Sounds Like Front Wheel Bearing Noise - 2007 Tacoma (2WD), 222,500 miles

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Originally Posted by john_pifer
At around $90, the Dorman pre-assembled unit sounds hard to beat. Anybody have experience with it?


Not sure I would trust Dorman for something like that. Although it seems it's limited as far as autoparts store complete assemblies. There's a company called Jersey Built Hubs that's very popular among the 2nd gen crowd, although you're looking at $200+ for one. Atleast you have a 2wd as 4wd's seem to love to eat wheel bearings...
 
A Dorman hub has had good reviews by one of the most knowledgeable guys on here. But that's just the hub and not the bearing. For the bearing I would go with an oem or an SKF one. Going that route will still save a bunch of money. At that mileage I would prob replace both of them up front if you plan on keeping it.
 
Originally Posted by mattd
Your best bet is to jack it up and spin the wheels by hand and listen for grumble and feel for roughness


This. I replaced the front brearings in my 2006 tundra only to find that it was the rear with the trouble. I'm told front bearings on a yota seldom ever fail, ever. And they were right. I pinpointed it by running the truck in drive with it off the ground and having someone walk around and listen. it was odd because from the cabin it totally sounded like it was coming from the front.
 
Another test not mentioned, and I find good, is grasp the spring while the wheel is up and spinning. You can hold a coil lightly and feel bearing imperfections you cannot hear or feel through the rock(ing) test. I found a bad bearing that was in our lexus es. MPGs jumped 2.5/gallon after changing it. I heard and felt no vibration from driving, was just chasing down missing mpgs - I monitor them closely not for economy sake but as a diagnostic tool.

If you aren't pressing them in yourself, it's likely cheaper to go get a new hub. OTOH, use the money you save on new hubs and go buy a 12 or 20 ton press at harbor freight (presuming you have space), and then you have the tool, can DIY, and play with it in the future. Just a thought. I also don't have a lot of trust in Dorman, but this is an annoying DIY if you don't have a press or machine shop nearby. Re: Brand - I've been using Timken bearings for decades in all kinds of things and never found reason to complain. Just don't buy those cheap Chinese bearings. TImken, SKF, AC Delco is usually good, too. Beck Arnley used to always be OE equivalent; have heard not as much these days (they repackage, not manufacture). Moof if it is the "problem Sovler" line and not the base line of products.
 
Originally Posted by meep
Originally Posted by mattd
Your best bet is to jack it up and spin the wheels by hand and listen for grumble and feel for roughness


This. I replaced the front brearings in my 2006 tundra only to find that it was the rear with the trouble. I'm told front bearings on a yota seldom ever fail, ever. And they were right. I pinpointed it by running the truck in drive with it off the ground and having someone walk around and listen. it was odd because from the cabin it totally sounded like it was coming from the front.


Well, it's definitely the front left wheel bearing. I've confirmed that. I already replaced both rear wheel bearings a few months ago. One of them failed, caused enough vibration/misalignment to cause the axle seal to be compromised, which allowed diff oil into the housing, which ruined the wheel speed sensor, tripping the ABS/BRAKE warning lamp.

I do plan on keeping the truck, but I've decided to go ahead and use the Dorman or other brand of hub/bearing assy. that I can buy locally, because I need the truck for work next week and I don't want to drive it anymore until I replace that bearing. I'm down to 2-3mm on the pads, and the rotors are warped also, so I'm going to replace those at the same time. So I'll probably just head to O'Reillys Sunday and get all that stuff and throw it on.

Suggestions for rotors? They have Bosch - are those pretty good? Seems like Bosch is a pretty respected name. No idea about the rotors with their name on them, though.
 
Originally Posted by Oro_O
Another test not mentioned, and I find good, is grasp the spring while the wheel is up and spinning. You can hold a coil lightly and feel bearing imperfections you cannot hear or feel through the rock(ing) test. I found a bad bearing that was in our lexus es. MPGs jumped 2.5/gallon after changing it. I heard and felt no vibration from driving, was just chasing down missing mpgs - I monitor them closely not for economy sake but as a diagnostic tool.

If you aren't pressing them in yourself, it's likely cheaper to go get a new hub. OTOH, use the money you save on new hubs and go buy a 12 or 20 ton press at harbor freight (presuming you have space), and then you have the tool, can DIY, and play with it in the future. Just a thought. I also don't have a lot of trust in Dorman, but this is an annoying DIY if you don't have a press or machine shop nearby. Re: Brand - I've been using Timken bearings for decades in all kinds of things and never found reason to complain. Just don't buy those cheap Chinese bearings. TImken, SKF, AC Delco is usually good, too. Beck Arnley used to always be OE equivalent; have heard not as much these days (they repackage, not manufacture). Moof if it is the "problem Sovler" line and not the base line of products.


Pretty impressive that you regained 2.5 MPG after replacing that bearing. Hard to believe, in fact.

I used Timken when I did the rears. AFAIK, they are what Toyota uses.

I think I'm going to try the Dorman. I'll report back here on this thread in the future as far as how long they end up lasting.
 
Originally Posted by john_pifer


Pretty impressive that you regained 2.5 MPG after replacing that bearing. Hard to believe, in fact.


It's a Lexus ES, not a Tacoma.
wink.gif
They can do 30mpg highway so moderate wheel drag like a sticking caliper or bad bearing will really strip that off (the mpg's). So it was apparent to me something was wrong, but I knew I had the intake/ignition/brakes all good and finally narrowed it down to the only remaining candidate.

Toyotas can tolerate some really nasty suspension problems with out telegraphing a single-point failure. They are generally well-engineered and over-built. A solid truck like a Tacoma going to 220k before eating a front bearing is impressive. Front end rebuilds on GM products, up until recently, were common before 100k. (I'm looking at you, GMT800 platform...).
 
Originally Posted by Oro_O
john_pifer said:
Toyotas can tolerate some really nasty suspension problems with out telegraphing a single-point failure. They are generally well-engineered and over-built. A solid truck like a Tacoma going to 220k before eating a front bearing is impressive. Front end rebuilds on GM products, up until recently, were common before 100k. (I'm looking at you, GMT800 platform...).


^^^ it took me 3 years to figure out the problem in mine, because it started after a really long mountain tow but didn't worsen rapidly. I'd mentioned "front wheel bearing" when it had the airbag recall, when I put tires on it, later when I had driveshaft work done. Both the dealer and the regular shop I used basically refused to believe me. Said that unless I had an accident, they simply don't see toyota front bearing assemblies fail before 440,000 miles. And they were right.... mine was rear.

I was the 3rd owner of our 'yota and we towed with it, as did at least one of the previous owners. Our TT was right at its limit, and mountain braking for a few hours turned out to be beyond what it was capable of handling. 'Yota rear bearings in that axle are sealed and not pooled oil like "normal" axles.
 
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