I have only had my LS a couple of weeks and even on the test drive I heard the LF bearing making noise. The dealer I bought the car from wouldn't do anything about it, so I hit the internet, including this thread. I have the tools and do a lot of my own work and this job looks pretty straight forward. I'll let you know later today...

So thanks to the OPs for posting.

I found a great place to get the bearings and ordered mine from them. I got a pair with free shipping and they hit my door in about 3 days.

Here is the link:

http://www.am-autoparts.com/2006/Lex...63/364723.html

 

Having just completed this work on my front right bearing, I wanted to say thanks to the original poster and those who provided additional tips. I also wanted to give back and offer a few items:
1. You know the bearing is going bad when a sound is coming from the car which increases in volume as you increase in speed. I initially thought it was a wheel out of balance - but there was no steering wheel shake. I was able to isolate after turning the steering wheel slightly to the right while driving over 55 mph in a straight line. The sound went away as there was more load on the working left bearing. I read this elsewhere as a test and it worked superbly. You can also "hear" grinding and other sounds if you simply jack up the wheel and spin it. You may hear some small brake rub, but any underlying grumble is a bad bearing.
2. My car is 12 years old with 90k miles. So the bearing assembly was difficult to remove. I ended up removing the whole steering knuckle and taking it to a friend who was able to extract the bearing assembly using an air chisel. When reassembling, I replaced the weird nut and clip at the top of the knuckle. I did put some white lithium grease at the surfaces where the knuckle and the upper suspension arm meet. The bottom bolts holding the knuckle in place had no corrosion at all.
3. The four bolts holding the bearing assembly appeared corroded on the outside so I replaced those.
4. When putting the brake disc and caliper back on, it was helpful to use a lugnut or two to temporarily hold the disc in place while reinstalling the caliper. As is discussed many times in the forum, I did replace the caliper bolts. Then once the caliper is on, remove the lugnuts and proceed to reinstall the wheel.
5. Disassembly would not have been possible without the breaker bar.

Tools that helped: 1/2" drive breaker bar, 1/2" drive torque wrench, 1/2" drive metric sockets (9mm - 19mm). and a puller (Pitman arm puller kit I borrowed from Advance Auto - this helped to free the top of the steering knuckle from the bolt in the upper suspension arm.
Parts: New OEM bearing/hub assembly, new bolts for assembly to attach to steering knuckle, new clip and nut to attach steering knuckle to upper suspension arm, 2 caliper bolts, (all from Sewell Lexus)
Supplies: white lithium grease, brake cleaner, some sort of bucket or box to rest the caliper on, and of course gloves to keep your hands clean.

All in all, I think a DIYer can definitely do this work and save on labor.

 

I have just replaced both front bearing hubs on my 2005 LS430 by Lexus dealer. Wobbling sound on front passenger side is gone. The left one was ok but I wanted to replace in stereo.

I will send those bearings to Lexus for inspection. My LS430 has only 51000mls on the clock so its the same disappointing story as on any other users LS430. The original bearing hubs are made by NSK. I think they cannot stand the large 18" European suspension/wheels. Lexus continues to sell the same part which I think is not fair.

My idea was to replace the hubs by another leading Japanese manufacturer when these NSK bearings do last so short. So I used KYOTO bearings. Price was -50% off Lexus' list price. Still expensive, but different. I do hope they are NOT made by NSK and being relabeled.

PS: the new KYOTO bearings turn lighter and nicer and more confident than the drivers side original NSK which is still ok (I suppose). Its very stiff. The passengers side bearing give you a scratching sound when you turn it by hand.

 

Would like to know if it is the same procedure for the rear bearing.


thanks

 

Sure wish I had seen this post before. Very nice write-up.

Thanks,

 

Hello JimSGX. I am new to this forum, but would definitely like to understand how to get the front wheel bearing/hub assembly from Sewell for less than $300. I went to the Sewell web site and found 2 different Lexus dealerships, and sent an EMAIL message requesting a quote on the part. I have not heard anything after a week. Is there anyone in particular who gives Club Lexus members a discount?

Thanks for your help.

 

I just purchased a pair of wheel bearing/hubs on Ebay from Detroit Axle shipped for $120 for the pair. Search for them on Ebay and you will find them, good people to deal with also.

 

Amazing price on a pair of wheel bearing hubs. Has anyone have any experience with Detroit Axle's hubs?

I have a rumbling noise coming from the front left going 5-30 mph on my 04 UL? Could the cause be the wheel bearing hub?

Update: I did the spinning wheel test and no noise beside brakes. Also did left/right turn tests and those rumbling noise persisted during turns. I think my front left air shock might be faulty. Not going to worry about that for now

 

^^^I have the same concern. My noise only occurs when I press the brakes. I have all new pads and rotors (drilled/slotted). Hub bearing maybe?

 

I am thinking the same part from Aitozone is 118..0 with a 20 percent of discount thru the maiul, today(discounts vary). Both part numbers have 3550 in the part number Autozone/Sewell , coincidence or is that how they are labeled to correspond to one another. It is a Timken bearing.

 

Just got the bad news my front left bearing needs to be replaced, can anyone comment on the Timken bearing quality, because they are significantly cheaper then OEM even with discount? They seem to be a very large brand, also is it ok to mix bearings in the front, non-oem and oem?

 

I would guess that the price of the bearing is almost an insignificant cost of having the bearing replaced. I personally would not use non-OEM parts on my car, as I don't think it's a good place to be cutting costs in the long run.

 

Has anyone else replaced their front wheel bearings only to have them fail again within 20,000 miles? I've replaced the front wheel bearings twice and I can hear the beginings of another failure coming on. These are Lexus parts from a Lexus dealer. They are sealed bearings so I shouldn't have to pack them with grease...Right? I've become an expert at replacing these darn things, but it is getting annoying. The originals went a 100K before needing replacement. The new ones can't come close to that (rears seem to be doing fine). I don't hit much in terms of pot holes so what gives?

 

Are you running an aftermarket suspension or wheels?

 

NOPE. Bone stock.