Rear wheel bearing replacement

Quick question for those that have done this: How do you disconnect the speed sensor wire? I feel like an idiot fumbling around under there and I can't clearly see how to release the clip.

 

If you are talking about the rear sensor wire it just unplugs from the back of the hub unit. The front sensor has a single bolt holding it in place to remove it from the front hub carrier.

John (Britprius)

 

Oh, did we mention the accumulated grit, grime, and dirt that makes figuring out where the clips are that hold the connector on?

Bob Wilson

 

I've done it once and I'll second Bob - it's simple enough once it's clean enough and you've got a good enough angle to see how the clip goes.

-Chap

 

What happens if you order through a Toyota dealership parts department? Price through the roof?

 

Grrrrrrraaahhhhhhhhh

So I got the wire disconnected, thanks for the tip above. The drum came off pretty easily. The hub... did not. I loosened the bolts and pounded on them with a punch, eventually getting the rearmost side to move a bit, but not come all the way out. I bolted the wheel back on the hub so I had a huge lever arm then just pulled it back and forth with a ton of force and was able to wiggle it out of the "knuckle" (not sure what you call that part on a beam-axle car). The problem is... the brake backing plate and all the brake goodies came with it. Now I have a loose hub + backing plate and I can't figure out how to separate

I could unbolt the brake line then try and set the assembly on something and hit the back of the bearing with a sledge until it comes out. Or use a torch... and probably do the same thing? Do the Prius brakes bleed pretty easily?

 

There's no threaded holes, is there? A lot of times drums and calipers will have two M8x1.25 holes. You install compatible bolts, and then slowly starting turning them in, alternating. The pop-off can be pretty noisy.

Probably not, but just a thought.

 

Alex, how did you support via these two pins? I'm trying to figure out how to hold it in place on one side (while the drum backing plate is scorching hot), and still be able to strike the other side.

 

Same thing happened to me. Here's how I did it ... no sledge, no torch, no bleeding brakes ... not too bad.

-Chap

 

...or drive a few miles on a bumpy road with the hub bolts loosened 2 turns.

 

Robert's reminded me of a similar tactic:

When I'm swapping to snow tires, some time the wheel rim sticks, will not pull off. I leave one lug nut on at top, very loose. Then put a two by four, on edge, on the slab behind the inner tire face. Then swing a sledge hammer along the slab, into the two by four.

Maybe similar would work with the bearing? Loosen the bearing hub nuts, put the wheel back on and tighten the lug nuts, then do the same sledge hammer bit.

 

This response leaves me wondering whether you read the post I linked to. I was replying to prodarwin's question about what to do when the hub is already loose but the brake plate has come with it. I suggest solving that problem in place to avoid unnecessarily disturbing the brake system. It worked for me, and my guess is it'll work 4 years later too, given that the hub is already free of the axle.

-Chap

 

I was pretty sure even in my case that the five solid minutes of slide hammering supplied more of the magic than the penetrant did. Spraying penetrant is more just the sort of purification ritual before the hunt.

Also, for about the first four-and-a-half minutes of slide hammering there was no sign at all that anything was gonna happen....

And my arm is not really cut out for five minutes of slide hammering.

-Chap

 

Hub removal gone viral! But I trust Alex's responses best because his name spelled sideways is...Axle.