How To: Replacing Front Hub / Bearing 1995+ Ford Explorer IFS

[daffy]

It should be the same through the 2001 model year, but, if it's a late 2001, it could be different.

01blacksport, is your 4WD? It's a different animal for a 2WD, much, much cheaper too. Otherwise, I'd say remove your caliper and give the rotor a few whacks with a 3lb hammer, it should come loose, it took 5 hits for mine

 

[01 Black Sport]

Ya mines a 4WD, I hope its the same because the one piece buggers are expense. My bearings are starting to go but im gonna wait till this canadian weather warms up a bit before doing it outside!!

 

[Top Jimmy]

Thanks for the details and pix! Awesome job. I performed this operation in last December and am glad to learn that great minds think alike.

My post however, concerns the ABS light after the wheel bearing was replaced. It remains on. I have checked the connection several times to no avail. I am curious what I may have overlooked or might be missing now. Nothing out of the ordinary and the light was never on before. It seems like all I did was unhook the old connection and plug in the new - and now the problem appeared.

Ideas?

 

[tone_loco]

which front hubs would work with a 2WD explorer? all the stores i looked @ only have 4x4 front hubs, or does it matter... im a newb with this...

 

[Big6ft6]

which front hubs would work with a 2WD explorer? all the stores i looked @ only have 4x4 front hubs, or does it matter... im a newb with this...

I'm not sure, but I'm 99% sure you can't use 4x4 hubs becuase they rely on the half-shaft nut to provide the majority of the strength. without front half-shaft your wheel will eventually fall off. People have tried to convert 4x4 to 2wd by removing the front half-shafts. then the hub is only held on by 4 small bolts which turned out to be not strong enough....after a few corners the whole thing falls off. ooops.

 

[g8r]

Is it okay to heat the axle nut off? Well, I was just planning ahead....I got a breaker bar off fleabay and it worked...so no worries...for now.

 

[aughtsix]

"To those that have done this, is it me, or does that nut seem a little smaller than 32mm? My socket seemed loose, on both the one I took off, and the new one."

DAFFY, I am working on replacing my ball joints, on my '98 Sport. I also. was in a quandary over hub nut size. 1-1/4 inch seemed to loose and 32 MM seemed to loose! Hey, I noticed you are in Peoria, ILL. I lived in Pekin, IL for 50 years and worked at CAT, Inc for 36 of those years. I worked in E. Peoria for many years and retired from Mossville!

Using 25.4 MM = 1 inch, as the formula:

1-1/4 inch times 25.4 = 31.75 MM

32 MM divided by 25.4 = 1.25984252

So, they, are both to big!! Go figure!! I used a 1-1/4!! Smaller of the two, maybe it's a whitworth size, don't have a whitworth conversion chart right now, so! LOL!!

NCC....

I, too am a anti seize aficionado and I intend to use it liberally upon reassembly.

Now, upon viewing your pictures #6 and #7, is there supposed to be something in the back of the steering knuckle, to hold the half shaft in the center of the knuckle opening?? As in a seal or gasket, or does the end of the CV joint boot, butt up against the back side of the knuckle and merrily go round upon front engagement?? Mine has nothing, maybe worn out and disappeared??

 

[schaaed1]

Jaremy -

Thanks for this thread and your past threads. And THANK YOU for converting me to an anti-seeze ***** also!

I do not come on the site too often, post even less. Last spring I redid my front end based on Jeramy's other thread ... I do not think this one was written yet. I have had a wheel bearing groan for a bit now and was dreading this job, had never done a 4wd before. After reading this thread I couldn't believe it was that easy.

1.5 hrs start to finish (one side). Biggest setback I had was finding my 3/8ths drive that my daughter had 'put away for me' prolly 20 min right there.:scratch:

 

[ncc]

Aughtsix: The axle slips right into the back of the hub and the axle nut pulls everything together nice and tight.

Schaaed: Congrats on doing your own work. To me, there's nothing better than having the satisfaction of repairing your own vehicle and saving some coin in the process. There are many repair jobs I would consign to the true professionals for the sake of safety and proper procedures, but there are many things that the average Joe can safely do without much worry.

 

[dwbab]

Change bearings/hub at what mileage ?

Approximately what kind of mileage can you expect from the original bearings/hub? I'm hearing a gradually increasing howling sound with
no noticable vibration comming from the front end.
95 EB 4WD 4L OHV

 

[CDW6212R]

Jeremy, very good explanation thread. But, you should think about how much anti-seize that you use before you apply it.

You I know have gotten anti-seize all over your hands, clothes, tools, and lots of other things. When you end up with that much on the surrounding parts, you will be rubbing it onto everything, and long into the future.

I love anti-seize also, but I only apply it to exactly where it's needed, and as little as possible. Like loctite, only a drop or two, or dab is needed on threads. For that hub, I don't personally have that water/corrosion issue where I am, and on the street. I haven't used the anti-seize there. That pocket doesn't have any use, no friction. You might smear it lightly with RTV to keep rust from forming, that wouldn't smear like anti-seize later.

Anyway, good work.

 

[badge49]

I'm ordering new hubs today. Anybody recommend one brand over another? TimKen or SKF? They're the same price here...need to know before the day ends?

 

[badge49]

NCC...You are awesome! I used SKF hub assemblies and replaced my blown lower ball joints while I was at it. Your pictures and explainations were great! Saved me about $400 bucks!!!

 

[sickmtbnutcase]

I haven't posted in ages, but I just gotta give a big thanks for this write-up. Had to do the driver's side hub on my '95. This saved me lots of $ by assuring me I can do it myself. A Ford tech friend of mine helped explain things as well, and lent me a 1/2" breaker bar and 32mm socket so I didn't have to buy them

Hub was $183 at the Ford dealer so I just went with that. Just under an hour and she was good as new. Tip: (not sure if it was mentioned), use a puller to push back the axle/joint to give yourself more room to get at the three bolts in back of the hub.

Oh, and if anyone is wondering, 216,400 miles on the original hub. Passenger side hub/bearing still seems fine; but will watch it closely now.

So big thanks again for the write-up!

 

[bones_pa]

This is a great writeup for hub replacement. Can I ask a general question about the noise you hear with a bum hub? I took by 4x4 '97 XLT to the dealer last fall with a right front grinding noise. They told me it was the tires. My noise still persists. The noise does not change in pitch, but increases in volume with increasing vehicle speed. It also decreases in volume when the wheel is unloaded (wavy road surface or bumps). Does not change when swerving or turning steering wheel. Difference in road surface (going from concrete to blacktop) does not affect character of sound. Even at slow speed (< 5 mph), you can faintly hear a grind. The other 3 corners of the vehicle do not sound this loud.

With these sound characteristics, I assume it is the hub and not tires. Is there a way to test the hub before removal with a 4x4?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Big6ft6]

With these sound characteristics, I assume it is the hub and not tires. Is there a way to test the hub before removal with a 4x4?

Thanks everyone!

Bones...be careful...I had a very frustrating experience similar to you...I had a noise coming from the front driver's side only...and get this...EVEN WHEN I ROTATED TIRES..noise STILL was only from front driver's side.

It had to be hub right? WRONG...I paid for (or should say got screwed $500) to have a new hub put in (DO IT YOURSELF IT IS EASY $175) and the noise was still there!! I was so frustrated...

Finally, I found a guy parting out another explorer that was totaled in an accident and his front wheels/tires were already removed from his truck. I called and ask if I could pay him $10 to let me swap his tires on to my truck and drive around the block.. He said "sure"...

Guess what...put on his tires...noise gone. Somthing about the suspension or alignment on my front driver's side corner..combined with my tires...made a noise. But with different tires no noise.

So if there is an easy way to try some other tire first before you do the hub replacement do it. Make sure you use a different type of tire (don't just rotate your own tires) and swap out both the front tires at the same time. It might just really be your tires. But if it is your hub DO IT YOURSELF it isn't hard at all, I had to remove the hub later for a different repair and it took only minutes!

 

[05dink05]

I did this exactly 1 year and 6 days ago, I followed this how to and it worked great. That is until 5 days ago. Yup exactly 1 day after the warrenty was up the noise started coming back. Anyone have any idea what could make the hub go bad again that quickly? Thanks

Oh yeah, My Ex is 1999 4 door 4 wheel drive SOHC. I did the change at 166,666 and now I think I'm in the mid 180's.

 

[BK_89iX]

I just finished changing out both front wheel bearings in my '97 Explorer.

RockAuto had the best price on the Timken units at <$300 shipped for the pair.

Unfortunately I had to recycle the axle nuts, since none of the local dealers stock that part. They suggested a bit of loctite. I may go back and do the new nut.

A couple of comments on the job:

- A 3" wobble extension makes very short work of the three hub bolts.

- One old hub had a rubber gasket, which I transferred to the new hub. The other old hub was replaced under warranty many years ago, and this one did not have an o-ring, which resulted in mucho corrosion inside. Make sure that you use an o-ring!

- Was I supposed to grease the seal behind the hub??

- Is the thick grease accumulation behind one hub from the CV joint? I should add that this particular corner had been emitting some rumbling, which the new bearing did not resolve.

BK

 

[metalmechanic]

17. Perform final torquing of the lug nuts and axle nut (250ft/lbs).

For those who may get confused, do not torque the lugs nuts to 250!!! I believe the torque on them is 100ft/lbs. I know, I know, but some would...

 

[CDW6212R]

250 may be a little high, but 100ft.lbs. is too low. I'd say I apply about 130-150lbs.ft. of torque to those. The hub nuts are very large, they require much more torque than a lug nut.

Also be careful about mixing the nuts from one axle to another, they often will have different threads.Regards,