How I changed my 05's Front Wheel Bearing

[EskimoEddie]

Help! Cant get hub assy off of knuckle!!

Great tips and a very helpful thread!! But, I've gotten the 3 bolts off holding the hub assy onto the knuckle but can't free the assembly!! It seems there's some glue or gasket material holding the assembly to the knuckle. I've got a hub puller and have been able to compress the axle shaft 1/2 way through the splined ID of the hub, but it seems that the puller bottoms out and the CV joint won't compress anymore. Any tips would be great, thanks

 

[EskimoEddie]

Got a slide hammer and puller flange, and it popped right out!! Finally!! Got the new assembly on now and am minutes away from a test drive!! Woo Hoo!! Thanks again for all the helpful hints and great write up Shawn!!

 

[clarks2001]

is it possible to remove the knuckle without damaging the ball joints or anything else? then unbolt the hub assembly once the knuckle is off since you wont have the CV joint in the way anymore?
I know vehicles are different but on my friends scion, we were able to remove the knuckle and take it from there to get the bearing pressed out and a new one pressed in. I know the fronts of our Explorers are built as a bearing/hub assembly as a unit but if I can get the knuckle off without needing to replace things like the ball joints and stuff, I think it would be way easier than trying to stuff an offset wrench in there and go at the 1/10 turn at a time to get the bolts out lol

 

[High_Order1]

Clark...

I dunno. I'm sure you could pop the upper and lower joint, but then you'd have to figure out how to unbolt the half shaft. After that, you'd have it out from under the truck, but I can't imagine how that would really increase your ability to get to the bolts. Plus, then you'd have to do something about the ball joints and shaft... I think.... lol

Shawn

 

[clarks2001]

well from the way the pics look, the axle just slides in and out of the hub assembly, no bolts hold it in. Looks like the only thing that holds the axle on is the axle nut (which is already removed at that point anyways) So I think I should be able to slide out the axle as I am removing the knuckle (with hub attached still) and hang the axle by a coat hanger.
Doing it this way means I shouldnt need to use an offset wrench to unbolt the axle. I can just stick the knuckle into a vice and use a socket and breaker bar combo to get the bolts out from the knuckle/hub.

 

[fangsnu]

#1 I am a Ford Tech. Never use a impact on the cv nut. What we do why it cost the customer so much at my shop $550 for a front is we take off the whole nuckle unbolt the top and the bottom and the tie rod end and the whole thing comes out minus the cv axle. Then 15mm impact take it off and then new one on with antiseize and 15mm torque the 3 bolts to 85 ftlbs. then slap it all back in there. Then you get a front end alignment out of it too. Which Ford recomends anyways.

 

[fangsnu]

Great tips and a very helpful thread!! But, I've gotten the 3 bolts off holding the hub assy onto the knuckle but can't free the assembly!! It seems there's some glue or gasket material holding the assembly to the knuckle. I've got a hub puller and have been able to compress the axle shaft 1/2 way through the splined ID of the hub, but it seems that the puller bottoms out and the CV joint won't compress anymore. Any tips would be great, thanks

Pwease dont do this and push on the cv axle you will mess up the front diff if you have 4x4. Take a pry bar to the back of the hub and pry very lightly on it it is more than likely just stuck inthere from rust and wear groves.

 

[clarks2001]

Just done mine today, and i pushed in the axle and bent it at the joint a little to get it out. also got struck by the pry bar (friend was pushing the pry bar a little too much) talk about painful.
Couldnt get the lower ball joint to pop loose. we tried a ball joint tool or 2 and the 2 jaw thing got its arms bent and came off and the other one (looks like the hot dog thing you use for your grillin days) bent the forks and broke the handle off lol.
how in the world do you get those lower ball joints removed? Still got my hub assembly replaced and it came with a wheel speed sensor too. It rides great now, cant feel or hear a bad bearing. Just got the rear end noise (probably from differential) to take care of lol

 

[xringer]

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to posted on this. I am going to attempt the hub change also.

ThePot Roast could you please send me the name of your contact for the oem Hubs.
Thank-You

Also, I used genuine Ford OEM front hub/bearing assemblies. Found them for $100/ea brand new in the box, from a guy who is going to the Ford dealerships closing and buying up their parts inventory. If anyone is looking for this complete assembly, I can refer you to him....he is a reputable seller with more than excellent feedback through eBay and Paypal.

 

[Mussin]

The Pot Roast... I would also like the info for the cheap wheel bearings PLEASE.


THANKS

Jeremy

 

[Mussin]

Well I just did two of these today on both of my 2002 mountaineers. Front left on mine and front left on my wifes.. I did hers first thinking it would be easiest (100,000 miles) after struggling to get one of the three 15mm bolts off (first two came off easy) the damn hub almost felt like it was rusted onto the spindle. After a bit of persuasion it came off. On mine (175,000miles) I had a different plan of attack. I loosened up the 3-15mm bolts a bit, knocked the hub loose from the spindle just enough to get a hacksaw blade in there. I then used a hacksaw to saw all three bolts, took 5 minutes. I would suggest trying that method if you have new bolts to put back on, easy as pie. Only took 2 hours for both wheel bearings from start to finish. We did the last one in 30 minutes. Not a bad job at all, you will need the 15mm off set wrench, it is a must.


Jeremy

 

[dpzavisch]

Do you find it easier not to take the calipers out of the holder (as in replacing the brake pads)? It makes it lighter and is only 2 more bolts. I would think it would make assembly easier. Since I have 2 wheel drive the bolts are not a problem. I did this a year ago and the replacement went bad (less than 6k miles). My first clue was the ABS sensor went bad, and I replaced it with the original one from Ford from the old hub (90k miles on it). Am replacing it with an OEM purchased from the seller listed in this post. I will also replace the ball joint at the same time using the instructions from the post also listed in this post. I have replaced the passenger’s side front and rear hubs. Driver’s side has not been a problem. I wonder if there were different suppliers on the assembly line, left and right side of the car maybe.

 

[ShawnTRD]

OK is this really this easy?

1) Move large center shaft bolt.
2) Remove brake caliper and brake rotor.
3) Unplug ABS sensor.
4) Remove the 3 bolts holding hub on.

 

[thepotroast]

OK is this really this easy?

1) Move large center shaft bolt.
2) Remove brake caliper and brake rotor.
3) Unplug ABS sensor.
4) Remove the 3 bolts holding hub on.

#1, 2 and 3....yes (I have no idea what "large center shaft bolt" is...I can only assume you mean remove axle NUT?

#4....not so much.

 

[ShawnTRD]

Yes I do mean remove axle nut(it was getting pretty late). But other then the 3 bolts holding hub on being a pain in the a$$, thats all there is to doing that $600-$700 dealer job?

 

[ShawnTRD]

OK I have to do the right side HUB. What Hub should I get? Ford, Advance Auto, Autozone, Napa?

 

[majorhavoc]

I plan on doing my wife's 04 this weekend. Most likely on Friday. We are both off so hopefully I can get it done in the mornig so I can take a nap in the afternoon

 

[thepotroast]

I plan on doing my wife's 04 this weekend. Most likely on Friday. We are both off so hopefully I can get it done in the mornig so I can take a nap in the afternoon

Best of luck, and if you run into any snags just post on this thread

 

[majorhavoc]

I am currently in search for some offset wrenches though. I don't feel the need to drive an hour to find it. Trying to find it locally. 13 x 15mm Full Polish Deep Offset Wrench

 

[dadude]

Kudos to High Order1 & Potroast. The detailed description/procedure is excellent and thank you for the heads up on where to find the OEM hubs & the offset box wrench idea.

I only lost a little skin and without the Craftsman offset wrench & ~18"x1" pipe as cheater bar, would've never got the three pain in the @$$ hub bolts off. One of those "high strength" suckers actually sheared off!! I'm not a fan of putting a hacksaw near the machined aluminum surface with bad access just to save a little work, so I did mine old school.
I found the trickiest part was torquing the replacements. Was able to use a short 1-1/2"x3/8" wobble extension (Craftsman, cheap "made in China" junk tools don't work, that's how I lost the skin!), reset the socket on the bolt and the wrench multiple times to get the right angle. Have an assortment of extensions ready and the shorter the torque wrench the better to clear the wheel well. Also, used the puller to "push" the axle back to access the hub bolts, it gives you a little more room & every micron helps.
It isn't a bad job, just need some elbow grease, leverage, patience, beer, band aids and try not to get too tricky, take it 1/12th of a turn at a time.