I purchased brand new wheel bearings and seals and took them to a local guy to have them pressed in. One side was good, one side was very bad. I got the hubs back and started putting them back on the car and I realized that one side was still very bad (not sure if it was the same side as before or not). The whole hub wiggles way too much. The other side is rock solid.

I'm almost positive the new bearings are in, I can see a clean lip inside that looks like the new bearings. Is it possible he didn't press it in far enough or something? Or is the bearing factory fucked?

 

Did you also replace the hub it self? I say this because when the bearing goes bad it usually takes the hub with it. This is true in almost 100% of cases with bad bearings, even though the hub may look okay with the naked eye.

 

Damn! Did not know this. Hopefully the bearing is not shot and can be reused.

When you say hub, you are referring to the part the wheel bolts on to, correct? In this case, the hub is pressed into the bearing which is pressed into the hub carrier?

 

Don't pull anything apart just yet wait and see if anyone has any other ideas. But if you do pull it apart have a good machine shop check the hub, however, if the hub is also bad then replace it. Typically hubs are not repairable.

 

Yes, that is what I am talking about.

 

Thanks for the help. I'll start looking for a new hub. I have already purchased a new bearing just in case as well.

Anyone else have any ideas?

 

How can the bearing ruin the hub? This could only happen if the bearing outter housing has spun in the hub from what I see. The bearing is so tight in the hub, both rear wheel bearing I have had in my car have always rotated without spining the outter housing of the bearing.

You say one side is still loose? Are you talking about half of the bearing while its off the car and pressed into the hub? Side to side movement or up and down movement?

 

Here is a picture of the unit in question:



The other one is on the car, installed without issue.

The hub (rusty colored plate with the 5 studs stickin out of it) wiggles independantly of the hub carrier. It's "loose"...usually what defines needing new wheel bearings, except this bearing should be brand new. If I place it on the ground, I think I can move the whole hub assembly in and out about a millimeter. I'm not sure if hte bearing is moving or not.

I'm wondering if he somehow missed one side or forgot to do it?

 

Rotaman99, if the bearing is destroyed then there will be excessive play. This play causes wear on the hub portion that is pressed into the bearing. If you want an example, here is a extreme case: 95 Avalon bearing completely destroyed to the point were the hub fell out when we started taking it apart. The hub was practically eaten away. I will post a picture of the bearing and the hub. You can also confirm this with a good mechanic.

 

Anyone else?

 

I just spent all night putting my suspension back together with polyurethane bushings and DTSS elim. kit. I noticed the lower control arm has a bearing where it meets with the particular hub you specified. I ignorantly mistook this this bearing for the DTSS bushing and spent 45 minutes trying to remove it. Now it is bad and there is tons of free play. Check that bearing. I don't know if you can replace it on its own or you will need a new control arm.

 

I know exactly what you're talking about...I tried removing the top bearing..however that doesn't really apply to the hub assembly.

 

I know there will be excessive play with a bad bearing, I have delt with my fair share. But if the bearing housings are not spinning on the hub shaft or the inner housing of the nuckle, AKA, spun bearing, then they should be fine.

 

For the future searchers out there, I solved the problem. The bearing was not properly seated. The machinist put it back in the press and now all is well

 

Thanks for the update.

It's also worth mentioning that you can also have play with a good bearing/hub assembly until you tighten the axle nut. This causes the inner race halves to press together and eliminate play. I the exact same symptoms as you in another application until the axle nut was torqued.

 

Good info.

 

Also worth mentioning, make sure the retaining ring is put back (replaced?) that holds the bearing in the toe control hub. You may also want to replace the axle nut.

 

Glad to hear that you fixed the problem without any major issues. Here is a picture of the damaged hub as promised, sorry for the delay. Notice the lip at the edge of the hub shaft were the red line is and notice the length of the shaft against the white background were the blue line is. That grove and the lip are just over 1 mm deep.

 

What type of bearing does that take? Not the same as the fc right? Looks huge.

 

This hub is off of a 95 Avalon (front). This thing had actually cracked the steering knuckle because it jammed the bearing into its housing.