I have been reading a bit and am trying to get stuff together. I am already behind schedule, so if you could help as quick as possible I would appreciate it very much.

Questions.
1. Do brakes have to be taken off completely. I have the axles out.
2. Can I really smash this thing down and get the backing plate off at home - no press?
3. Do I have to buy a new retainer? where?
4. Can I just get my parts from autozone.??
thanks.

Search the tech archives in the Toy section of this site. ErikB has a great write up that should answer all your questions.

I actually JUST did my rear wheel bearing and here is what I personally found....

#1- I didnt have to take any of the brakes apart, only remove the brake line, and remove the (4) 14mm bolts.

#2- I pounded it on a large piece, and it didnt budge one single bit! I then heated the ***** out of it and then beat it on a piece of wood and it then... did nothing at all. At thet point my arms were sore, and I had about enough. I took the cutting torch to it and very carefully cut thru the retainer and then beat it on the wood, after getting the same results as before, I just torched off the bearing as well.

#3- I was able to buy the bearing and retainer from Auto Zone. The bearing came with a new seal. Total cost about $65 bucks.

#4- Everything went back together in about 15 minutes compared the the 2 hours it took to get it apart.

I dont know if mine had more problems than normal, but I found that beating the axle on a piece of wood did not work at all. I even went to the trouble of standing on a chair to get more height, putting the axle as high above my head as I could reach, and slaming it down with every ounce of strength I had. It never moved at all.

i think you need to press the bearing off or cut it. i've seen a good example of a tool to use in a press. it's the tube of a rear axle with flat bar welded to the top a few inches from where it would go into the pumpkin(so it sits in the press). you attach the backing plate to the housing with the 4 bolts, and then press on the shaft and with enough force it should pop out

I don't know about your AutoZone but at ours, if you buy the bearing from them they will press off the old bearing and install the new one for you. Takes on average about 20 minutes. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I do not know about the rest of you guys but I heard nothing but bad about any bearings other than OEM Toyota. It was only $50 more for the Toyota parts, so I spent the money. I took my axles down to the local driveline shop and had them press them on and off for $40. They cussed at me for bringing them Toyota parts. I guess they are no fun.

Not that hard to do at home or in a well equipped shop. I have a 20 ton press two SST that I made.

SST for taking them off:



SST for putting them back on: