Front Wheel Bearing Replacement

So my front driver side bearing is humming like a **** and i've been reading about replacing it. First of all I am SHOCKED at the price of a replacement
Is replacing the hub required? Are you able to replace just the bearing unit or is it one piece? I've replaced wheel bearings on hondas (I know it's not a honda) and you just press the old one off and the new one on the hub. Seems like overkill to replace the whole hub unit unless it's for ease of installation or it's damaged in some way. So what are your thoughts on this? Has anyone done it this way? Mind you I haven't visually looked at the setup on the EX so i don't really know how it is. Thanks
short

I think it's all one piece. I had mine done on my '08 but the dealer did that. I replaced the ones on my '99 by myself and it was one piece.

I bought a pair of SKF hubs on Ebay for $154.00 each. Canadian made!

The fronts are only sold as one piece (parts will be your big cost for the fronts) - so YES you have to replace the entire hub. Shop the internet (start with ebay) for motorcraft parts, but you can also save yourself some money if you go Timken.

The backs are a different story. The cost there is in taking the whole back end apart. Once that is done, it is a matter of pressing out the old bearing and pressing in the new (the bearings are not that much - I got my backs for ~$55 each from amazon). From what I have heard, they are a real pain to do. I've heard of guys saying they've had them done for $30 from a local shop. Around here, I had to pay $55 each to have the pressing done and they would not guarantee that was the upper limit - might have been more (depending on if they had trouble).

I just replaced all 4 of mine recently. I went Motorcraft hubs in the front and Timken bearings in the backs. I hope to get a LONG life out of this set.

It really made a big difference in the quietness of the ride.

Yupp all one piece, its a sealed unit... I just did another one yesterday I got it from NAPA for 139+ tax, thats the cheap one they also had one for 300 n' sumthin

Thanks for the input! My brother in law works in a machine shop and can press them off/on for me, but doesn't do any good if it's one piece! I guess ill start my search then. I read that the part number depends on whether the truck was manufactured before or after 11/29/06 how can i find out when mine was made? xsportx what year is that for? i was checking napaonline they only showed one and it was like $250 for my 06'

short1 said:

xsportx what year is that for? i was checking napaonline they only showed one and it was like $250 for my 06'

Click to expand...

That was for a 2002 sport....

and for napa try this...

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Result.aspx?Ntt=hub&Nty=1&N=599001+102006+50028+2028014+521416+598999&Ntk=Keyword

Or just give them a call and get a price on one!!

I did my front ones 4 times already (06, 131k miles). By now it takes me under an hour to do one Explanation: 2 of those 4 were cheap staff for $129 made in China that did not last few days - seriously. Got Motorcraft parts (part# HUB29) from ebay and no problems since then.
It's just 3 bolts holding them (plus wheel and brakes).

Thanks for the link xsportx. Explorer_PL i've learned my lesson with the chinese bearings from working on my honda, One of them were actually junk before the car was on the ground, put the wheel on and it was sloppier than the bearing that it replaced lol Thanks again, time to save a few more pennies.

I've been doing some part searching and everything says HUB29 is not compatible with my vehicle but HUB67 is. HUB67 is about $60 cheaper than HUB29 so bonus i guess! Also I was seeing the SKF hubs starting at $70, i've gotta assume that they're probably knockoffs for that price.

There is a whole post about HUB29 vs HUB67 on this forum. Mine is 2005 built I believe. search for that.

Mine hums either in 4 wheel drive or going in reverse. Getting mine fixed next week with only 51K miles. :-/

Are you sure its a wheel bearing? Sounds more like its drivetrain related, I would think it would hum no matter what if it was a bearing.

I had my buddy listen on the outside and I did as well. Seems to me the noise is coming from the wheel/hub. Atleast I hope so.

I've replaced the wheel hub assembly on my Eddie Bauer driver side twice this week and I still hear the growling noise..looks like I will be taking it to the shop.

I used a Moog/National hub assembly on both front wheels. Easy install and great handling. Our roads are like driving on the moon....and they've held up for the past 30,000 miles so far.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=903429&cc=1434497

Im just wondering if it is possible to really get two bad assemblies in a row?

That looks like rear bearing assembly.

Agreed, I believe the front have the ABS sensor with them; which is the one I changed on front driver side.

Yes, the fronts have ABS sensor built into them, and are different than rears.
The assembly comes with mounting flange pressed together with the hub and bearing.