How I changed my 05's Front Wheel Bearing

[rlncjnfty]

Just did one this past weekend. Rather than go through all the irritating BS with the bolts I find that it is MUCH easier to support the lower control arm and pop the ball joints loose. This allows you to get the whole assembly out and over to a bench to use an impact wrench or at least a socket and ratchet to get those three pesky bolts out. Lots less stress on the human.

 

[goatman]

Hey All,

I reviewed the entire tread so I hope I'm not asking the same question twice. I'm about to order bearings. Some of the bearing hubs come without sensor cable. I tried to see the hub end of the cable and cannot. The question: Does the sensor cable have a connection at the hub making the existing cable usable on the new hub or does it have a permanent connection at the hub end?

Thanks,

 

[thepotroast]

Hey All,

I reviewed the entire tread so I hope I'm not asking the same question twice. I'm about to order bearings. Some of the bearing hubs come without sensor cable. I tried to see the hub end of the cable and cannot. The question: Does the sensor cable have a connection at the hub making the existing cable usable on the new hub or does it have a permanent connection at the hub end?

Thanks,

The ABS sensor on the front hubs has a lead that comes out a good 12 inches, with the connector on the end of that lead. You then simply connect the end of that lead (I believe it's female) to the existing lead that is on the vehicle (male of course).

I would order the hub with the new sensor personally. Less likely to trigger an ABS light if you don't mess with those. Hunting down an ABS code and problem can get costly and time consuming.

 

[goatman]

The ABS sensor on the front hubs has a lead that comes out a good 12 inches, with the connector on the end of that lead. You then simply connect the end of that lead (I believe it's female) to the existing lead that is on the vehicle (male of course).

I would order the hub with the new sensor personally. Less likely to trigger an ABS light if you don't mess with those. Hunting down an ABS code and problem can get costly and time consuming.

Appreciate it Potroast...

 

[puum]

I'm looking for some advice.

For starters, the suggestion on the deep offset wrench was spot on! I got one before I started the job and I got all 3 bolts out. Major PITA but they came out.

I'm one of the lucky ones that looks like there's a bunch of black RTV between the hub assembly and the steering knuckle. I can see it oozing out where the two surfaces mate and I can't break that sucker free for anything.

Is my best (only?) bet to just use a torch to heat it all up and soften it or what do I do to get this hub off? Time to go to bed tonight and hopefully tomorrow afternoon I can get that hub out of there.

It hasn't been THAT bad up until now. This is the hardest part of the job for me.

Thanks.

P.S. I forgot to mention but mine is a 2003 XLT.

 

[jimspinnin]

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[jimspinnin]

try hubbearing.com their parts numbers are the same as advanced and way cheaper. free shipping on $50 or more

Are they a good brand? I ordered quick struts for my 02 Sat and want to get the hub and bearings also.

 

[bfdolins]

Just did this today. This thread was very helpful. One thing that I didnt get while reading through all this was using the 3 jaw puller to push the axle in after removing the axle nut will give you more room to get the 3 bolts out with the offset box end. The hardest part was pulling that corroded hub off.

It fixed the humming and clunking up front, but I still have a loud buzz coming form the rear. Bearings? Differential? ugh.

 

[gdcpony]

I just did this on my wife's Exploder ('02). Since I read that the back bolts were a PITA, I tried a trick I have used on multiple front drives to gain a bit more room. Most everything is the same except I put the puller on BEFORE I loosen the bolts and push the axle back enough to gain enough clearance for my 1/2 drive "wobble" extension (much easier most of the time than a swivel) and socket. Combined with turning the wheel I had no problem pulling them out. Note that I didn't try to force the axle too far just enough to get the bolts out with the socket on them. Combined with new pads on both sides, the driver's side wheel bearing, and an oil change I had 2 1/2 hours in it from the time I pulled it in to taking it for a test drive. Boy, is it nice and quiet now!

 

[etobicokian]

2006 front hub

78 K on my 06 and I think it's the right side hub...hum is louder on a left hand turn. Have most of you been replacing both hubs or guessing which side it is and going for the one? Thanks.

 

[thepotroast]

78 K on my 06 and I think it's the right side hub...hum is louder on a left hand turn. Have most of you been replacing both hubs or guessing which side it is and going for the one? Thanks.

I did both for two reasons. One because I found a guy selling new OEM Ford front hub assemblies for $100/ea so I bought both, and two because I figured once all my tools were out and I got one out of the way, it would only take a couple of hours to get the other done.

My front left was the culprit, but I replaced the front right as well while I was down there.

If it's in your budget to go the extra $150 or so for the part, just do both at the same time.

 

[etobicokian]

Thanks Thepotroast. I was trying to get an idea from those that did only one how soon they had to do the other. Have you had to do the rears around the same time as well?
FYI, I had a look at my 06 today and I was able to fit a 3/8 drive 15mm socket onto the 3 hard to get bolts and a regular wrench also fit with plenty of clearance, so I'm thinking something was changed by Ford for '06. Did not do the job because the big nut takes a 32mm socket and I couldn't find one. Will pick it up tomorrow and attempt the hub changeover in a couple of days. Also, I'm going with a used low mileage hub. Will let you know how it went in a few days.

 

[thepotroast]

Thanks Thepotroast. I was trying to get an idea from those that did only one how soon they had to do the other. Have you had to do the rears around the same time as well?
FYI, I had a look at my 06 today and I was able to fit a 3/8 drive 15mm socket onto the 3 hard to get bolts and a regular wrench also fit with plenty of clearance, so I'm thinking something was changed by Ford for '06. Did not do the job because the big nut takes a 32mm socket and I couldn't find one. Will pick it up tomorrow and attempt the hub changeover in a couple of days. Also, I'm going with a used low mileage hub. Will let you know how it went in a few days.

Is your 06 a 4x4?

And yes, they used a complete different hub, axle and knuckle assembly in the 06+ models. The parts are mutually exclusive.

 

[jakedrew]

my 04 is making noise from up front. starts humming at 40mph. Time for a left front wheel bearing.

Anyone had good luck with parts stores bearings? I have used timken stuff in the past and had no issues.

Or should I stick with OEM ford stuff?

62k miles on it .

thanks for the post info.

 

[ShawnTRD]

I got a NTP Wheel Bearing from Advance Auto Parts. It was about $140 and it came with the ABS Sensor. Autozone had one that didn't come with the ABS Sensor so watch out for that.

 

[thepotroast]

my 04 is making noise from up front. starts humming at 40mph. Time for a left front wheel bearing.

Anyone had good luck with parts stores bearings? I have used timken stuff in the past and had no issues.

Or should I stick with OEM ford stuff?

62k miles on it .

thanks for the post info.

Just make sure to opt for one with the sensor included. I replaced mine with OEM hubs only because I found a seller offering them for $100/ea for new Motorcraft's so I hopped on it. Timken's are fine as well, beware of the eBay chinese junk that's floating around on the web

 

[jakedrew]

ya i called ford and they want 240$. timken one at autozone is 250 ( with sensor). the national brand from advance is 190. the chinese one is 130$ which he said sees come back alot.


but 100$ is a steal! no wonder why they didnt last long.

I will keep updated.

 

[DLinkOZ]

Quick sourcing question - where's a good place (b&m or online) and brand to purchase the hub with everything? I'm talking the hub, the ABS cable and new fasteners (with as much torque as it takes to remove, I'd hate to re-use them).

 

[jakedrew]

www.rockauto.com has the national brand one ( usa bearing)

good luck

 

[miker104]

RockAuto.com prices are:

National P/N 515050 is $175
SKF P/N BR930456 is $173 (bolts not illustrated on SKF catalog page)
Timken P/N SP470200 is $144 (bolts not illustrated on Timken catalog page)

Ford OEM one:

P/N 4L2Z1104AA is $174 (online Dealer price) MSRP is $241.28

All include the ABS sensor/cable. Only the National one from RockAuto shows the bolts, but I have also heard that the Ford OEM one includes the bolts.

Which one to choose?