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Til info.. take care of wheel bearings, folks

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by pei_lin, Aug 14, 2024 at 8:12 AM.

  1. pei_lin

    pei_lin Junior Member

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    EU control here, mandatory once every two years.
    Got a bad message from Toyota (so not just a random micky mouse, the certified one that I have had very good experience as a customer for years) workshop that they need to change both front wheel bearings.
    The price tag: 18,932 norsk kroner, including both wheel bearings and work, excluding EU control and other minor costs..
    I know inflation is everywhere, and this forum is quite US centric. Just want to say you guys in the States have it ok, compared to Norway. we have crazy inflation here..
    Ok, take care of wheel bearings, folks
     
    #1 pei_lin, Aug 14, 2024 at 8:12 AM
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2024 at 8:59 AM
    TGrracie and Tombukt2 like this.
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Wheel bearings can be had by a lot of manufacturers and they're not all garbage either TRQ's doing quite decent work and they cost I want to say $75 or something like that per side I buy them pretty regularly here in America I have lived in your country very short time many years ago before all the nonsense the '60s maybe early '70s Yes y'all have interesting regulations I'm not sure why Toyota would have to do this I would do this in my driveway in about 45 minutes on each side of the car at the same time replacing the struts with complete units with new springs top plates and the like because that's how I do it The parts are really the least of my problem in today's way of doing things. I'm sorry it has to be this way for you Toyota is taking advantage of your country it seems like or your country's rules and that's a cheap shot but something is amiss somewhere wheel bearings aren't going to cause your car to do anything except stop going forward nicely and well you'll be stranded No one's going to die I mean nothing's going to happen to not like a lithium-ion battery exploding and catching a fire seems quite ridiculous.
     
  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Converts to $1775 USD.
     
  4. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    Toyota replaces the wheel bearing itself and not the whole knuckle according to a Toyota dealer here in Calif. $1200 for one they quoted daughter and she paid $115 for them to “diagnose.”
    I managed to replace both sides with the Chinese made whole loaded knuckles sold out there, I used Detroit Axle. Was very impressed with the quality. It needed both sides. For me it was a lot of work, of course I am doing it on the ground. Back belt on. Money saved worth it? One day personal recovery for each side.
    Doing just the bearing seems like more work and more chance for error, depends on the mechanic. There is a snap ring and pressed in cup on the back. The replacement loaded all assembled knuckles seemed perfect.
    Glad to hear someone verifies inflation is world wide.
     
  5. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Why did you change the whole hunk of aluminum that doesn't make sense to me I'm doing it on my back out in the yard too well on a gravel driveway and I do have some concrete here but still I'm like 68 and all I do is take the hunk of aluminum off because usually I'm changing the lower ball joint from the control arm that's held on with the little bolt and the two nuts and then I undo the four bolts knock off the bearing out of my piece of aluminum so I can take that pesky backing plate off from the brakes throw that over into the pile of them and then put my new TRQ bearing which cost I think they're $84 aside now I have them in three cars seem to be working very well so generally the whole swap I keep two loaded hubs here at all times for the generation 2 with those loaded hubs start to finish changing them out as 45 minutes aside and that includes the lower ball joint that is connected to the hub assembly easier to take that all off off the car then you just hang that new assembly on put in the bolts tighten everything up put on the wheel and drop the car I looked into buying the Detroit axle complete business like you say $200 a pop but just didn't seem reasonable to do these things fly apart when they're sitting on the floor so I just ordered the bearings and the ball joints and struts and what not as needed bolt all that together on the ground like you did and sling it up onto the car and tighten all the bolts get around to an alignment
     
  6. pei_lin

    pei_lin Junior Member

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    thanks for sharing the story from CA , and glad to read your last sentence here;)
     
  7. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    The aluminum hub that holds the bearing doesn't wear out You just keep that forever put new bearings in it and new ball joints to the bottom of it as needed
     
  8. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    The knuckle is cast iron and the hub steel. The whole factory assembled ready to go knuckle was $85, and it is already hard enough to do the job, let alone adding a press, fittings, and the knuckle still has to be taken out.
    Even shops put in the loaded knuckles. It’s not such an easy job.
     
  9. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Huh iron No there's no iron on the front end of a Prius I'm so sorry that big silver thing that has the bearing in it that's a big hunk of aluminum I hope I can't picture my Corolla hub sitting next to my Prius generation 2 and 3 hub so I can see that they can easily interchange I can put the aluminum hubs on my Corolla really easily and then that makes the front wheel bearing really easy to change on the Corolla not needing a press The matrix and Corolla are cast iron knuckle hub assemblies whatever you want to call them there brown and rusty the silver thing on the Prius is a big chunk of aluminum That's why the mount that has the bolt holes that goes up to the strut is so thick on the iron piece at 7/8 of an inch maybe 1 in so the strut ears are closer together on the aluminum that spreads out to 1 and 3/8 or some kind of nonsense it's very thick because it's aluminum I'm not sure if we've gotten mixed up in some of the terminology here but okay I don't have any iron in the front of my generation two or three Prius sorry so we've gotten crossed up somewhere. I'm US spec Federal in Central North Carolina all of the Prius here.
     
  10. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    That's the Corolla matrix layout It's hard for me to post pics I have them all sitting side by side right here now because I'm working on another project but anyway the Prius if that's what we're talking about in this post the generation 3 that's why that piece of silver in the Prius because it's aluminum It can't rust The iron one is brown and rusty and it goes in the matrix in the Corolla and it gets pressed apart and all of that for the bearing replacement I'm putting the hubs from a generation 2 Prius which are aluminum onto my 2002 AE11 Corolla which has the matrix Corolla iron knuckles and hubs with the Pressed in bearings. The hub from the Prius uses four bolts to hold the bearing in and that's it so I'm putting those hubs in my Corolla with the strut assemblies from a Prius which also go right into the AE111 same with the lower ball joint there is about it 3° difference in the articulation of the arm and the hole for the outer tie rod to drop in but it won't change anything when you go to alignment nothing will really have to happen already checked.
     
  11. pei_lin

    pei_lin Junior Member

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    just to clarify: the job is change of two front wheel hub, not wheel bearing. Not sure if it is the same for Prius.
    My bad if any confusion.. the price is bloody from a Toyota dealer that I have used an trusted for a few years..
     
  12. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Right and I was just asking if this is a Prius what in the world happened to the hubs that just big hunks of aluminum I mean you can't really break them oh I guess you could but my goodness you would see that there would be a big hunk of the steering knuckle missing or something along those lines. That was my point usually you just bolt in new bearings and and whatever else is needed and close it up so I guess somehow your steering knuckle hub assembly with some kind of way bent and an accident maybe or the car should be destroyed. But I think I understand thank you