Some time ago I had to replace a bearing in the rear axle. The other side was done at a mechanic during a trip in Nevada. The bearing was getting really bad during the drive through central CA and Death Valley, it was very noisy and it'd clunk when starting. It was the day before xmas 2009 to be exact, I was lucky to find a place that was open and willing to do it (Leroy's in Pahrump in case you ever get stuck, they saved me ;-) for about $150. And they had a hard time getting it out. Anyways, a year or so later I had to replace the passenger side bearing as well since it too was getting more and more noisy. In fact it was already bad at the time the first one was replaced, just wasn't nearly as loud and still had a tight fit. I read up about the various ways of getting it out, using a torch, air tools, special service tool, press, slamming it on concrete floor etc. I decided to buy a 12 ton press at harbor freight since it would come in handy for other things as well. And since getting an SST was not that easy and expensive (~$200) I went to the local home depot to figure out a way to make one myself. Basically I bought some plumbing material and a few bolts and nuts and with a bit of drilling and fitting I put together my own SST (cost ~$10-$20). The attached photos, complete with ugly floor, should be a clear illustration of what I did. Suffice it to say the bearing was really tight and a 12 ton press was no luxury, I was afraid the press would break before it got out, but luckily the bearing released with a loud BANG. It felt like a small victory. ;-) Pressing in a new bearing was really easy, just find a socket of the right size, or use the old bearing, and use the same press, no SST needed, neither needed a lot of force obviously. Then put on the retainer and slide a thinner plumbing tube down the axle to press on the retainer. I believe I could just do that by hand. A great write up can be found here: http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/rear_axle/wheel_bearing/ Since I remember it took a while to figure out the exact way of doing this and I was able to create my own solution, cheaply, I hope it will be of use to anyone who wishes to do this repair.
