Herm

1993 LS 400 90k miles - obvious noise from drivers side front wheel bearing. Heard on road so I jacked up front and had someone sit in car as I spun tires. Both of us heard noise from drivers side, passengers side was quiet. I'm a pretty good home mechanic, have done wheel bearings but not on Lexus yet. Any tricks to doing 93 LS400 ? Can I improvise my way around the special tools in the manual ? The manual looks pretty good, any problems with it ? Anything else I should replace while doing the job , besides the obvious seals, etc. Thanks for any thoughts - REGARDS Herm

VVT-i

You will need hydralic press to remove and replace the bearing. I don't recommend to use the hammer to hammer it out or in.

Herm

Thanks VVT-i !! My friend has a hydraulic press so I will use it ! I'll post how the job goes to help others who may need to do it. Any special recommendations on grease or is general wheel bearing grease good? Is it common to have a bearing fail at what I consider a (low mileage 90k) ?? - REGARDS Herm

damon

I recently changed a front bearing in my 94.

Let me correct that , I recently had my mechanic change the front left bearing in my 94. The press is an absolute necessity , but he also had all kinds of odd fittings & pieces that were used in conjunction with the press that I can't imagine all but the most ardent of home mechanics would have access to.

I saw the whole process & I would want no part of it , but your mileage may vary. It took him an 1 hour & 30 minutes easy. Odd shaped suspensions pieces complicate the removal.

BTW: I used a Federal-Mogul brand bearing, sorry but I do not have the #. It was $40.00

damon

parula

Herm, yea - what's with a Lexus wheel bearing going at 90k??

See if it's dry when they have it apart.

I haven't noticed any routine maintenance schedules for wheel bearings, have you? My rear wheels may need to be lubed?

Herm

Removed the steering knuckle - not too bad a job. But a surprise-play in lower ball joint. I presume it should feel tight. Is this common on a 1993 LS400 with 90 k miles? Anyone have a comment on if grease needs to be added to the new wheel bearing ? Thanks - Herm

VVT-i

Yes Herm, it's comon on all lower ball joints hard to remove from the steering tie rod end on all cars. You can get the remover from the auto parts store or you can use the old fashion way with the hammer, but you have to be real careful.
Just add small amount of grease inside the knuckle. I alway clean it up real good to get all the rust and dirt out before press the new wheel bearing in.

Herm

VVT-i Thanks for the info, So far so good but I ran into something during reassembly that does not seem to make sense. The Lexus service manual says to press on the inner race then add the speed sensor ring and nut. What I don't understand is how far to press in the inner race - which seems to me would determine bearing preload.

It does not seem possible to press far enough for the inner and outer races to meet so the question is how far/hard to press. Could the torquing of the nut preload the bearing? I do not see how that would work if the races were already pressed hard against the bearing

Really need help here, appreciate any advice you can offer ! REGARDS Herm 1993 LS400 90k miles

Lvangundy

Bering was an explorer who sailed the Bering strait.

VVT-i

Herm, this is a touch question to answer on line. I alway press the bearing into the knuckle until it's stopped and a couple more presses. Then I make sure I've see the groove for the snap ring and the I turn the knuckle upside down and used the old wheel bearing race on top of the hub( I don't know this is understandable or clear for you), this way I don't press/put pressure on to the studs.
Then I press the inner bearing in with the old inner bearing on top of it, this way I don't damage the new bearing or put too much pressure on the new bearing. This is something you will have to use comon sense and mechanical knolwedge to get the job done. I hope this help.

Herm

VVT-i Thanks for the info, it will help - I understand how you are using the old parts as sort of spacers to help with pressing in the new bearing. The question I still have is how hard to press on the inner race, which is the last item to be pressed in. It seems to me that the amount of pressure would determine bearing preload. By this I mean that if you press the inner race in too hard the bearing would be too tight and may fail. Perhaps the way to do it is just to press the inner race in enough to keep the ***** from falling out then let the tightening of the nut to the specified 147 ft lb determin the bearing preload. That is presuming the nut would pull in the inner race. Any thoughts - does this sound reasonable ? THANKS, Herm

VVT-i

You will have to press the inner race the same way you did to the outter race, but upside down. I used the old outter race, turn the hub upside down.
Then, position the inner race on to the hub and use the old inner race put it on top of the new inner race and press it while you rotate the knuckle from left to right and make sure it smooth. This is fixed wheel bearing, so you don't need to set the pre-loaded. I mean when it go in, there's no way for the bearing to comes out.
The pre-load is used on the nut-type wheel bearing, which you can turn the nut until it snug and give it a 1/4 of a turn and then loosing it up. But with this type of bearing on your LS, no way you can do the same thing.
Herm, check your PM.

Herm

With help from VVT-i I think I have it figured out - The inner and outer race meet (against each other) inside the bearing - this is what sets bearing clearance. I was wrongly concerned that clearance would be set by how hard they are pushed together. I'll post when I finish the job . Herm

Herm

Good News -with advice from VVT-i and others at ClubLexus I was able to replace the front wheel bearing and lower ball joints - the difference is amazing !! Used a 12 ton shop press that my friend had (available from Harbor Freight mail order for about $100). Using the old bearing to press in the new one as VVT-i suggested really helped, along with a big socket or two. Thanks to all - Herm

wza

Someone crashed into my car and they had to replace the bearing in one of the rear wheels... Luckily that was under warranty at that time cuz the lexus dealership wanted $2,000 for the replacement.