New lower ball joints, now this...

Replaced the lower ball joints on the Tundra this morning. I didn’t know when or if they’d previously been replaced, so for some piece of mind, I replaced them. Everything was working just fine when I took it apart apart. Now back together and torqued down, there is a cyclic wer wer wer. It’s hard to explain. It doesn’t sound like something is grinding, but it kind of does. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Check the dust shields behind the brake discs. Perhaps one is rubbing on the disc? Make sure the wheels are tight/torqued.

 

Is it from both sides? Wheel bearings have any play?

 

90% chance its the rotors rubbing the backing plates. theyre not hard to bend when doing the ball joints, just bent them back away from the rotors and see if the noise is gone

 

I’d bet a lot of money this it the problem. I recall getting into them a bit when torquing down the ball joint retaining bolts. I’ve got a lot going on today, so it’ll be a bit before I can confirm. Thanks, though.

 

Dust shields weren’t it. I’ve never paid too much attention but just noticed this. Seems like the rotors should be centered on the studs? Should they even be able to be off center by as much as they are. I couldn’t easily center them and didn’t. Put the wheel back on after checking and messing with the dust shield and the sound is still there. Was going to take a dead blow hammer to the rotor to get it centered and see if the at fixes the problem. Anything else I should be really looking at?

 

that picture i dont see anything wrong with the rotor. they dont sit perfectly center unless you get them there. but once you remove the wheel its going to move a little bit.. the wheel is what holds it tight to the hub

 

I don’t know why doing the lower ball joints would do anything to the brakes, but maybe they are the issue. It’s definitely no loose there, with the wheel off. I can spin the axle, but the rotor isn’t loose. The brake has it clamped a bit.

 

Here’s a quick vid of it with the wheel off. Let me know what you think.

 

that honestly sounds like the brake pads dragging

 

Jacked it up, spun the wheels and took it for a quick drive. I have to say, the spinning of the wheels doesn’t sounds real remarkable. I’m pretty sure you can hear the sound in the driving portion. Let me know what you think.

 

It sounds like pads rubbing rotors when you spin it by hand, but that thump thump thump while driving doesn't sound the same. Check your tires to be sure nothing is stuck in the treads. Is the truck shaking at all?

 

the noise while driving sounds like wheel bearing or tire noise. Did you mess with the CV axle at all?

 

I Wouldn’t say it’s a shake as much as it’s a pulse. I can feel it pulsing while driving, but it’s not felt in the steering wheel. Since all this came about, I haven’t driven it out of town at speeds any more than 30mph, so I don’t know what it does at high speed.

 

I didn’t mess with the CV’s at all. Also, with the tire off the ground, there’s no play in the yaw or roll.

 

How is the upper ball joint? Double check the mounting bolts of the lower ball joint? Tie rod end. I'd remove the tire again, and remove the caliper and remove the rotor and double check all again. Move that tire to another spot to see if the sound changes or stops also.

 

Just watched a video on new bearings and that looks like a PITA. It’s unfortunate these rigs don’t have unit bearings. My wife’s Cadi has them and they’re such an easy job to replace.

 

start with the easy step first. rotate the tire on that side to the opposite side rear. see if the sound follows. if not, its in the suspension a thunk like that is something like a bearing or brake related. balljoiunts and what not would be more of a clunk issue

 

Would be good to take the caliper off to eliminate pad drag in the evaluation...

 

Pop the brake pads out and spin it. That will tell you if its the pads or not.

 

Jacked it up again and gave the wheel a tug and it’s definitely the wheel bearing and I’m not happy about it. Damn these pressed in bearings. Gonna have to farm this job out.

 

eh get the parts, pull spindle off, and have a machine shop do the pressing. its not too terrible to have done and should be less than 100 in labor that way, unless you dont have means to do that

 

I did what Empty said. Bought new bearings from Toyota, pulled my spindles and went looking for a shop to do the press work. A shop around the corner charged $80 each which seemed high to me but I had no other way to get it done. Toyota wouldn't touch my truck and wouldn't let me bring in loose spindles.

Its not too bad.

 

What's everyone's experience with this? I've replaced a unit bearing on my Cadi and only did the one side that was bad. That was years ago and haven't had any problem with the one I didn't replace. What do people recommend? Replace both or just the bad one?

 

You can buy a hub, it will come in with a new bearing, always make sure by calling and double checking... If its not broke, don't fix, but that's my .02cents

 

If you plan to keep it for awhile, just do both IMO. You'll already be pulling the hubs and finding a machine shop, so there wont be an easier time than now...

 

It would be nice if a shop charged 20 bucks per side, but that's just not the case. For the 160 it will cost to swap those bearings out, it's well worth it. Now, what I would do is buy a Harbor Freight press for 160 bucks and then do it my self, and I'd have the tool to do something else down the road, but that's just me...

 

Found this at Northern Tool. You would be money ahead! Heck, I might just pick one up...

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/t...MIxNXZr-n96wIVE7bICh1_PArHEAQYASABEgJB3_D_BwE

 

No need to buy a hub. The bearing has to be pressed in, then the hub pressed in separately. He isn't saving labor or parts that way.

The part that baffled me when I was in need was that EVERY other Toyota truck seemed to have a hub assembly you could unbolt with bearings and all included. Just another way first gens got the bastard treatment.

@Baller doing the one side or doing both is your choice. In my case both sided were screaming whenever I took a turn at speed, both had to go. The way I see it I got 16 years put of the originals, doesn't hurt the wallet as bad looking at it that way.

As far as buying the harbor freight press, you still need a jig to set the spindle into and adapters to press the parts with. I've read of a few guys on TS going that route and finding that the 20 ton is not strong enough. I've done a lot of work on my truck but replacing these bearings is one of the only jobs I farmed out, up there with window tint and my rear diff swap because that stuff is black magic.