Ls430 Rear Wheel Bearing Replacement - Detailed Instructions

[Nodding_Dog]

Instructions for replacing rear wheel bearing hub assembly on Lexus
LS430, 2000 - 2007.

Hi all. Having read so many threads of how to replace rear wheel bearings, but none
with any real detail, I tackled the job myself and thought it may be helpful to
give detailed instructions. (Before I forget them...)

To ascertain which side is noisy, take a test drive. Pick a smooth surfaced
road so you can clearly hear the bearing noise above tyre
noise.

When going around a right hand bend, the weight of the car shifts to the left,
so the left hand bearing will load up and start its classic
"wooooommm, wooooommm, wooooommm" noise, which will revert back to
just an audible, low pitched consistent growl, which varies in pitch with road
speed, when you're going straight.

Ditto for the right hand bearing. It will make the noise when going around a
left hand bend.

Having determined which wheel bearing is at fault, time to
replace the bearing. Buy a complete hub assembly. Don't bother
trying to replace just the actual bearing out of the assembly.
Not worth the hassle.

I trawled the net and got a genuine Toyota one for $94.50
delivered.

You will need:-

• Torch or leadlight.
• Mirror
• 10mm socket
• 17mm short socket
• 19mm socket
• 32mm 12 point socket (1/2" drive) and either a breaker bar or impact gun.
• ratchet wrench and a couple of short extensions
• pliers
• Medium sized 2 or 3 claw puller (even a relatively cheap one will do the job).
• A short length (6") of flat steel, say 1/2" wide, which you can bend
• the last 1/2 " to make a hook at 90 degrees, and the other end to about
• 1" at 90 degrees the opposite way. Sort of making an elongated Z.

Procedure:-

jack up the rear wheel with the noisy bearing, and remove road wheel.

Put axle stand under subframe mount at front of wheel arch for safety.

Remove brake caliper (2x19mm bolts) and tie up to take strain off brake hose.

Remove brake disc (not held on by anything other than roadwheel.

Remove split pin from end of axle and remove castellated locking cap.

Using 32mm socket and breaker bar (or impact gun) undo axle nut.

Remove 10mm bolt from ABS sensor and pull sensor out of the way. Look in the

hole and you'll see a hole in the sheetmetal cover over the ABS cog.

Spray WD40 into axle splines in hub. You may have to give the end of the axle a

gentle tap with a hammer and copper drift to loosen it in the splines.

Place puller claws around hub and position threaded part in centre of axle.

Tighten puller to push axle towards differential. It will move about 1" to

1.5".

Note that you DO NOT have to remove the CV joint rubber boot. (Experience..)

The hub assembly is held in place on the hub carrier by 4 x 17mm bolts. They

are partly obscured by a round pressed sheetmetal cover protecting the ABS cog wheel. Using the strip of steel which you bent earlier, manoeuvre the end which you've bent 1/2" in

behind this sheetmetal cover to hook under it, deep within the hub carrier.

You'll need the torch and the mirror to see what you're doing.

I used a drift pushing on the other 1" bent end and gently tapped at it

towards the centre of the car, in a couple of places around the cover, and it

popped out and came loose.

This enables you to manoeuvre the 17mm socket with short extension onto all 4

bolts behind the hub carrier. They were not excessively tight, so were

relatively easy to undo. Once all out, manoeuvre the drift inside the parking

brake mechanism to tap the old hub carrier (which you're replacing) to loosen

it. It will eventually move and come away from its circular recess.

Carefully pull it out, and clean the circular recess with a fine wire brush or

similar.

Replace with new bearing/hub assembly and as they say, installation is a

reversal of removal.

Partly tighten the 4x17mm bolts in diagonally opposite sequence to ensure the

hub sits straight in its housing. Then tighten securely.

Be careful to align the hole for the ABS sensor on the sheetmetal cover in the

same place you saw before when you removed the sensor.

Release the puller and let the natural tension in the axle poke it through the

new hub. This will push the sheetmetal cover into position, but give it a

GENTLE tap from behind to ensure it's seated.

Axle nut on & tighten with impact gun or bar. Castellated cover and split

pin in. ABS sensor back in and bolted. Brake disc on. Caliper on and tighten

2x19mm bolts. Axle stand out, wheel on & tight, jack

out and clean up before touching upholstery.....

Job done. Lexie's all quiet again. Old bearing showed signs of rust,

hence the noise.

Hope this is helpful. Total job time approx 2 hours. Time for a coffee (or a

beer...)

Regards,

Nodding_Dog

[Rupert Dubreaux]

Nice tutorial Paul , what puzzles me though is where you found a smooth stretch of road in Kent .

[steve2006]

Nice work and thank you for taking the time and trouble of writing up the tutorial.

I will if it is OK with you put this into the "How to" section.

[Malc]

Can you tell us the mega mileage at which you had to undertake this task ??

Thanks.

Malc

[Nodding_Dog]

Steve, by all means place this in the "How To" section. I hope it is useful for many LS owners.

I bought the car with 137,500km on the clock, and noticed the bearing noise on my initial test drive. After reading many horror stories about owners paying a fortune to have the bearing replaced, and others about it being necessary to remove drive shafts, exhaust etc, I thought I'd better investigate, and was surprised at how easy it was to do the job.

My only regret is that I didn't have time to take progress photos. Strict work deadlines and little spare time to clean up hands and photograph periodically unfortunately prevented me doing so.

BTW Rupert, I found a bit - M25, Down the hill from Junction 8, anticlockwise.......

(Bit hard to dodge & weave from side to side to see which side the noise is though.....)

Couple of minor problems with the car:

1.

Cheers all,

Nodding_Dog

[Nodding_Dog]

Oops. Fat fingers.

Couple of minor problems with the car, if anyone can help:

1. CD player has stopped loading. I've tried pulling and replacing relevant fuses, and it did make noises like it was attempting to work, but alas, no.

CD worked perfectly when I bought it.

2. The decorative cover on the glovebox latch is missing. The black plastic base part of the handle is still there, so I can open the glovebox, But the beige (tan?) cover has been hooked by someone's fingernails and is gone. Can anyone help?

Cheers,

Nodding_Dog

[Dicodonal]

Where did you buy your genuine rear bearing as I can't seem to find them less than 300

[Nodding_Dog]

Hi Dicodonal.

I guess I fluked it really. I did a search online (eBay, US Parts suppliers etc) and there just happened to be a supplier in the USA who was selling out a heap of old stock.

Fortunately it's a standard Toyota part rather than an exclusively Lexus one, so it was quite cheap I thought. There are many aftermarket bearings available, but I've read online that some cheap and cheerful ones really don't last, so I was determined to buy a genuine one (at a cheap price).

Sorry I can't be more specific and helpful, but just keep trawling the net. I seem to remember the name RockAuto in the USA, but not 100% sure if that's the supplier I used. They have good prices though.

Cheers,

Nodding_Dog

[Older430]

Shouldn't the use a torque wrench to install axel nut be called out in the detailed instructions? Being a novice I followed the instructions and damaaged the assembly, $210.00 down the drain.

[PLaw8]

Great Tutorial Paul.

Can you confirm that the part in the picture below is the full hub assembly?

Cheers, Peter

 

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, PLaw8 said:

Can you confirm

Peter hi,

this Paul seemed to last visit this site in Nov 2015  !

Might someone else be able to shed light on this issue for you i wonder ?

Malc

[BigBoomer]

1 hour ago, PLaw8 said:

Great Tutorial Paul.

Can you confirm that the part in the picture below is the full hub assembly?

Cheers, Peter

 

No, that is a FRONT wheel bearing/hub.
The rear looks like this
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304405677475

[Kalbob]

Help, My hub is stuck!!! wont' budge. I followed all your removal instructions. 

The 4 -17 mm bolts are out. Hit it with sledge and nothing. soaked it with PB blaster- nothing. Im going crazy and don't know what to do next. Ideas for a beginner????  Much appreciation in advance. 2001 LS 430 rear wheel hub.

[BigBoomer]

It sounds like my rear wheel bearings need replacing. The fronts were both done last year so I guess it is to be expected.
I'm not really getting the "woooom-woooom" sound but there is a constant drone at anything over 15Mph (not tyre noise) and the tone does change when I corner.
The drone frequency rises with road speed so it's either the rear wheel bearings, the differential or possibly the prop-shaft bearing(s).
Am taking it to Westfield on Weds and they will tell me what it is.