How to Replace Rear Bearing Hub – 2002 Camry – ES300

In this post we go through the rear bearing hub replacement on a 2002 Lexus ES300/Toyota Camry.

You know when a bearing is going out when rolling down the road just gets louder. Some have referred to it as “Wheel Roar”! It sounds like your car is going to take off!

For details on how to check if you have a bad bearing (and which wheel it is), check out this article which describes the procedure for changing the front bearing.

Replacing the rear bearings in one of these cars is actually pretty easy. You replace the whole bearing hub assembly, so it is a lot easier than replacing the front bearing, which is more involved because you have to press the bearing into the hub. For the rear, you just take off the old one, and slap on the new one…

Have a Toyota Corolla with a bad bearing? Check out my guides on How to Replace the Rear Bearing in a Toyota Corolla and How to Replace the Front Bearing in a Toyota Corolla!

The trickiest part of this repair is if you live in the “Rust Belt” like I do. Some of the parts end up being rusted together. Not a big deal.

TIP: I show you all the tricks to get the hub off easily and safely!

Applicable Vehicles

This repair will be the same for the models shown including Toyota Camry.

2002-2011 Toyota Camry
2005-2012 Toyota Avalon
2002-2003 Lexus ES300
2004-2006 Lexus ES330
2007-2012 Lexus ES350

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Tools and Supplies Needed for this Repair

The following tools and supplies are used for this repair:

How to Replace the Rear Bearing – 2002 Toyota Camry – Lexus ES300

The first step is to jack up the vehicle, secure it with chocks and jackstands.

Then remove the rear wheel.

Set the rear wheel aside or place it under the vehicle for an extra layer of protection in case the jackstands fail.

This is the rear brake assembly. We’ll remove this in the next step.

Use a 14mm socket to remove the top and bottom brake caliper bolts that hold the caliper bracket on (2 bolts).

Use a caliper hook or some wire to hold the brake caliper out of the way being sure not to put strain on the brake line.

Here is a picture of the brake caliper being held up by a caliper hook that is hooked above to the strut spring.

Next, remove the brake disc. It is usually rusted on, so try giving it a few taps with a rubber mallet.

If it doesn’t budge, use a 10mm bolt and thread it into one of the holes in the disk. I used the bolt from the brake line bracket.

Screw the bolt in until the disc pops loose, then remove the brake disc.

Next, reach around behind the bearing assembly and locate the ABS speed sensor. Remove the ABS sensor plug.

Mine broke off, so it is convenient here to show how the plug comes loose. Force a flat-bladed screwdriver to release the plastic tab as shown. Then pull the connector apart.

We’re now ready to remove the hub assembly. Use a 14mm socket. The socket has to be narrow enough to fit through the hole in the flange. A deep 14mm socket works well for this.

Feed the socket into the hole until it is seated on the bolt head.

These mounting bolts might be tight. I had to use a cheater bar to remove them.

Note there are 4 bolts that need to be removed. rotate the flange so that the hole lines up with the next bolt and remove that as well. Repeat until all 4 bolts are removed. Note that you might need to wiggle the parking brake shoes around in order to get the socket to seat properly on the bolt heads.

The hub assembly and backing plate are often rusted together. Tap them or use a slide hammer to get the hub assembly off, being careful not to damage the brake line going to the parking brake.

The hub assembly is usually seized to the backing plate.

To remove it, the following trick:

PRO TIP! Thread two long bolts through the holes in the flange and place a washer and nut on the backside.

Here you can see the washer and nut on the opposite side of the flange:

Hold the nut with a wrench and screw the bolt inward to force flange away from the backing plate. The tip of the bolt presses against the backing plate, and the nut and washer press against the inside of the flange. Alternately tighten the 2 bolts, until the hub assembly is pressed out.

Once the backing plate pops loose, separate it from the old hub assembly.

To prevent this happening in the future, I put a coating of anti-seize onto the face-plate.

We’re now ready to install the new hub assembly.

This is a link to the hub assembly that I bought, and it is still working great 6 months later:

Bearing Hub Assembly (Rear) – Toyota Camry / Lexus ES300,ES330ES350 / Toyota Avalon

This next part is a little tricky. It might help to have an extra set of hands for this step. While holding the hub assembly and backing plate, thread one of the upper bolts through both of them and into the face-plate.

I found it worked well to position the bolt through the hub and backing plate first with the socket on the bolt head.