Wheel Bearings

[Typrus]

Alright. I'm thinking that this needs to be done. I drove my baby yesterday (that indexing and SG'ing REALLY helped my idle and lower end!) and noticed a few things. I noticed an abnormal vibration of the front end that was not there before. All I did was pull the calipers, no adjustment of any camber or toe or anything, which confuses me a bit. All tires were very tight, I stopped 4 times to check the tightness.
I also noticed a grinding moaning noise coming from my back axle (I think) that became less noticable at speed. It really bothered me as well.
I never noticed either sound before and through the full 50 miles driving, it was consistantly there.

Also, I tried that stop, start slightly then roll thing, and I slowly came to a stop.... On a slight downhill grade. On level, it didn't lurch stopped or anything, but it stopped faster than I think it should have.
No pulling to either side when braking, very very slight pull to the right when driving. Only noticable when the hands are removed from the wheel.

So the questions- Where do I get the front wheel bearings for our 4wd Wagons? Do I need to do the seals while I'm at it? What brand is recommended for either? Where do I look for the rear bearings? Rock Auto and Autozone both say AWD (close enough I guess) and display a bearing that looks like the seal that came with my clutch kit. No taper. Makes sense on a solid axle, but figured I would make sure I'm looking at the right part.

I guess the big thing is, what all is needed and who should make the parts, and who should sell them?

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My CV's look externally fine. I'll post a pic in a bit.

[brianp]

How are your CV joints? my front wheels just recently started making wierd noises while driving, and was sort of rough. I took it to several shops and they said my CV joints were worn out. I already knew that, as the boots were all torn up, but it looked like it was finally going. So we had them replaced, and the noise is gone and it rides a lot smoother. So you might take a look at those.

I had initially thought that it was the bearings, but the mechanics didn't think so. Of course, that was just my car; yours might be a different problem.

You might ask the Toyota dealership for the part numbers and brand, and go from there.

I've been told that when the wheel bearings are worn out, you can rock the wheel from side to side or up and down when it is jacked up.

[clbolt]

I've bought a lot of bearings at AutoZone, and have never had any issues with quality. Some will tell you otherwise, but that's usually a matter of installation technique. The front wheel bearings are the same for 4wd and 2wd Tercel wagons, and even the hatchbacks in the 83-86 year models. The one piece of advice I'd give is to check the country of manufacture on the bearings. You want some from Japan if they're available. They usually sell a second line at the 'Zone that are manufactured in China. While I'm not saying they're not good (I have them in the front end of my Volvo), the Japanese bearings are usually of a little better quality.

Installation is critical on those bearings. If you start to press it in crooked, you'll end up destroying the bearing to get it back out.

[josha]

did you replace the brake pads? those can sometimes cause a grinding noise, even when not breaking, i'd check that first. a freind of mine had something like what your describing, I drove his car, it seemed like bearings to me with my limited experience, but he replaced the pads and rotors and it stopped.

my only experience with bearings going out has been a catastrophic one, not able to drive and verry sudden with no warning, it felt like I was driving on a bare rim, so im not sure what they would feel like when going out slowly. I got my bearings from napa, I dont know about the quality becouse ive only had them in for a week. there are 2 different types, as far as I can tell the difference is in the plastic cartrage that holds the bearings, bolth types were installed in my car when I bought it, and it seemed to be fine. yes, seals are a must, you'll probably wreck the old ones getting them out. note that there are two seals in the knuckle, inner and outer, plus a metal ring that fits between the inner oil seal and bore of the knuckle. nappa gave me 2 seals when I asked for an inner, and then another one when I asked for an outer. since my seals were completly distroyed and the shop manual has a very small diagram, I thought those 2 seals were supposed to go in the inner side together, but it turned out they had given me a set of inner and outer when I asked for just the inner and had not told me (and charged me)

since I have no press I preformed the bearing install the backyard way with a hammer and a brass drift punch, tapping gently in a circular patteren on the outer race. this was the first time I've done bearings so time will tell if i did it right, but my mecanic said he had been doing it this way for years and it had always worked. if your unsure bring it to a machine shop. the rear bearings require you to cut off an inner collor, and then heat the new one in an oil bath to install, so this whould have to be a machine shop to, unless somone knows a different way.

I will be posting a through write up of the way I did this and some other front end stuff next weekend if your intrested in waiting, there are a couple of tricks I discovered.

[takza]

The SLOW ROLL TO A STOP TEST is mostly to check for the brakes dragging. I've had mine dragging on occasion...usually in hot weather.

My guess on it is a defective master cylinder or maybe some air in the lines....or they could be adjusted too tight?

You could have dragging brakes and maybe the rear ones are metal on metal...explaining the noise. Even a collection of brake dust in the rear drums can cause noise.

Check the toubleshooting section in the FSM...lots of info.

If your car is rolling free...it's easy to tell.