Missing Outer Wheel Bearing Seal? (1 Viewer)

[frank18]

Hi everyone, this weekend I was doing a front brake job on my 07 4Runner V6 4WD and I noticed that the back of the hub on the passenger side was a little greasy. After comparing the hubs/bearings on both sides of the vehicle, I believe that the outer rubber seal which goes between the bearing and hub is missing on the passenger side, allowing grease from the bearing to leak out. (I could see the seal on the driver side, and there was no grease leaking there, despite it being 13 years old.) The part number I think is missing is 90312-96001. The dealership installed the wheel bearing on the passenger side last September. (They used the OEM bearing 43570-60011, not a complete hub assembly). I have the service invoice which shows that I was charged for the seal. I am also suspicious because during install, I received a voicemail (which I still have saved) saying that they didn't have "a seal" in stock and would need to order it, so they would need to keep the vehicle overnight. I'm guessing the seal was going to arrive later than expected, so in order to get it done and free up shop space, they just skipped the seal and assumed I would never notice.

Now I am concerned that the bearing has been run for 10 months while losing grease and being exposed to dust, road salt, etc. When turning the hub by hand, there seems to be a little bit more friction than on the driver side. I intend to call the dealer and request that they replace the bearing again, for free. But before I go accusing them, I want to be totally sure that bearing was installed without the seal. I'll attach some photos showing the visible bearing face and hub spindle on the passenger side as well as a photo of the seal on the driver side which covers those components. (Sorry if dust/rust makes it hard to see.)

Photos, in order:
1. driver side hub with seal, 2. leaking grease on passenger side, 3. passenger side hub side view, 4. passenger side hub top view.

Can someone confirm that there is a seal missing? If so, is it fair to ask the dealer for free replacement? Thank you for your help.

 

[ppc]

.

 

[Toyoland66]

Looks to me light your hunch is correct, it can be tough to tell from some of the parts diagrams how everything goes together. Metaltech has a tech article on replacing the wheel bearings, and you can see from the photos (step 9/10) that the seal 90312-96001 sits over the machined recess on the wheel bearing housing (whatever thats called). it is pretty clearly missing in your photos.

Toyota 4x4 how to replace front wheel unit bearings

Learn how to replace the front wheel bearings of your Toyota Tacoma, Lexus, and FJ Cruiser. Here at Metal Tech 4x4 we will teach you how to do it easily.

www.metaltech4x4.com