in the 6-12 position. Took everything apart last night. Found the outer axle nut to be hand loose. The dust cap was missing. The star lock washer that's supposed to have the tabs bent in was not bent. I figured I found my problem.

The outer bearing itself appeared to be in OK shape. I didn't punch out the inner bearing from the disk - I guess I assumed and was hopeful that it's OK. I cleaned everything up and greased it. I don't have a torque wrench or scale, so I went by feel to set the nut tension. I cranked down on the first axle nut, spun the hub and then backed it down to hand tight. Then cranked on it a little bit with the wrench to set it. Then put in the star washer and second nut. I cranked down on the second nut, and bent the washer tabs in to lock it all in place. I checked for play and everything was tight and the wheel spun without hesitation.

Well I put everything back in, including a new thicker diameter C-clip, and the new dust cap and took it for a ride. Sounds exactly the same..... Same droning sound that correlates with wheel speed. What am I missing? What could it be? Is my luck so s***ty that the problem was with the inner bearing that I didn't take out? I assumed that I found the issue as soon as I noticed the axle nuts were loose, so I figured no need to keep looking for problems.

 

[kevgentile]

If it was as loose as you say then it is quite possible one or both of the bearing took a knick.
It'll be best to pull it all apart, clean, and inspect. But honestly, the bearings are not that expensive
where I'd just assume they're "OK" and roll.

Also you need to get a torque wrench and set the proper bearing preload, it'll take a LOT more then
what you currently have set it at.

Additionally, tires that look good can still develop noise, especially as they where tread and age.
Typically you can load the suspension side-to-side while driving to move the drone around to distinguish
between a bearing or a tire noise. Though i have found that aggressively blocked a/t and m/t tires tend to
make more noise regardless making it difficult to differentiate the culprit. Rotating might help move the noise
if the tires are in fact the problem.

 

[GremlinMobile]

If it was as loose as you say then it is quite possible one or both of the bearing took a knick.
It'll be best to pull it all apart, clean, and inspect. But honestly, the bearings are not that expensive
where I'd just assume they're "OK" and roll.

Also you need to get a torque wrench and set the proper bearing preload, it'll take a LOT more then
what you currently have set it at.

Additionally, tires that look good can still develop noise, especially as they where tread and age.
Typically you can load the suspension side-to-side while driving to move the drone around to distinguish
between a bearing or a tire noise. Though i have found that aggressively blocked a/t and m/t tires tend to
make more noise regardless making it difficult to differentiate the culprit. Rotating might help move the noise
if the tires are in fact the problem.

Great idea - I'll swap the front DS wheel with the rear PS to single out the tire from the issue.

I guess I'm a little unclear and scared of messing with the inner bearing, but perhaps I'll have to figure it out. Should I just order new inner and outer bearings to take the guesswork out of it? If so, then I need to get new races, right? Is RockAuto OK for those parts? Would be helpful if there was a neat reference for all the associated parts I'd need to order.


My takeaway from reading so many threads on the front axle work is that it's more important for me to focus on the fish scale measurement being 10-15 lbs, instead of trying to get the torque reading perfect on the axle nut. Is this correct?

 

[DiegoCrzr]

 

[kevgentile]

Great idea - I'll swap the front DS wheel with the rear PS to single out the tire from the issue.

I guess I'm a little unclear and scared of messing with the inner bearing, but perhaps I'll have to figure it out. Should I just order new inner and outer bearings to take the guesswork out of it? If so, then I need to get new races, right? Is RockAuto OK for those parts? Would be helpful if there was a neat reference for all the associated parts I'd need to order.


My takeaway from reading so many threads on the front axle work is that it's more important for me to focus on the fish scale measurement being 10-15 lbs, instead of trying to get the torque reading perfect on the axle nut. Is this correct?

The bearing will come with new races and I would certainly replace all together since they are wear mated items.
I'd also do Timken, Koyo, or an equivalent oem quality bearing. The inners are easy and you'll need a new seal too.
Use some Map gas to heat up the hub to knock out the races.

The fish scale measurement is the target and not the actual final torque. The torque numbers will vary on bearing age/health.
You'll reach anywhere from 40-90 ftlbs on the final torque at 12-15 lbs of horizontal pull. My last adjustment reached about 85 ftlbs.

 

[GremlinMobile]

The bearing will come with new races and I would certainly replace all together since they are wear mated items.
I'd also do Timken, Koyo, or an equivalent oem quality bearing. The inners are easy and you'll need a new seal too.
Use some Map gas to heat up the hub to knock out the races.

The fish scale measurement is the target and not the actual final torque. The torque numbers will vary on bearing age/health.
You'll reach anywhere from 40-90 ftlbs on the final torque at 12-15 lbs of horizontal pull. My last adjustment reached about 85 ftlbs.

I think you're confirming what I was thinking. Final torque as stated in FSM isn't what I should be targeting, it's the fish scale measurement on the horizontal pull. So whether I end up torquing to 40 or 90 lbs, I need to make sure the 12-15 horizontal pull is achieved. Right?

Any parts list? My dust shield looks like it has the remnants of about a quarter of some kind of rubber gasket or lip on it. Not sure what that is but I think I need to replace it.

Ultimately, if I serviced the outer bearing and tightened the axle nuts to A LOT closer to FSM spec than they were before, shouldn't my wheel droning have gone away?

 

[kevgentile]

I think you're confirming what I was thinking. Final torque as stated in FSM isn't what I should be targeting, it's the fish scale measurement on the horizontal pull. So whether I end up torquing to 40 or 90 lbs, I need to make sure the 12-15 horizontal pull is achieved. Right?

Any parts list? My dust shield looks like it has the remnants of about a quarter of some kind of rubber gasket or lip on it. Not sure what that is but I think I need to replace it.

Ultimately, if I serviced the outer bearing and tightened the axle nuts to A LOT closer to FSM spec than they were before, shouldn't my wheel droning have gone away?

Correct, the final torque is irrelevant with the target being the lbs of pull.
@cruiseroutfit has a bearing kit that should cover all the essentials.
There's no guarantee of eliminating the noise since you haven't actually isolated the root cause. But more than likely
it is in the bearing or the tire. The only other rotational noise would be the axle(s) and the differential.
The best way to isolate the noise is to lift all 4 wheels off the ground and run the drive train.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

@cruiseroutfit has a bearing kit that should cover all the essentials.
There's no guarantee of eliminating the noise since you haven't actually isolated the root cause. But more than likely
it is in the bearing or the tire. The only other rotational noise would be the axle(s) and the differential.
The best way to isolate the noise is to lift all 4 wheels off the ground and run the drive train.

And they come with step-by-step instructions

Koyo:

Front Wheel Bearing Kit - Fits 1998-2007 IFS UZJ100/LX470 - Koyo (FAWB9807K)

Toyota Land Cruiser Front Wheel Bearing Kits

cruiserteq.com

Timken:

Front Wheel Bearing Kit - Fits 1998-2007 IFS UZJ100/LX470 - Timken (FAWB9807T)

Toyota Land Cruiser Front Wheel Bearing Kits

cruiserteq.com

I also recommend you consider the following for a wheel bearing job:

Front Wheel Snap Ring Kit - Fits 1998-2007 IFS UZJ100/LX470

Toyota Land Cruiser Front Wheel Bearing Kits

cruiserteq.com

Spring Scale Gauge - Fits All Year Land Cruisers, 4Runners & Pickups (FASCALE)

Toyota Land Cruiser Knuckle Rebuid Tools

cruiserteq.com

54 MM Hub Socket - Fits All 9/1975 - 2007 Disc Brake Axle Applications (FA15007)

Cruiser Teq is the premier provider of high quality OEM, Japanese, and aftermarket Toyota Land Cruiser parts and accessories.

cruiserteq.com

 

[DiegoCrzr]

My drone wa caused by CV's. Any vibration with your drone, say around 50mph?

 

[GremlinMobile]

My drone wa caused by CV's. Any vibration with your drone, say around 50mph?

The CVs look like they were replaced not long ago by the previous owner. In fact that's who probably ****ed up the bearing preload and everything else. After I tightened the nuts, the droning is a lot better, but there's still some noise if I listen for it.