Thread: driver side axle - 1/2" gap?

The front wheel bearings need to be pressed out and pressed back in. It's not a hard job, just takes the right tools. Sometimes you can find a local shop that will do the press work for you pretty cheap. It's then just a matter of removing the steering knuckles and taking them along with new bearings to the place with the press.

There's an easy way to check if your wheel bearings have failed and I'd do that first. I explained it in an earlier post. If there is any play, it's toast.

As for getting the axle to go in completely, there may or may not be a 1/2" gap left. What's most important is that you get it past that second "hump". =/

^^^^^ sometimes that very true about if you have play there toast,, but mine past every test you can do (wiggle,pull,shake) and my bearings seem to be fine,, thats why my alignment shop said theres no way it was my wheel bearings,,, however when I put a strain on it by accelrating or everytime I engaged the tranny in gear thats when I would feel the shaking, vibration, all through the floor board at my feet,,,, it would smooth out if I was coasting... it cost me 90 bucks for the bearings to be pressed in and out,, thats the bearings and labor... I did my control arms/ball joints and tie rods at the same time,, your already there so you might as well do it,, my Egg drives like a NEW car now,,

Yup. I have had good luck rotating the axle with pressure on it to get that 2nd push.

Doug

My SE-R wheel bearing on the passenger side was bad.
I had a suspension rattle type noise and suspected strut, strut mounting etc.
When i did the axle CV boot i found the loose bearing.
I went to the wrecker yard, and ALL three cars they had with the front left suspension still on were bad when they got the brakes off.
You cant feel this very well with the brakes still on, the bearing is slightly lose and rough.
The noise was fixed when i got it together. I was surprised !!!

BTW the machine shop charged me $35 to press the old one out and the new one in. Parts were another $45 approx. (1 bearing assembly, 2 seals)

Also worth commenting that I have picked up bad front bearings on RWD cars and a FWD Subaru, this did not sound the same !!

Get it remedied Matt?

OK STOP LISTENING TO ALL THE CRAP IN THIS THREAD.

The little thing you were referring to is a c-clip that has to be in just the right position to let the axle slide into place. The gap you have is NOT normal at all, its because of the c-clip. Anyone who has ever replaced a tranny or clutch should be able to tell you this.

Now, here's what you do: Use so VERY HEAVY grease to hold the c-clip in as uniform a fashion around the axle as possible, try to get it to stay centered by globing a little grease on it and under it. Line the axle up as strait as you can in the axle seal, pushing in till you feel resistance, rotate it a little to line up the splines, and shove it strait in to pop the c-clip into place. You will know when you get it right. Make sure there is no weight pulling the axle off center as you push it in.

Good luck,

Will.

You then proceed to repeat what I've already covered almost verbatim in the first reply?

I skimmed, and saw a lot of mis-information in the thread, thought I would post a simple answer

Seriously Will its on every SE-R I have had. My axle was installed by a Toyota Master tech. He's had his hands on dozens of SE-Rs. The gap is there.

Not quite like that its not.

When the axle is in place there should be NO question. Its that simple.