2.5 Gen Rear Wheel Bearing Failing

My dad has a 2015 Tundra Limited Crewmax 4WD. It’s started to make that humming noise and upon lifting the rear axle and spinning the wheel, I could hear the tell tale grinding of a failing bearing. However, I’m stumped to find any info on replacing it. A local reputable driveline shop said I don’t have to pull the whole axle assembly and press out a million parts like on Gen. 2 and 1’s. They also sell the hub and bearing combo’s just like the front. Also, rare because it’s only got 105,000 miles. Never had a Toyota bearing fail with less than 200K miles.

Anyone have any experience with this?

 

I have... Kind of. My 2013 wasn't the wheel bearing, my Em brake was locked up and worn down to the metal. Check that first and good luck.

 

Check your breather on the rear diff and make sure it spins freely. They get gunked up and stop venting. That allows pressure to buildup, forcing the gear oil into the bearing. The gear oil washes the bearing grease out and the bearing fails from insufficient lubrication. That’s one possible failure cause, but sometimes they just wear out. That being said, the driveline shop is incorrect. You still have to pull the axle and press (or cut) the old bearing off and press the new one on. The shop may have been referring to the front wheel bearing which no longer requires pressing.

 

Just to clarify, I’m looking to see if anyone has actually replaced a rear bearing on a 2.5 gen.

 

This may help some.

 

I have replaced them on my old Gen 2 twice, which uses the same axle as a Gen 2.5. You have to pull the axles, which isn't too hard if you've done that sort of work. It does not require a slid hammer to pull the axles. The Toyota shop manual says to use their special tool to remove and press the new bearing on the axle shaft. I decided to take the axles to my Toyota dealer and they pressed the new bearing on for me for at a reasonable price.

Toyota dealers sell a kit with the bearings, backing plates, seals and all other parts required to do the job.

FWIW, the only RWD vehicle I have ever had with a bad rear bearing was my Tundra. It was a very good truck, but I was not impressed with the longevity of the rear bearings. Heck even my junk 8.5" GM axle in my old Chev truck went 250K with no rear bearing failure.

 

I’m due for this repair myself. Found complete axles for $1000 shipped with bearings and new seals ect.. what did the shop charge you to press new bearings on and all ?

 

I think they charged 2 hours labor. There was no book time, the service manager just said that is what they'd charge and I agreed to it. I know it cost me less than $1000 for parts and labor two do both axles.

I'd suggest calling your dealer service department and see what they'd charge. Of note, I also bought the parts from the dealer. I am not sure they would have done the job had I bought the parts elsewhere.

Are the assembled axles aftermarket? I know Doorman makes some, but doubt they'd be as good as OEM Toyota. That said, swapping axles would make it a fairly easy and quick job.

 

Yeah that they are indeed Dorman. I will call tomororw see what they can do if I order all through them. If it’s close $$ amount wise I’ll just order dorman. But I’ll have to see what the warranty is if any at ALL!
Thanks for the idea