Rear wheel bearings

[fjfodee]

If you don't wont to spend alot, then buy whatever you want.

Whatever you go with I'm pretty sure they'll last for a while.

I also like going with OEM stuff, but when money is tight the other stuff will get you by.

 

[KLF]

So where can I buy the sst?

Some SSTs can be ordered, but they are usually prohibitively expensive. You're better off doing what others have done, get an old axle housing, cut one side off, weld on some bar stock. Or, just pay a machine shop to pull the bearings for you.

Do you guys like nsk wheel bearings?

I really think you should call one of the supporting OEM parts vendors (Lowe is one) here and find out how much the OEM bearings would cost. You might be surprised. When I did mine, they were actually cheaper at the dealer than from NAPA.

 

[fjfodee]

Oops, I mistook sst for set.

Yes, NAPA/Timken bearings are expensive.

 

[bryan89]

Nope gonna pound it off on the ground like in this write up...

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/rear_axle/wheel_bearing/shadetree.jpg

1. That guy is a freaking moron. even if you could get them off that way, you would probably ruin the backing plate.
2. you wont get the retainer ring back on without a press, unless you ruin it too. I promise. if you use a hammer and a punch i would put money on you scarring the out side, which is a seal surface.
3. THERE IS A FREAKIN PRESS IN THE BACKGROUND OF THAT PIC!!! WHY NOT USE IT????

I just did it on mine, and the press made easy work of it.
Definitely get a sst or make one. it is way worth it.

.....sorry rant off.

edit: after finishing reading the thread i see now that KLF and LOWE already said what I am saying, but as soon as I saw that pic, I had to jump in and say something..lol

 

[Tools R Us]

1. That guy is a freaking moron. even if you could get them off that way, you would probably ruin the backing plate.

I don't know the guy, but if you say so? Doing the job, the way he explains, has been successfully done tons of times.

2. you wont get the retainer ring back on without a press, unless you ruin it too. I promise. if you use a hammer and a punch i would put money on you scarring the out side, which is a seal surface.

It can be made to drop on. Simply turn on the stove burner, set the retainer on it for a few min, when hot, drop it over the axle and install the clip, done.

3. THERE IS A FREAKIN PRESS IN THE BACKGROUND OF THAT PIC!!! WHY NOT USE IT???? ...

Why, it is fiddly, takes way longer. I worked as an import machinist, we had a couple of presses, never used them for this job, could do it this way in half the time and nets the same result.

 

[Tools R Us]

This whole bearing selection thing is confusing? If I get a Koyo bearing from a parts store in a private label box, for say half the $$ of the Toyota blessed/labeled Koyo bearing it will last half as long? If bearing selection is a "get what you pay for thing", why would you get them from cruiserdan, etc, the local dealer will often charge 20% or so over list price, this will last longer than the discount ones right?

This has not been my experience, good quality/brand bearings are equally as durable, regardless of source. I have a good account at a local parts store and often get the same brand parts in generic boxes at a fraction of dealer price and find them to be the same durability/quality as dealer blessed/$$$ parts.

 

[bryan89]

I don't know the guy, but if you say so? Doing the job, the way he explains, has been successfully done tons of times.



It can be made to drop on. Simply turn on the stove burner, set the retainer on it for a few min, when hot, drop it over the axle and install the clip, done.



Why, it is fiddly, takes way longer. I worked as an import machinist, we had a couple of presses, never used them for this job, could do it this way in half the time and nets the same result.

i have never seen that done the way in the pic. any bearing i have ever seen is way too tight to slam off like that. maybe if the retainer is worn out it would slip?? idk. but either way you run the risk of bending either the axle itself or the backing plate. the fsm calls out about something like .060" or .080" run-out for an axle shaft, so impulse loading it in a direction it was not ment to be loaded seems like a bad idea to me. what are the odds that you can hit that shaft exactly perpendicular to the ground?? slim to none. and if it perpendicular, its side loaded. especially since Mr. toyota designed a special tool for the removal and installation of this component.

just because it "can be done" doesnt make it right. that is all i am saying. you might be able to get it all done the backwoods way, but you run a much higher risk of something getting screwed up in the process. i bet a bent axle shaft would wobble like hell on the highway, but you would never notice on a trail only truck.

I guess there is a time and a place for that method. (i.e. stuck on a trail somewhere) but it just seems ignorant to me to knowingly do something wrong when provisions for doing it correctly are a stone throw away. and the step by step instructions are freely available online.

 

[packetstormin]

So how does one tell if my rear bearings need to be replaced? Seems like there maybe a little play side to side when I grab the dust cover then again I was told this maybe normal.

 

[bryan89]

So how does one tell if my rear bearings need to be replaced? Seems like there maybe a little play side to side when I grab the dust cover then again I was told this maybe normal.

i thought the same thing you did when i grabbed mine. apparently there is supposed to be some "wiggle"...not a lot though.

i thought the bearings on my used elocker housing were bad, but i wasnt concerned cause I was just going to rebuild it before swapping it underneath my truck anyway. When i got my new bearings, they had the same play. turns out, it has to do with the precision of the bearing construction. See, there are different grades, C1 C2 C3.... i dont remember which way is which, but one end of the spectrum is much tighter tolerance wise than the other. which is what gives the "wiggle". tighter tolerance bearings will have less wiggle.

Mr. Toyota just didnt spec out a tight tolerance bearing for the rear wheel bearing. that was probably done for the variance in alignment among carrier mount depth, axle shaft concentricity, and housing alignment that would all be just a little bit different from axle to axle.

so you might be okay...but if you are in a situation where you are tearing it down to inspect the condition of everything..like i am...i would just go ahead and swap them. i mean if they are koyo bearings with the orange seal, then I would put money on them being the original equipment...which puts them at about 20+ years old.
couldn't hurt to swap em out as long as you do it correctly.
but if its a beater trail rig...screw it and run em till they lock up.

 

[packetstormin]

My bearings are nachi. So original I guess.

 

[fjfodee]

Just to clarify, if anyone orders the ATM bearings from NAPA, this is what they SHOULD be getting.



Front inner: 31.00

Front outer: 17.50

Rear: 48.00

 

[packetstormin]

The ATM brand sold in the Phoenix area NAPA stores is the NSK brand. NSK is an OE manufacturer for Toyota just so everyone knows. I looked it up when everyone flipped out about me not using Koyo bearings.

 

[fjfodee]

Yes they are.

 

[packetstormin]

Here is an interesting question. Are timken bearings oe on mini trucks?

I know they are oe for the 80 series land cruiser.

 

[packetstormin]

So I am trying to get the axles back together and the bearings just don't want to fit back in to the bearing case. Are there any tricks or tips for getting the bearings back in the case?

 

[bryan89]

lol..
this is where the press comes in handy.

in place of a press, if you could find a pice of relatively thin wall pipe that has the same outside diamter at the bearing, you could carefully tap them in with a hammer.

just make sure to support the bearing from the retainer cup on the other side, NOT the backing plate edges