I hammered with a sledge for 4 + hours on the rear and it came out. The front was even more stubborn. But its easy to remove the spindle and take it to a shop to be pressed out. Im going to bring it to a shop tomorrow before throwing more wheel bearings at it.

 

I hammered with a sledge for 4 + hours on the rear and it came out. The front was even more stubborn. But its easy to remove the spindle and take it to a shop to be pressed out. Im going to bring it to a shop tomorrow before throwing more wheel bearings at it.

 

Thanks for the how to. I ended up replacing my driver side last night. So easy! Much easier than my Supra that required the knuckle be removed and bearing pressed in.

Lexus quoted $500.00 to do it and I paid RockAuto $234.00 for the Timken part. Took me roughly an hour or so and while I was in there I noticed my brake pads are getting then. Next project!

Steve K.

 

I purchased the Koyo Hub on line (OEM Hub) and had my Infiniti dealer dealer install it. Total cost. $500. No more annoying noise. Now I just have to wait for the other side to start becoming problematic! Never ending with these old cars.

 

Well I tried replacing both spindles. As shared previously getting them out was a bear. I finally gave up on hammering after 2 hours. I tried to remove the spindle but my luck one of the retaining nuts was not going to budge. I even tried hammering the back of the hub - no go. I rarely use an air chisel but decided to give it a try with a fat blade. After a while it budged and let loose. The corrosion was obvious - after cleaning it up reassembled and went on to the other side. One side took 3 hours and the other less than 1. I recommend the air chisel however it will require you to straighten out the dust shield afterward so it will not rub.

 

Just replaced the left front hub on one of my '06s at 112K miles. (Years ago I replaced the front bearings on my '01.) For those who don't have air tools, and who don't want to remove the spindle and take it to a shop to have the old bearing pressed out ... I used a plumber's torch (Benzene) and heated the bearing around the spindle where the bearing squeezes into the spindle. Used PB Blaster and hammering then was much easier and the bearing released more quickly.

Also, it's not just corrosion that makes the bearing so difficult to remove. There was a white substance around the edge of the spindle/bearing surface which I suspect is some type of adhesive that is applied at the factory.

From my experience, I believe that the wheel bearings take more punishment when 18" (or more) wheels are mounted. My '01 (which originally had 16" wheels that I changed to 17" stock wheels) has nearly 300K miles now and the bearings have only been changed once. This in a winter pothole location of the country.

 

I did the same, got the Timken brand bearing hub from RockAuto. The picture on RockAuto's web site showed a Koyo branded Wheel Speed sensor. However, the actual part had no brand on it all, but I put it on anyway because the Timken brand part had highest satisfaction ratings. Now there is no noise coming from the passenger side front bearing, so I am happy.
BTW, I found a good way to get the old hub out of the steering knuckle. After soaking it with Liquid Wrench and hammering for a while, I wasn't getting any progress, so I took 3 small old flat head screw drivers and lightly hammered them in a tiny bit between the splash plate and the knuckle at various locations around the circumference. Then, one tap with a little hand held sledge and the old hub popped right out like it wasn't even stuck. I know the conventional wisdom is not to do it this way but there was really no observable damage to the steering knuckle. Also, before I installed the new hub assembly I cleaned up the knuckle mating surface with brake cleaner, a wire brush, steel wool and wiped on a layer of anti-seize compound on the mating surfaces.

 

For anyone having problems with removing the front hubs: After trying almost every single hammer in my shop, I now use a piece of 12mm all-thread and place a nut behind the hub. That way you can jack the bearing out in a few minutes. Recently Astro Pneumatic introduced their "last chance" hub removal bolt kits, which are essentially the same thing.

 

Thanks for the great write-up,
and for all the excellent follow ups.

Did front passenger hub on my
2005 LS430 with 175,000 miles.
Spindle came out with about
six good efforts of a five pound
sliding puller (loaner from auto
parts store) & penetrating oil.

To provide best access to back side
of steering knuckle, 4 bolts, etc.,
turn the steering wheel to its
left and right stops,

 

My driver front wheel bearing sounds grumbly, so I jacked it up and sure enough, it rumbles when turning by hand. I wasn’t able to feel anything come through the spring (AMD’s trick), but there’s definitely non-brake speed-dependent noise. I don’t have any play side-to-side or top/bottom yet, but ordered a Schaeffler replacement wheel bearing after some research.

The ABS sensor shows KOYO, which is a good sign, and it was 1/3rd the price of OEM so I thought I’d take a chance.

I’ll report back on Schaeffler quality/install when I do the job in the next few weeks.

 

Are you replacing just the bearing or are you talking about the hub. It takes about as long as pulling tire off and back on...very easy.

 

I just bought a Schaeffler hub from Rockauto and sad to report it is not made with KOYO parts.
i started shopping right when the tariff talks were materializing and both Amayama and Impex seemed to be scrambling around with the uncertainty.
I put in a request through Amayama and they responded a couple days later the OE Toyota hub was currently unavailable. Impex was showing mixed signals with shipping
rates so I took the chance on a Schaeffler as well. I was of course disappointed when it arrived but it does seem to be a well made part.
We’ll see what happens down the road…

Note- I did not remove the wheel speed sensor to see the bearing manufacturer, I assumed if the sensor isn’t KOYO the bearing wouldn’t be either on a part made in China.

 

Caliper and rotor have to come off which is not a big deal but if the hub is seized at all inside the carrier, as it will be on a 20+ yo car, you’re not going to coax it out with a wink and a smile.
I had to knock the lug nut studs out and employ the bolt with a stacked nut trick. It took a while…

 

Did same trick with mine but once force was on hub used hammer and broke loose right away. I was surprised about how easy the process was and attribute it to watching you tube videos.

 

I'm replacing the entire hub, not just the bearing (though if it's not damaged from removal, I'll keep it and investigate just a bearing replacement at a local shop if the Schaeffler fails).

Sad to hear the Schaeffler part doesn't have KOYO sensors. Schaeffler/*** have a reasonable reputation, and I know a few teams that use them on 24 Hours of Lemons cars with no abnormal failures.

When I was looking at the hub, I did spray the back with PB Blaster and will hit it a few more times before trying. If I run into issues, hopefully the stacked bolt trick will work to force it off. I don't drive my LS much in winter and almost never when there's salt on the roads. While mine was titled in Indiana, the GPS addresses and underbody condition lead me to believe it likely wintered in Southern states more than the salt belt thankfully.

One of the least-pleasant repairs I've ever completed was replacing a front hub assembly along with a pad/rotor job on a friend's severely-neglected 2004 Prius. He's a teacher and had some large bills from dealing with his father's cancer care so I kept it rolling for a while. While persuading the hub out of the knuckle about 6 hours into a 2 hour "easy" job, I wasn't paying attention and somehow the caliper piston fell out, draining brake fluid all over me and necessitating a front caliper replacement as a rebuild was beyond my skillset. Misery loves company!