Sorry to tell you this, but you changed the wrong bearing. That noise is a bad wheel bearing, had the same one and fixed it with replacement.

When you are on the highway, find out if the noise is more prevalent when you are turning left or right. If the noise gets louder when turning left, the bearing on the right side is bad, and vice versa.

Mine was bad in the back of the car. I could put my hand on the back seat while driving and feel vibration. Have someone drive your car and you get in the back seat and see if you can feel it. If you hit any big potholes or slammed the wheel into a curb, the back bearings are more likely to go bad.

 

Ok so when I turn to the right the sound does get louder. So I figured it was my right bearing that needed to get replaced. But what you're saying is that I should've replaced the left one?

 

Yep. You change the bearing of the opposite sound direction. Left turn makes noise, change right bearing. Right turn makes noise change left bearing.

 

If you think of it, you are paying more weight on the opposite side of your turn direction, therefore the bad bearing screams.

 

Hey guys so I am the original poster of the thread, it looks like it has been helpful and some others have added some great tips to it. I ended up about a year and a half later hearing a similar noise thinking my other wheel bearings went bad and replaced the other 3. That did don't get rid of the noise and I was worried the rear diff bearings were bad. I had checked the tires initially and thought they were ok but it actually turned out to be a tire issue. So I would just double/triple check the tires.

 

Didnt see a response on the aftermarket wheel bearing/hub assembly quality. Anyone who used a non OEM unit that would like to chime in and tell everyone their experience? Doesnt sound like the OEM is all that great either by the number of people who have replaced theirs with OEM and had them fail again. Im looking at doing my fronts as I have the suspension apart. But $300 a piece for the OEM Toyota/Lexus part is a big pill to swallow. If not Ill just skip it as mine are not giving any problems.

 

The after-market PAIR of wheel bearings (link above) for $114 with "free shipping" and "2-year warranty" sounds like it's too good to be true, and is likely Chinese junk. The warranty specifically excludes shipping, so if they fail prematurely, you're without the wheel bearings and you pay for shipping (possibly both ways if they require return of old bearing as proof), not to mention the hassle of replacing again. If you're looking for quality reasonably-priced after-market bearings, consider a known U.S. manufacturer like Detroit Axle. $108 ea. This is what I intend to use next time I replace a bearing.

 

I purchased 2 new Front Hubs from Detroit Axle. Yes they are cheap BUT you will be rolling the dice. I had one of them fail after 3 months on the car, the other one is still fine 1.5 years after installed. I ended up purchasing a backup OEM one (Koyo) just in case the other one ever fails. Maybe I just got a bad one from Detroit Axle that failed prematurely.....at the end of the day, I think I'll just spend a little more time sourcing OEM parts online for cheaper price.

 

When you say "the other one is still fine 1.5 years after installed," how many miles is 1.5 years?

My '01 was a CPO car. An original front wheel bearing failed at about 25K miles (5K miles after my purchase). Lexus dealer installed a new bearing under warranty. That new bearing failed almost immediately. The dealer then replaced that one as well saying: "we see that happen occasionally." Others have had OE bearings fail prematurely too. You can spend $300 for an OE bearing and have it fail prematurely, or try to find a good after-market bearing manufacturer and save a few $$. Either way there's risk of the unknown: how long will the bearing last.

 

I had to do my brakes and figured I'd replace the hub at the same time...I'd hit a pothole that blew the tire, so I was pretty sure of which one that needed changing ...thanks to Rowdiggity for the great write-up, it really helped; I had all four corners upgraded to Brembo pads, and swapped out the hub in a total of 1.5 hours. It's been said before and can't be stressed enough, use PB Blaster...I hit all of the bolts that needed to be removed with PBB about 2 days prior to the job, and they came out very easily...the longer you give PBB to penetrate, the easier the removal will be. Hub popped out very easily as well, but I was using a 10lb UAT (hammer) to cut to the chase...5 good whacks on the back of the old hub, and it was out...again, thanks for the info

 

What manufacturer of bearing did you choose?

 

Koyo is a good brand, they make OEM parts for many manufacturers. i replaced my rear bearing with a koyo one.

 

I went with Beck/Arnley ($155 to the door, free 2 day shipping) based on it being American made...I realize that our cars are in fact, not American made, but when I talked to a couple of Lex-Techs I know, they said it was a solid piece..they also told me that they've had to re-do Lexus branded hubs after about 5K in more than a few instances, so it's not always a 'you get what you pay for' kinda thing. If the Beck/Arnley fails, I'll go with a Koyo or Timken, but I've put it through some paces and while it's only been a day or so, so far so good.

 

Hello,

Does anyone have the part numbers for these, where to order OEM, and how much they cost?

I tried to go to Sewell Lexus, but apparently they are no longer selling parts and not accepting new accounts?

 

i use lexus of pembroke pines from Florida, they have the best pricing around and they are pretty quick.

front 4355050011 - $291.56 before shipping
rear 4241050010 - $252.72 before shipping

i purchased my rear koyo bearing for $198 off eBay.