Is a bad right wheel bearing on a 2004 Toyota Highlander common?

(1) On September 2, 2011 at 7:33 pm David Wendt [0] said:

I just replaced the rear wheel bearings, both sides, and my 2004 Highlander has only 100,000 km (62,000) miles on it. After 2003, the entire bearing assembly has to be replaced, which is much more expensive than just replacing the bearings themselves.

You can detect when the wheel bearings need replacing by the noise (sounds like a marble spinning around the inside of a glass jar). If you hear this noise, jack up the car on one side and grab the tire top and bottom to see if there is any play. Pull the top out and bottom in while facing the tire. It should not move out and in. If it does, the bearings need replacing.

Be sure to take wheel bearing wear serious!!! It is not something you want to wait to replace and can result in a catastrophic failure.

I was going to do a youtube video on how to replace them, but didn't have time because we were heading out on vacation just two days after installing the new ones. If you plan on doing them yourself, let me know, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have http://www.facebook.com/dgwendt

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