02 front wheel bearing Questions

[dino11]

i am certain that i have a front wheel bearing bad. i am cheap and plan on running it until it gets worse.

i cannot locate my haynes book, and am confused with search results

i know on the previous gen explorer, you cannot replace the bearing itself but have to replace the entire hub assembly.

i have access to the proper tools and equipment necessary to do both jobs.

my question is which is recommended? if i put quality bearings in, shouldnt that last as long as a whole assembly? assuming they are installed correctly?

the po claims he put new bearings in all around about 30k ago, but i am suspicious of simply replacing the bearings because they only lasted 30k.

i searched but didnt see a writeup on bearing replacement, just the hub assembly.

or am i simply confused and this isnt possible? haha. thanks

 

[thepotroast]

The hub assembly includes the pressed bearing in the front. You cannot just replace the bearing, it's a complete assembly. There is a great How To on replacing them, by the author High_Order1...just do a search.

 

[dino11]

okay thats what i thought!! i knew the previous gens were like that, the whole hub. i have replaced those on my moms 00 ex. i was confused because my friend/coworker claimed he presses the bearings out and replaced them, and i did not think that you could and install them properly. haha i knew he was fibbing :S . thanks... any tips on where to get an oem quality replacement for less than big box parts chains? timken? i have seen rockauto.com mentioned alot here. i will look into them. thanks again

 

[jhumbertoap]

What's the best quality front wheel bearing? And what's the best source?

 

[Limited02]

Best quality would be to go to Ford and get an OEM. You could also go to Mac Auto parts and get both fronts for around $200. I bought one through them and so far it's been great.

 

[TooManyTrucks]

With the hub bearings, the price is all over the board...for good reason...ask yourself how long you are going to keep the truck..you get what you pay for...BCA is a great brand made by federal mogul (also makes motorcraft) the cheap bearings work..but don't last as long...

Also if one is bad..the other is right behind it...

 

[RickM]

Lot's of great info on this forum. However, I printed the How-to found on Ebay and used it for my '02 fronts. It was pretty much dead on regarding accuracy and completeness. The one tool I used to get the three pain-in-the-azz bolts out was a Snap-on open end wrench and Snap-on socket. It was tedious work but (other brands did not). http://reviews.ebay.com/Ford-Explorer-How-To-Install-a-Front-Wheel-Hub-Bearing_W0QQugidZ10000000002168689

BTW, I agree with the comment that the other side will go shortly after. Plus you'll likely see the rears go too....but that's another story.

 

[High_Order1]

http://reviews.ebay.com/Ford-Explore...00000002168689

looks kinda familiar... lol

As far as price, when I did the last few, OEM was pretty dang close to aftermarket. I am always looking for the deal, but on some mission-critical stuff, I am a little reticent to skimp, ya know?

Shawn

 

[mchrist809]

I did my '04 fronts recently. There's a Ford dealer in RI that has a great discount online OEM parts store -- www.tascaparts.com. Think the fronts were $175. I ended up finding one OEM hub assembly on ebay for $100 and the second, a Timken, at Rockauto for $145 as I recall, plus 5% discount. Both hubs appeared identical, US-made products. Spinning beautifully now.