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Gen 1 Front struts and bearings

Discussion in 'Generation 1 Prius Discussion' started by Wisco, Jul 15, 2016.

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  1. Wisco

    Wisco Member

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    Hi folks,

    I've ignored the deteriorating struts on our 2002 for quite a while now, and there is a new grumbling that sounds like rough bearings coming from the front left. It's loudest on right turns (weight to the left) and decelerating (weight to the front). I jacked it up and that wheel has some play when I push-pull on it.

    I feel pretty good about the diagnosis, but I'm not totally confident in what parts I'll need. The strut assembly is straightforward, the mount clearly needs replacing as do my my super-professional gorilla tape dust boots.

    Can I just order the bearings to mount on my old hubs? That would involve wrestling the old bearings off and having a shop press the new ones on? Nothing looks too rusted in the area, but I don't want to get half way and wish I'd just bought a shiny new hub. I should get an alignment done afterwards too, I suppose.

    I haven't noticed any trouble on the right, but would you responsible, pro-active mechanics replace both bearings in front if you were doing both struts anyway?

    I see some strut assembly sets for $160, just the bearings are $15 each or $90 with the hub. With shop time and misc, it looks like around $250-$375 for the whole project..

    Thanks for any tips or suggestions!
     
    #1 Wisco, Jul 15, 2016
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Here's a description of the job. I went with a Toyota bearing for about $38 instead of $15, still not a painful price at all.

    It is a bit of a tedious job.

    -Chap
     
    #2 ChapmanF, Jul 15, 2016
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes, since you are hearing a sound that appears to be bearing-related.
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Jul 15, 2016
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I bought two bearings for the front, seeing they were cheap and I could have one on hand for the other side without paying shipping twice. But I only invested the labor in changing the one that was bad.

    When I did the right rear, because those hub-bearing assemblies are more expensive, I only bought the one I needed.

    My experience does not lead me to any sort of expectation that bearing failures will be closely spaced in time. I only ever changed two bearings in my Gen 1, a right rear and a left front, and the first was around 150,000 miles if I remember right, and the second around 200,000 and 3 or 4 years later. At the time of the collision at 238,000 I still had the spare front bearing unused.

    Given the small odds of coincident failure, and the good odds that something else will happen before a repeat bearing failure, I'm fairly happy that I put in my hours only to swap the bearing that needed it, and used my other hours to do other things I wanted to do.

    -Chap
     
    #4 ChapmanF, Jul 16, 2016
  5. Wisco

    Wisco Member

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    Thanks for the feedback folks, ordering the parts today. I just remembered that the car fell off a jack with one of the front wheels off. I think that was last fall. I wonder if that could have chipped a bearing or damaged the surfaces, setting it up for rapid wear. I guess it doesn't matter either way.. (and yes, I now have a proper floor jack and a set of jack stands)
     
    #5 Wisco, Jul 19, 2016
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Very plausible. I had hit the mother of all potholes on I-75 one winter night around 70 mph, which changed the shape of the wheel on that corner. Between that incident and when I obtained a round replacement wheel, the unround one got rotated to the other corner for a while. Those two corners were the only two I ever had to change bearings on.

    -Chap
     
    #6 ChapmanF, Jul 20, 2016
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