Rear Wheel Bearing Failure

The Timken rear bearing/hub comes complete with sensor in place, ready to bolt in. Hard part is getting the old one out if it is rusted in place. RockAuto.com is pretty cheap place to buy them.

Regarding 4 wheel alignements, the Prius rear axle has no normal adjustments. To align the rear you have to use shims, which very few shops will do without charging your $$$$ since the bearing hubs have to be removed in order to install the shims.

 

I could make money doing this???

Bob Wilson

 

It's not fun. If the car spent any time in the rust belt the bearing/hubs are a PITA to remove and may get damaged during removal. Recommend adjusting rear alignment only if new bearing/hubs are being installed, or car lives in a non-salty state.

 

I was teasing but Paul is dead on about "non-salty state." Even the best shims, EZ-Shims, leave gaps that allow salty water to invade.

Bob Wilson

 

Any tips on removing the rear hub? Mine is frozen on and won't budge. Also, tips on removing the wire plug...don't want to break it. Removed the plastic cover and see how it clips on looking at the new hub, but tough to pull off. Thanks!

 

I usually use a hub puller with slide hammer attachment. If you don't want to buy the tool you can "rent" from Autozone or OReily. Most stores have these tools in their loaner program. Spray lots of penetrating oil around the hub bearing where it mates with the backing plate and whack away. If really stuck, carefully heat up the area which a torch.
OEM/Axle puller (27032) | Pullers | AutoZone.com
OEM/Slide hammer with 18 threads (27033) | Pullers | AutoZone.com

Here is the connector



to release the connecter press the tab down from the top with a small screwdriver and jiggle it out.

 

In this post I described how it went for me. The slide hammer worked, but be persistent; it was about five minutes of uninterrupted clanging before it even looked like anything was happening. Then what happened was the brake backplate came along with the hub and needed an operation of its own to separate it and put it back where it belonged.

-Chap

Edit: I recommend leaving the bolts in by a couple threads so when the hammer finally pulls it free, if the brake backplate is with it, it won't come flying with the hammer and damage the brake line.

 

Just found a new place that i thought i would try to get rear wheel brg. found them on ebay new for around 90 bucks with shipping included.. I put one on and will update and let you know how long it lasted..