rear wheel bearing diagnosed

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by Tc2468, Jun 19, 2012.

  1. Tc2468

    Tc2468 New Member

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    I just bought a 2002, being a total newby I thought that faint humming noise was the electric motors doing it's thing. Noise was faint when only me in the car or going slowly. Well as soon as I had someone sitting in the rear it was a loud humming droning noise that seemed to get quieter when making right turns like hwy off ramps at speed. Finally jacked the car up and checked for wheel bearing noise. Fronts were too hard to check as there was resistance while turning wheel by hand, but the rear passenger seemed rough but no noise or looseness while turning by hand compared to the driver rear side.

    So I purchased a rear bearing assembly and put it on. Pretty simple to do. Only thing is have a flat punch (I used a 4 inch long bolt) to tap out the bearing assembly from the back. Do it carefully so you don't damage the brake lines as it gets released.

    Viola! no more drone or hum
     
  2. joedirte

    joedirte Member

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    just curious if you got aftermarket bearings and did you have to press in the new ones or tap them in, and how many miles on the Prius, I'm guessing over 100k.
     
  3. Tc2468

    Tc2468 New Member

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    I think you can only get loose bearings for the front.
    Toyota OEM rear hub and bearing assembly with ABS sensor ($$$). Not a loose bearing, so no press needed.

    take wheel off
    remove drum
    remove brake shoes
    remove hub assembly (4 bolts from behind, then tap out with punch)
    clean mating surfaces
    then put back together.

    2002 Prius - 128000k miles (205000 kms)
     
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Nice work!

    In case it's more stubborn for the next person (as it was for me), here's [post=1200504]what worked for me[/post].

    -Chap
     
  5. Tc2468

    Tc2468 New Member

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    Chap, I just read your link. I didnt have a service manual so I didnt do the "ABS signal confirmation".
    I did find a few diagrams online but all I wanted was torque specs).
    What actually happened was I forgot to plug in the sensor and as soon as I started the car the emergency brake light and ABS were blinking....oops! I then remembered, turned off the car crawled under and plugged it in.
    Darn....mmm still blinking. but decided to go for a test drive anyway.

    Before I got to the end of the block (in nice silent no hum driving) the ABS flashing went away.
    Gotta find a service manual.
    TC
     
  6. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    Well Tc, we're just glad you got it fixed.