rear hub R&R AWD

[caddylover]

Hello all. I have a nasty growling coming from left rear bearing. Doing some research I am going to attempt to do this myself as i have the proper air tools and access to a press. My question is, looking at diagrams on the assembly of the rear hub and attachments, is there any way to just pull the complete unit (axle hub and bearing) from the vehicle without removing all the rear brake assembly? I have never done drum brakes before as all my vehicles have been disc, but i guess if i have to learn, then throw me right into the fire...doesn't look to be too hard but was hoping i could just take out the 4 bolts, remove, press out old and press in new.

any insight would be appreciated. thx!

[mozz78]

me personally would remove brakes its an easy job and minimises the risk of damaging any parts, if your unsre of how things should go back its worth taking photos of the assembly before you take it to pieces.

[caddylover]

i forgot to mention that i have a 1999 RAV4 AWD 4 door., and just an update on this project.....i was worried about the brakes being an issue....hell, that was the easy part.

first problem i encountered was my ABS speed sensor stuck in the hole in the hub. Hey, the bolt was easy to get out and i thought that this was like my Cadillac where the hub and ABS wiring are all one unit, but my service manual kept saying to take the damn thing out. Well, i shot more PB blaster and worked a screwdriver into this bad boy to get it to pry out ONLY for it to break off where the sensor goes into the hub. If you've never been covered in thin copper wire before, just do this and you'll see how much wire comes out of this sucker. i worked it all out of the hole and cursed a thousand times. Okay, well i thought, the 3 hours labour i just tried to save $$ on, just went up in smoke on this ABS sensor!!! DAMN!

Oh, well, chalk it up and keep on moving on removing 4 bolts from axle shaft from tranny, and try removing axle shaft from axle hub....NO JOY. Stuck in there. Throw some more penetrating oil on it and disassemble brakes in the meatime. Go back to the shaft and hammer it a bit with my 10lb sledge.....NADA!!



Went to the local canadian tire store and rented a axle shaft puller/pusher....gonna hammer it will my air tools tonight and see what happens.

anyone know any aftermarket places that sell this speed sensor? i think Toyota wants $295 for it.

[mozz78]

Originally Posted by caddylover

i forgot to mention that i have a 1999 RAV4 AWD 4 door., and just an update on this project.....i was worried about the brakes being an issue....hell, that was the easy part.

first problem i encountered was my ABS speed sensor stuck in the hole in the hub. Hey, the bolt was easy to get out and i thought that this was like my Cadillac where the hub and ABS wiring are all one unit, but my service manual kept saying to take the damn thing out. Well, i shot more PB blaster and worked a screwdriver into this bad boy to get it to pry out ONLY for it to break off where the sensor goes into the hub. If you've never been covered in thin copper wire before, just do this and you'll see how much wire comes out of this sucker. i worked it all out of the hole and cursed a thousand times. Okay, well i thought, the 3 hours labour i just tried to save $$ on, just went up in smoke on this ABS sensor!!! DAMN!

Oh, well, chalk it up and keep on moving on removing 4 bolts from axle shaft from tranny, and try removing axle shaft from axle hub....NO JOY. Stuck in there. Throw some more penetrating oil on it and disassemble brakes in the meatime. Go back to the shaft and hammer it a bit with my 10lb sledge.....NADA!!



Went to the local canadian tire store and rented a axle shaft puller/pusher....gonna hammer it will my air tools tonight and see what happens.

anyone know any aftermarket places that sell this speed sensor? i think Toyota wants $295 for it.

just goes to show it's usually the ''simple jobs'' that cause the problems.
Still at least your still cheerful.

[Ken Allistone]

Try Rockauto, RockAuto Parts Catalog much much cheaper!!
For what its worth now, you could have left it in and unplugged it from the other end maybe? I know mine are stuck, I needed to check the ends were clean so I pulled the drive shaft and used a mirror and implement to clean them.
Tip.
The reluctor rings (toothed abs ring) have a habit of cracking so they dont work, usually caused by rust on the axle pushing them apart. I glued mine together -in place with a 2 part epoxy and cable tied them temporarily overnight before puting them back on the car. Good Luck

[caddylover]

thx for the insight. I do know that i've looked at RockAuto for the rear left speed sensor AWD model and come up with only one hit which is the AIRTEX / WELLS Part # 5S6763. this part is NOT the same that i pulled out of the hub as it has connectors instead of the "probe" that's inserted into the hub. So, unless toyota has changed the hub to reflect a quick connect adapter, then i'm at a lost. But at $40, it's a steal so i'm hoping its the part i need. I'll just buy two as i need to do the right side hub bearing eventually.

I ordered the hub bearings from RockAuto and i should see them tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers.

[caddylover]

another update....

got the axle out of the axle hub by using an axle puller. I had to use all my 220lbs on a half inch breaker bar with a crowbar jammed in between the axle bolts to hold it steady. Took over 15mins. WOW that sucker was stuck. Pulled out the 4 bolts on the hub assembly, whacked it a few times with my mini sledge and bob's your uncle. so that's out! what a nasty SOB.

i was going to do the other side also but after this mess i'll wait till it starts growling and giving me grief. Although i could probably do the other side easily within an hours time know what i know now.

Riddle me this: WHY THE HELL DID I HAVE TO TAKE THE ABS SENSOR OUT!!!????!!!!

it doesn't contact anything and you can do the whole hub removal proceedure without moving it out of the way. Even the brake lines to the wheel cyclinder are free to remove. so i don't get why they want you to remove it in the service manual. All it did was cost me $300 and a big headache for nothing!

If anyone can answer this, please let me know.

[Dr. Dyno]

Originally Posted by caddylover

Riddle me this: WHY THE HELL DID I HAVE TO TAKE THE ABS SENSOR OUT!!!????!!!!

It doesn't contact anything and you can do the whole hub removal procedure without moving it out of the way. Even the brake lines to the wheel cyclinder are free to remove. so i don't get why they want you to remove it in the service manual. All it did was cost me $300 and a big headache for nothing!

If anyone can answer this, please let me know.

You are not alone! Don't remember, and don't really want to but it was recently, the last time I broke something it turned out I didn't have to even touch.
At least at my age I don't even bother getting mad at myself anymore. It just raises my blood pressure needlessly. I find it also saves on tools and my garage walls.
So I just point my index finger at my head, cock my thumb, fire, call it over, and move on.

[caddylover]

HAHAHAHA! No kidding brotha. I'll tell ya what i'm gonna do. Just so my wife isn't on my butt for not taking it to the shop after i told her that i have all the tools to do it in the shop.........i'm going to tackle the other side tonight so that i can tell her that i saved 6 hours of shop labour at $100/hr and it only cost her $300 for a net profit of approx $350 if you include taxes in there. So i'll tell her to go shopping, buy some lingerie and shoes when we're down in Orlando next month.

I don't break many things when working on vehicles, but when i see that this was avoidable, it gets to me, lol.

[awdblazer]

can you do a little write up on how this is done? maybe some pictures?