Front diff wheel bearing replacement, $1k?!?!

[Rotorgeek]

I just got back from my tire shop having my tires rotated and balanced. "Oh and can you check this noise out?" It sounded like I had larger lug tire on the front. After the basics were done the mechanic took me out to the bay and showed me the axel in question and said there should be little to no play in the connection, he preceded to pull on it and it gave what I would estimate 1/8 - 1/16" of play. He then told me this was bad and said it could be upwards of $1,000 IF the whole differential didn't need replacing. I then went to the passenger side to see what that was like. It had about 1/2 as much play. For a second opinion I took it to the dealer who can't even look at it today, appointments for work are almost 2 weeks out.

Now this shop is a well known tire store which I love for tire stuff, but not likely some place I would have do this level of work. I do have some experience wrenching on cars, basically enough to know this is not in my comfort zone to try to do at home without real help, but is this really a thousand dollar job? How hard is something like to do? Are there super specialty tools involved?

Pertinent info:
2006 Tacoma 4x4
Stock suspension and engine.
69k miles (so to old and over miles for factory drivetrain warrantee)
Is it to late to find an extended warrantee?

 

[madrock05]

Front or rear? And you will need a shop press to press the new bearing into the wheel hub.
Front bearings are $70 at autozone.

 

[Rotorgeek]

Front or rear? And you will need a shop press to press the new bearing into the wheel hub.
Front bearings are $70 at autozone.

Front end and this is not the problem I am seeing a lot of on TW. This seems t be the diff side bearing (out put shaft?) not the wheel side.

 

[madrock05]

There is only the cv between the front diff and the wheel. Not any bearing I know of.

 

[Rotorgeek]

There is only the cv between the front diff and the wheel. Not any bearing I know of.

Sorry, like I said I know just about enough to break things real good. The problem appears to be right where the shaft comes out of the front diff.

Edit: I'll go try to get a pic.

 

[madrock05]

Could be the cv is bad. That's not to hard. Do you have access to a lift?

 

[soonenough]

I'm not clear on whether you're saying this is the wheel bearing, or the needle bearing in the front diff. If it's the wheel bearing, it's not what I would call an easy job, but it's certainly do-able for someone who's fairly mechanically inclined. You will need access to a 20+ ton press to get the hubs out of the old bearings and into the new ones (I had a 20-ton and wasn't able to get them out; a local automotive machine shop was able to get them out with a 30-ton). Your best bet is to find a machine shop or quality automotive shop that does engines / axles / transmissions / etc, and they should be able to do the press work for you. I'd also advise that before installing the new wheel bearings, you disassemble them, clean out all of the 'grease' that they come with, and replace it with a quality wheel bearing grease.

Here's a write-up detailing most of the process: http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=168601 I think Tacoma Magazine turned this into an article in one of the earlier issues.

***EDIT: just saw you posted the answer to my initial question a few minutes before I posted this reply...disregard my original post as it pertains to the wheel bearing not the needle bearing in the diff. If you do have to replace the needle bearing in the front diff, East Coast Gear Supply makes a replacement bushing that will take a bunch of slop out of the fit between the CV and the front diff, and is supposedly designed to last the life of the vehicle. Lots of info on TacomaWorld and ECGS's website:
http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8536125-toyota-8-clamshell-bushing-and-tool.html
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...nt-differential-bearing-vibration-thread.html

 

[Rotorgeek]

I would have tried to get more/better pics but it has finally started to rain.

There is no apparent leak, and I don't even know for sure if this is really the problem (see first post about the shop and my skills) but it seems to match the symptoms others report on the forums.

Soonenough: I have a fairly decent set of tools but no lifts, presses or gear/pulley pullers.

 

[Flagster]

If you are just talking about the lateral play...from what I have read this is normal...
There are threads on TTORA and Tacomaworld about this...I yanked on mine about a month ago and probably have about 1/8" inch of play

 

[Kaisen]

I wouldn't give much credibility to what a tire shop tell you about mechanicals. If they've alerted you to a potential problem, great, just bring it to a real mechanic that you trust

It's pretty difficult to make a front differential failure sound like a wheel bearing (i.e. "larger lug on front tire").

You can check it out when driving. If you 'load' the tire by turning one direction or another does it get louder, or fainter (or go away)?? Does it growl?

Or does it get louder or fainter when you roll on or off the throttle?? Or better/worse when in 4x4 or not?

From your initial description, it sounds like a wheel bearing. At 69K miles it shouldn't be a carrier bearing in the diff, unless you contaminated the diff fluid with a water crossing or some other forced debris. Or really side-loaded the diff by putting a lot of force on that side, like slamming a curb, rock crawling and taking a hard side hit. Even then, it's unlikely.

I'd be willing to bet it's a wheel bearing, unless you're not telling us something important about how/where the noise emanates

 

[Stone_Blue]

I agree...If he's telling you its "wheel bearings", yet in the same sentence he's talking about possibly replacing the whole front diff, DEFINATELY tell him "No Thanx!" and take it to someone who actually knows what they are talking about.

There ARE ways to replace the needle bearing without opening up the clamshell, but it's kind of advanced for the average backyard mechanic. As far as tools, you would need everything to drop the diff out, separate the intermediate shaft/4WD actuator, a clawed bearing puller, and a BIG C-clamp and the appropriate sized bearing cups. Could be done in an a day.
If you're not comfortable with basically pulling your whole front end apart, take it to a GOOD mechanic....Maybe even a transmission shop, as they might need to open the diff and pull the carrier...Might be a good time to have the diff bearings and tooth pattern checked out if they do open it up, and tranny shops usually know diffs.

And it seems to me I see an awful lot of this issue with the needle bearings in this generation of the 7.5" front diff. I had this issue with my '99 Taco, to the point where the seal was leaking. It was just the needle bearing that was worn...carrier bearings, pinion, ring gear, all checked out OK. I guess I caught it in time...And MY diff seal was leaking, and I took my sweet time addressing the issue...Unless yours has been going like this a LONG time, your diff is probably OK except for the needle bearing.

Then I hear lots of 1st & 2nd Gen Tacos have this same issue...Then I see it posted a lot on the 1st Gen Tundras (which have the same diff).
It ALWAYS seems to be the driver's side, and never the passenger side. The passenger side of course has the intermediate shaft and bearings, so the CV end isnt feeding directly into the carrier, which is what the drivers side does. Bad design. I'm not sure if Toyota actually designed this diff, or not...I've heard that Dana was contracted to do the Taco frames and front suspension...Not sure if that included the diff?...Either way, yeah, bad design.

 

[Gregster]

Just do this and get it over with; its really no big deal to replace it yourself and its not expensive either:

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...nt-differential-bearing-vibration-thread.html

I replaced my drivers side needle bearing with the ECGS bushing last summer in my driveway in a couple hours.