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2002 Corolla Front DriverSide Wheel Bearing Replacement

My Corolla (49K miles no ABS) was giving screeching noise when making hard right turns and so the left wheel bearing had to be changed. I did think with a friend .. we had to take out the whole axle assembly. The bearing was going bad, we could feel a grinding when trying to spin it while pressing outside.

Okay so we removed the snap ring, removed the bearing (I purchased a shop press for this), pressed the new bearing back. The bearing seals were okay and so we reused them. Test drove and everything seemed fine. But now I heard a slight rumbling sound run driving a low speed (25-30 mi/hr).

What could have gone wrong ? I tried looking in Haynes manual about bearing changing procedure but none was listed.

Did we over-tighten the axle nut? The bearing was pre greased and so we did not grease it? There is no play in wheel (I tried to shake the wheel with the car on stands). Any suggestions would be appreciated .. I hope I don't have to discard this bering and put a new bearing.

Thank you

Reply to
Indu Prakash
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This is one of those deals where Qslm can provide much better information than me, but it is possible that you over-tightened the axle nut. Try backing it off one or two turns.

Reply to
Ray O

What is Qslm ? The squealing sound is now becoming more prominent on turns .We had originally tightened the axle nut using impact wrench so as suggested I have backed the nut and simply tightened it by a hand wrench.

Reply to
Indu Prakash

Qslsm is a who, not a what. He is a Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician.

You should never use an impact wrench on the axle nut. There is a pretty good chance the tightening the axle nut with the impact wrench ruined the bearings by crushing the race and/or squeezing the grease out. The axle nut should be HAND tightened until it is snug, then backed off about a half-turn before securing with a new cotter pin.

I think you will need a new set of bearings.

Reply to
Ray O

*I'M* DAMNED sure he will!...can't you just imagine what those ball races look like?...little dents all around them...jeez...
Reply to
Gord Beaman

Actually, I've never run across a set of bearings that were over-tightened with an impact wrench, so it was a guess on my part ;-)

Reply to
Ray O

I got hold of a 2003 Haynes repair manual and it recommends the torque for axle nut to be be 159 ft-lbs which should be same for 2002 model. In comparison the torque recommendation for the lug nuts was much less 75 ft-lbs. Every repair shop seems to use impact wrench to tighten the lug-nuts so I assume it should be okay for the axle nut as well.

InduP

Reply to
Indu Prakash

Either the wheel bearing and axle assembly are put together differently than I think or the torque figure in the Haynes manual is incorrect. You may wish to invest $10 to access techinfo.toyota.com and look at the factory repair manual procedures and diagnosis to confirm.

Reply to
Ray O

Yes, I have to admit to the same but I do know how sensitive those races are...I had an RX-7 which had bearing noise caused by corrosion circles caused by parking the new vehicle for many months when it was new (or so the dealer said)

Reply to
Gord Beaman

I've never heard that excuse before, I'll give it credit for sounding very plausible ;-)

Reply to
Ray O

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