Symptoms
Gear oil on the backing plate or inside the drum, oil-soaked shoes that won't stop the truck, a growling rear wheel bearing.
The fix, step by step
- Lift and support the rear, pull wheels and drums, disconnect the e-brake cable, brake line and ABS sensor, and drain the diff.
- Remove the four backing-plate nuts and pull the axle.
- Press off the retainers and tone ring, press the old bearing out and the new one in with its dust seal, fit a new snap ring and retainers.
- Drive in a new inner seal square with a matched driver, reinstall the axle (backing-plate nuts 48 ft-lb), refill with 80W-90 and bleed the brakes.
- Do both sides.
Tools & part numbers
- 20-ton press
- axle bearing puller/installer
- seal driver
- slide hammer
- inner seal 90310-50006
- bearing 90363-40020-77 ('96–'00) or 90363-40068 ('01–'02)
- O-rings 90301-88077
Where to buy the parts
Rear axle bearing, 2001–02 (Toyota 90363-40068)ToyotaPartsDeal (Toyota OEM) ↗Amazon ↗
Rear axle bearing, 1996–2000 (Toyota 90363-40020-77)ToyotaPartsDeal (Toyota OEM) ↗Amazon ↗
Inner axle-housing seal (Toyota 90310-50006)ToyotaPartsDeal (Toyota OEM) ↗Amazon ↗
Axle housing O-ring (Toyota 90301-88077)ToyotaPartsDeal (Toyota OEM) ↗Amazon ↗
Hunting a used or discontinued part? Search eBay Motors for Toyota 4Runner 3rd Gen parts →
Rated for a competent home mechanic with a decent tool kit. Confirm torque figures, fluids and procedures against the factory service manual for your VIN, support the truck on stands rather than a jack, and work at your own risk (disclaimer). Some parts links are affiliate links, which pay us a small commission at no cost to you.