Another bearing

[07EddyB]

So - the LR knuckle came off today - got it to a shop but they didn't get it pressed out until my wife had left to take the youngest to a party. Will pick it up tomorrow and reassemble. This will be the last OEM bearing to be replaced - it wasn't that bad but I had a few days off so decided to take care of it on my schedule.
So I guess my LF will be the next to go. It was replaced at around 25K under warranty so it's got about 75K on it now. My RF has about 25K on it and the RR has about 8K on it. Looking forward to possibly having a brief period where there is no bearing noise at all. It's a tall order - I know that - but a man can dream!
If you remember my follower saga, it's got about a thousand miles on it now and is still quiet.
If you remember my exhaust manifold saga, it's got about 2500 miles on seven studs and holding strong. No exhaust leaks yet.

 

[michael loibl]

I feel your pain. Two weeks ago I finally got around to installing the 4 new tires I bought for my wife’s explorer 3 months ago. While I had it on the lift, I did a new gas filter and another front sway bar link. Let it down off the lift and while my 13 year old niece was setting my tire pressures, I replaced the 11 year old accessory belt. It was time, and it had a annoying chirping noise.
On the way home that day I noticed just a little bit of rumble in the front end while making slight right turns. Two days later, my wife says “my car is making that rumble noise again”. Yup, time for another front bearing!

 

[GeorgeH]

What's a good sign to diagnose a bearing early when you have bad hearing?

 

[suzook]

Why so many faiures? Just too small of a hub? This is ridiculous.

 

[07EddyB]

What's a good sign to diagnose a bearing early when you have bad hearing?

For me, it is all about tire noise. While my Michelin LTX tires have some noise, when a bearing goes it sounds like someone mounted a set of Gumbo Monster Mudders on it. For the fronts, you then wait until the sound starts getting louder in a turn to determine which one. The rears are trickier. My RR shook the steering wheel before it got bad enough to determine the bad side.
If you have bad hearing it would be tough. They don't usually have play in them so you have to catch the noise. You might try picking up a cheap stethoscope and listening to the strut tower or the spring while you rotate the tire.
As a general rule, and I've seen others say the same, expect about 70K out of the fronts and about 100K from the rears on the original bearings.

 

[GeorgeH]

For me, it is all about tire noise. While my Michelin LTX tires have some noise, when a bearing goes it sounds like someone mounted a set of Gumbo Monster Mudders on it. For the fronts, you then wait until the sound starts getting louder in a turn to determine which one. The rears are trickier. My RR shook the steering wheel before it got bad enough to determine the bad side.
If you have bad hearing it would be tough. They don't usually have play in them so you have to catch the noise. You might try picking up a cheap stethoscope and listening to the strut tower or the spring while you rotate the tire.
As a general rule, and I've seen others say the same, expect about 70K out of the fronts and about 100K from the rears on the original bearings.

Do you get a steering vibration when the front are going bad also?

 

[Davidm53]

So far, one Front and One rear bearing replaced.
Never had a steering vibration, just that dry metal sound at different speeds.
107,000 miles.

 

[GeorgeH]

Every time I've had one go out it's been someone riding with me that said "what's that noise?" and I would be like "what noise?"

 

[07EddyB]

Do you get a steering vibration when the front are going bad also?

I don't recall ever getting a vibration in the steering wheel from a front bearing - only from the rear. I know that sounds counter intuitive but that was my experience with my RR. Today I finished the LR and while the tire noise didn't really decrease that much I wasn't surprised because it was fairly light to begin with. What I did notice was a different feel to my steering wheel. No vibration at all - felt like I had tightened it somehow. I hadn't really noticed that vibrations had been creeping in but the truck felt much smoother and in control.

Today took longer than expected - I took this one to the same shop to have the bearing pressed. First time all was good - this time they managed to mangle the brake shield. They straightened it out some and warned me to check it before I put the wheel on but I didn't realize how bad it was until I started putting the parking brake shoes back in. One side the shield was bent out so much the shoe retaining pin was touching the hub. I spent a considerable amount of time adjusting the shield so the parking brake shoes sat correctly and the hub didn't rub on the rotor. Tested parking brake functionality while still in the air to make sure it would engage and release cleanly. Kept the left windows down during the test drive and didn't hear any scraping noises so I think it's good. Probably won't order a new shield because the hub has to be pressed out to replace the shield which is how it got screwed up to begin with - it's a perpetual cascading of failures!!!!
I suspect he had another employee press it this time or he got in a hurry thinking that I had to have it yesterday since he closes at 5 and called me at 4:45.

 

[grfo]

I guess there is a healthy market for these things if there are so many manufacturers making them on Rockauto. What do folks recommend? I'm assuming the more expensive ones?

 

[07EddyB]

I guess there is a healthy market for these things if there are so many manufacturers making them on Rockauto. What do folks recommend? I'm assuming the more expensive ones?

The general consensus on the board is to make sure it has a Timken bearing. Some people have bought the cheap EBay bearings and they have failed as soon as they put it back on the floor (seriously - I've never understood how that can happen). Many have had great success from such bearings. I'm sure many people have had their bearings replaced at a shop that used the cheapest parts available and they never had a problem. I'm sure many people have replaced their bearings themselves with the Ford part and had problems And - of course - this is the internet????
I personally use the Moog hub replacement part at Advance for the rears - I use a Timken part from Amazon for the fronts. None of them have been on the vehicle long enough to honestly recommend them or condemn them..
I've seen recommendations all over the board on this forum for bearings. I personally think many people overlook installation as a predicator for bearing life - especially on the rears.
Good luck on bearing selection - many will argue - but I haven't seen clear evidence for or against any bearing manufacturer.
Having said that - don't get the cheapest. That never works out for anything.

 

[MotorCityFats13]

if money is no concern then look for SKF if you cant find them go Timkin.... my money is thinner than water so I go ebay

I say SKF because I used to work as a quality inspector for the heat treating processor and I know the quality control of those Germans and the hoops we had to jump through just on the hubs so I can only imagine it was worse for the bearings
below you will find 2 pictures of one of my inspections, the heat treated area had to be in a very small range and after the temper process we had to do a vickers microhardness tests with another small range..... pretty much 65HRC hardness

 

[grfo]

Our 2001 Explorer Sport Trac has the original bearings on the front hubs as well as the rear axle @ 215k miles. I've just done standard maintenance on those and replaced the seals when required.
When I first saw the suspension on my 07 (doing the brake job) I was very impressed with how modular it is.
I am surprised to find out that the hubs are a reliability problem. I would've thought the opposite. The way that they are designed lends them to being precisely assembled (or so it seems to me) - Obviously that doesn't translate into a finished quality part unless it is.
The first time that I took the 2007 off road I really liked how it handled compared to my older Sport Trac.
My 2007 is new to me and has 128,000 miles on it. I am not noticing any roaring or wheel bearing sort of sounds yet. But I'm not looking forward to having to replace these things.

 

[Zorin]

If you have to do a rear bearing, try to find a *** 559431C. This is the bearing that Ford put in it originally, and the bearing that will come out of the Motorcraft box. Buying Motorcraft, you'll pay about $79 per bearing.

Buying the ***, I bought 2 of them from Rock Auto for about $34 each.

On the front hubs, it's hard to say. SKF does make a quality part, but it can be spendy for those. I did buy a set of Federal Moguls for my pickup, a 2003 Dodge Ram ( another known bearing-eater) and had them last about 7 months. I figured if I was going to be replacing front hubs that often, I'd just buy the dirt cheapest thing going on eBay......those have been in there for 4 years now without complaint. Go figure, right?

Tim

 

[Zorin]

Oh, and with regard to rear bearing installation.....the bearing design is such that you have to VERY careful about where you are pressing when you put it back together. If you push on the inside ring while pressing the bearing into the upright, or if you don't support the inside ring while pressing the hub unit into the bearing, you're stressing the internals of the bearing, and marring the rolling elements against the races in the bearing creating flat spots - this will make it roar the second it moves - basically, a ruined bearing.

This can happen very easily, even to someone who does this daily, not to mention some kid at a shop that is learning to use the press!

Tim