Proper rear bearing setup???

Bearings. Not much to see. The difference is in the feel and looseness. The SKF is under the box and has brown seals. Says "NACHI Japan" on it.

Toyota seal/front:

SKF seal/front: (Note the face of it is much thinner than the Toyota seal.)

Toyota seal/back:

SKF seal/back:

 

I've watched the Timmy Toolman video as well, and it does seem to be a pain to replace the bearings and seals to ensure no future leaks. But a poster, BMF, did a detailed thread which did not seem to follow Timmy's advice and has not reported any leakages so who knows.

Bmf's old thread:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/rear-axle-seals-bearings.39306

 

I agree. I am not saying you are wrong, but they may be counterfeit. I can't tell you how often people would clean up old parts (some did an amazing job!) and return them to the auto parts store I worked at. Some people even would use razors and heat guns to remove labels and move them over to old defective parts that they cleaned up. It was like a game to me. You had to really pay attention and inspect parts when people returned them. Most people I worked with just opened the top of the box, saw a part inside, and accepted the return. So I see why many people get away with swapping parts. I learned to identify certain behaviors too that let me know what they were up to. Like of someone wanted a ball joint, and I told them we have "junk-o-chinese brand" for $17 or Moog for $45. They would say give me both. Then come back in a day or two to return the "Moog" part to get back their $45. It would always be the $17 ball joint in the Moog box. I have especially encountered this a lot on Amazon parts as well as Amazon takes almost anything back. I have even got old used parts from Amazon where it was super obvious. Unfortunately I am sure the return girl working at Amazon knows nothing about parts. I think after all this, I am going to just go to buy a Toyota bearing. My local dealership is cool and will match any online price I find and have it there in 24 hours max.

 

Yup, they didnt press my bearings on right. No leaks so far.

 

How many miles since the repair? Have you pulled a drum recently to look for seepage, or just no puddle under the tire?

 

Bout 800 miles since then. I haven't pulled the drums, but have been checking the backing plate where it leaked before. I'm gonna pull the drums soon to check though.

 

So I just read a thread on Ih8mud, where some Toyota guys were talking about various Toyota's. One of the guys worked at the parts department at a Toyota dealership. He said the first gen Tundras came with Koyo bearings from the factory, and that the part number for those axle bearings have been superseded by a new part number which is a Timken bearing now. So since I already ordered the Timkens off Amazon, I will just wait until they show up, and take them down to my local dealer and compare the factory Toyota OEM bearing to it and see if they have the same markings. I'll take pictures. Oh also incase anyone was wondering, the Beck Arnley kit off Amazon is 100% a made in China bearing. Those just came in from Amazon as well and I checked them out of curiosity. I was crossing my fingers maybe they would be higher quality made in Taiwan bearings, but no luck. I guess if I have to I will order every bearing from every company until I find one that is not made in China.

 

Judging by the photo in your other thread, I don't see how the retaining rings are making any contact at all with the oil seal. Here's a pic of where the retainer ring should be located. My drawing sucks but I think you get the picture -- the 5mm indicated is the distance between the end of the polished axle surface, to the edge of the retainer ring.
Since the retainer ring is 10mm wide, you only have 5mm of variation one way or the other. If you go beyond that. the seal and retainer ring don't meet.

 

Koyo bearings are $84 each on Big Gurl.

High Dolla Service Shop said they like National.

 

Well I replaced axle seals twice on the right side. Don’t know why they leaked. Replaced bearings same time just to be sure.national, and the other bearing could be top quality, know way to be sure unless you put the bearings through a stress test and examine them.

 

I’d love to get down to the bottom of this ‘swirl sound’. Where is it emanating?

Does it cause major problems?

Probably not as I’ve had the swirl (or alternating wha wha wha between 35 and up mph) for years.

 

Now that I understand what sound you are hearing could be your rear end gears howling or the rear end pinion bearing making that noise .have a driveline shop check it out

 

It better not be. I just paid like $1,100 for east coast gear supply to build me a completely new 3rd member with a solid spacer and Detroit truetrac. It only has maybe 12k miles on it.

 

Most likely those pinion bearing/gears howling is not your problem AND very well could be my problem of which I’m in no hurry to fix as its been making noise for years and not gotten worse.

Sounds like you used a stethoscope to strongly identify the area near the wheel bearings so start there.

 

It sounds like you have the answer to this already, but the fact that your buddy doesn't recognize that the bearing is outside of the axle seal tells me he shouldn't be doing the work for you. I'm really biting my tongue here, I hope you have better luck with your next repair.

 

This is why I paid the dealer to do it. I like supporting the little guys but everything I've read says it needs to be put back together exactly. Not that I think the dealer is perfect but I feel less bad making them eat a few hours of labor if it's screwed up.

 

To be fair, I made this assumption. He never told me it was so the axle oil can lubricate it. I know it sounds like I probably don't know anything about vehicles, and when I think about it, its crazy over all the years that Ive worked on vehicles Ive never disassembled a axle, but that is in fact the exact case. The most I ever did was assist in a lunch box locker being put in my 2004 Tacoma about 10 years ago, but my buddy who was far more experienced did most of the work. That guy worked at Shrockworks.

As for the guy who left the inner liner off on the bearing, now that I understand the diff fluid can't make its way to it, it makes me think he just packs grease outside the inner seal, then puts the bearing in there. I just made the wrong assumption. I didn't analyze it much when he told me as I had other things going on in my life and was extremely busy. Its honestly embarrassing (my orginal assumption) once I realized how the axle is setup. As soon as I looked at the part kit closely, plus conversations in here, I was like "duhhh... now it makes sense". My orginal assumption never seemed to really make sense to me, I just didn't have time back then to analyze more.

 

My other buddy (3rd guy) who is also a mechanic (not the one who originally did the bearings) is a phenomenal mechanic, just not the sharpest tool in the shed. He is more hands on, while I am usually all technical and information. When he has very difficult and precise work to do, he will get me to research it and walk him through doing the job, and double check his work (tolerances, proper torque, etc). So we work well together as he is the muscle/endurance and I am the OCD brains. Had I actually researched the rear bearings and install back when I dropped it off, I wouldn't have made that error in assumption. Anyways, I am going to let my buddy take a shot at doing this, I am just going to follow that timmy tool time video precisely and double check everything to ensure it is done right. Ive seen many people at even dealerships not do stuff like this right. We can also take the brakes back off after 500 miles and check for any leaks. Again, he doesn't mind doing the physical work as long as I make sure he does the technical precision parts correct.

 

Good luck.

Let us know how it goes.

 

Another one new to this forum and this thread. My 2001 Tundra has developed a "wump-wump" noise from what sounds like the rear end as well. It doesn't necessarily make the sound with each revolution of the wheel, but definitely louder from 40-45 mph and up. I hear it best upon deceleration when not giving it any gas. One axle seal has been changed in the past (passenger side) but no evidence of the "wump-wump" at that time. The mechanic has finally heard the noise as well during a test drive with me riding with him. He is not sure it is the rear diff area. The sound drives me crazy because I too tend to be meticulous about keeping things in good working order and preventive maintenance in general. There was mention of a swirling noise earlier in this thread. I am not sure my noise would be from the same source. Any experience out there with the "wump-wump"? I should point out that there has been a gradual improvement of noises as I have replaced old tires with belts that were failing and a driveshaft carrier bearing. both of these things were causing their own version of noises, but I still have the last one. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

 

Wheel bearing?

 

Update: I ordered OEM bearings and seals from Toyota.

Guess what? The bearings say "Nachi Japan". Same as the SKF. And they're just as loose feeling.

The seals? They're different than the originals. They're very simlar to the Timkin seals. Although they do seem to have a little bit more robust sealing lip.

The bearings are going back. We'll see how the seal do.

 

I was thinking axle bearing(s), but I hope it isn't that after reading this thread. The mechanic, for now, isn't leaning toward axle bearings. I am not sure where the rear wheel bearings are on this truck, if any. The sound reminds me of when something goes from being perfectly round to an oval or egg shape.

 

Sounds more like a drive line part than a wheel bearing. Maybe center driveshaft carrier bearing or a u-joint. The fact that you're getting it most on decel suggests its something that changes orientation depending on whether it's under load. Hard to tell over the internet.

 

The easiest thing to do is to buy a good mechanic steathascope, jack the rear end up on a floor jack (with jack stands as well) and slowly give it gas up to about 35 to 40 mph and have someone climb under it (from the center rear in case it were to fall) and listen with the steathascope probe. Just make sure you stay away from those tires!!!! As you move that metal probe closer to the noise source (touching the metal tip of the probe to other metal surfaces) it will get louder as you get closer to the source of noise. When you are done make sure whomever is giving it gas slowly lets off the gas and then slowly applies the brakes until the wheels COMPLETELY stop turning before putting it in park. Obviously block the front wheels as well before doing all this, and preferably make sure you have a straight shot for a little distance to stop the truck if anything should go wrong. We did it in my cultasac with it at the bottom of my driveway facing down the street just incase it happen to fall, the driver would have distance and time to get it under control. I believe the best rated steathascope on Amazon was the Lysil (or something that started with L and sounded like that) and was like $11. It honestly a great tool to have for locating problem noises.

 

Did the stethoscope thing with my mechanic at his shop. He is great about letting me back in the bay area. We both heard something(?) at the carrier bearing and both falsely assumed that was the problem. Unfortunately, my hearing is going due to years in my career and his is going due to years of being in a band! New carrier bearing was installed based upon our findings. Still the sound. I am going to continue to drive it, maybe the noise will get more pronounced without leaving me on the side of the road. Note: the rear differential makes some noises when the wheels are off the ground and spinning that fast. The diff needs friction or a load on it to function smoothly. Did not know this. New tires were due to enough tread left on the tires to pass inspection but as it turns out the belts were failing, causing the tires to go out of round ever so slightly when picking up speed.

 

Just an update on my "Wump-wump" sound coming from the rear. I drove the Tundra a little while longer with the sound to see if it got any more pronounced so that it could be traced a little easier. I am not comfortable with this trouble shooting technique for fear of whatever it is producing itself in the middle of a road trip. With that said, put an additional 1,500 miles on the truck (a trip to SC and back as part of it) and the sound became much louder. Took it in for another diagnosis and the mechanic used a piece of equipment (Now I know why those guys are always broke) that has sensors that can be attached underneath the vehicle and a speaker inside the passenger compartment so that he can filter out road noise. The mechanic took it on a 15 mile test drive with a combination of highway and two lane road speeds. He pinpointed the noise to the right rear wheel, i.e. the right rear axle bearing. My thoughts after reading some of the suggestions in this thread were rear u-joint or possibly a brand new tire that was out of round from the factory. I am just glad they found it. I chose to have the part ordered from Toyota so that I can stick with a factory approved part. More expensive I know but the first one lasted 163,000 miles so hopefully the the 2nd one will be just as reliable. I have been told the cost for remove and replace will be right at $500. Not real happy about that but I am glad we are finally moving in the right direction. More road trips planned for this summer and I want my truck to be as close to 100% reliable as possible. Thanks to all for relaying experiences and advice.

 

Yep I told you it was the axle bearing/ gone bad . When the bearing goes bad , it not long after that the seal leaks and gear oil on the rear brake shoes. Happened to me twice right hand side always, don’t know why

 

I guess mine went in reverse order. I had the passenger side rear axle seal done about a year and a half ago. No indications for the bearing back then, about 20,000 miles. I had the fluid showing up on the inside of the brake mounting bracket.

 

Thanks for the follow up. The real test will be after your bearing is replaced and if you’ll still be able to hear the ‘wump wump’.