To many questions!!

[Ayame95]

I have a bunch of questions regarding my '05 Explorer XLT 4.0 Flex Fuel so I guess I'll start here.

I bought my Explorer over a year ago and it had around 60k miles on it. I have no previous history on it besides it was this ladies moms car whom lived in Florida. Now here comes the fun part.

The first winter I had it I had to replace the thermostat as it had one that opened at a lower temp then the one I needed.

The rest of this is in the order I fixed it in the last year and two months. (It does not include what still needs to be fixed as I fix one thing and another goes bad)

Front passenger Hub assembly (which included a new ABS sensor)
Rear air door actuator
had the cowl cleaned out
Front drivers hub assembly (which included a new ABS sensor)
hood lifts
Front ball joints (both sides, uppers and lowers)
Front brakes and rotors
plugs and wires and serpentine belt
Washer fluid pump
(I have also done regular maintenance such as oil changes, air filter, wiper blades, fluid checks and getting the tires balanced and rotated when needed)

I am now close to 104k miles and my ABS and traction control light came on this past Wednesday but turned off before I could get home to scan it. The light came on again Thursday and since I was at work I was able to get it scanned and found that the front passenger side sensor has gone bad. I went to see if the hub assembly was still under warranty and found it expired 2 months ago.

Now, my questions regarding this issue are:
1. How serious is this issue? (I have heard several different things)
2. Should it have gone bad in just over a year?
3. There doesn't seem to be anything wring with the bearing itself so would I be alright just getting a new sensor? or should I replace the whole thing? ( I have been told to do both from different people.)
4. Are Explorers famous for having bearings and hubs go bad?

Sorry for all the questions. I just want to know what I am looking at, how to best go about it, and what to look for in the future. Thank you in advance for any help. There are alot more questions but I figured I'd start here.

 

[PShay78]

What brand hub assembly did you put on?

1. If memory serves me correctly I believe it could have an impact on braking.
2. As far as going bad just around a year I would say it probably depends on the manufacturer. I believe the ones I got have 3-year warranty to them. I've heard from numerous sources that the China made ones are hit or miss.
3. If you know without a doubt that the bearing inside the Hub is good then I would just replace the sensor.
4. Replacing hubs around 100K miles on an Explorer sounds about right. You should have gotten at least 50k miles though, but that would also depend on location. If you deal with a lot of snow or rain that is a factor. When I put new front ones on I applied a generous amount of red tacky grease around the inside of the knuckle as well as the back side of the assembly where it gets bolted ( in case they would need replaced again less hassle getting them off since steel and aluminum like the bond together). It wouldn't hurt to apply a little bit of the red tacky on the back side after installation to assist with keeping water and debris out. It has high heat resistance as well as good water resistance.

Between 150K and 175K you can look forward to rebuilding the transmission, or putting a reman in.

 

[mbed]

I have a bunch of questions regarding my '05 Explorer XLT 4.0 Flex Fuel so I guess I'll start here.

I bought my Explorer over a year ago and it had around 60k miles on it. I have no previous history on it besides it was this ladies moms car whom lived in Florida. Now here comes the fun part.

The first winter I had it I had to replace the thermostat as it had one that opened at a lower temp then the one I needed.

The rest of this is in the order I fixed it in the last year and two months. (It does not include what still needs to be fixed as I fix one thing and another goes bad)

Front passenger Hub assembly (which included a new ABS sensor)
Rear air door actuator
had the cowl cleaned out
Front drivers hub assembly (which included a new ABS sensor)
hood lifts
Front ball joints (both sides, uppers and lowers)
Front brakes and rotors
plugs and wires and serpentine belt
Washer fluid pump
(I have also done regular maintenance such as oil changes, air filter, wiper blades, fluid checks and getting the tires balanced and rotated when needed)

I am now close to 104k miles and my ABS and traction control light came on this past Wednesday but turned off before I could get home to scan it. The light came on again Thursday and since I was at work I was able to get it scanned and found that the front passenger side sensor has gone bad. I went to see if the hub assembly was still under warranty and found it expired 2 months ago.

Now, my questions regarding this issue are:
1. How serious is this issue? (I have heard several different things)
2. Should it have gone bad in just over a year?
3. There doesn't seem to be anything wring with the bearing itself so would I be alright just getting a new sensor? or should I replace the whole thing? ( I have been told to do both from different people.)
4. Are Explorers famous for having bearings and hubs go bad?

Sorry for all the questions. I just want to know what I am looking at, how to best go about it, and what to look for in the future. Thank you in advance for any help. There are alot more questions but I figured I'd start here.

The sensor can go bad but usually the bearing goes bad which trips the sensor. If you replaced the hubs yourself, it is much easier the next time you do it. I had bought many items for my 02 from Detroit Axle and their bearings now have 10 year warranties...hope this helps.

One thing to watch is if there is play in your wheel when on a jack. If bearing is bad, it can fail...hope this helps!

 

[Ayame95]

What brand hub assembly did you put on?

1. If memory serves me correctly I believe it could have an impact on braking.
2. As far as going bad just around a year I would say it probably depends on the manufacturer. I believe the ones I got have 3-year warranty to them. I've heard from numerous sources that the China made ones are hit or miss.
3. If you know without a doubt that the bearing inside the Hub is good then I would just replace the sensor.
4. Replacing hubs around 100K miles on an Explorer sounds about right. You should have gotten at least 50k miles though, but that would also depend on location. If you deal with a lot of snow or rain that is a factor. When I put new front ones on I applied a generous amount of red tacky grease around the inside of the knuckle as well as the back side of the assembly where it gets bolted ( in case they would need replaced again less hassle getting them off since steel and aluminum like the bond together). It wouldn't hurt to apply a little bit of the red tacky on the back side after installation to assist with keeping water and debris out. It has high heat resistance as well as good water resistance.

Between 150K and 175K you can look forward to rebuilding the transmission, or putting a reman in.

It was a MasterPro from O'Rileys.

I noticed the front end feels a little loose since the light came on but I'm not sure that is related. (it has to do with another question I have) I did notice that since I bought it almost every time I turned it off the CHECK ADVTRAC would flash across my digital display and in the last few months I've noticed a grinding sound when I would put my vehicle into drive. I read that the sound is related to the light as it is still making that noise. I know I haven't put 50k on it since I replaced it. When I replaced the first one it was at about 70k and the drivers side was at about 80k. How do i find out if the bearing inside is still good if there is no play in the tires? Its not making any noise like the old ones did. Oh. This year has been weird. We had a harsh winter with quite a bit more snow then normal and its been raining almost every day to every other day. I'll have to jack it up and reseal it just because I don't want to replace the hub again if I don't have to yet anyways.

Oh no. I really hope I don't have to rebuild the trans any time soon.

 

[Ayame95]

The sensor can go bad but usually the bearing goes bad which trips the sensor. If you replaced the hubs yourself, it is much easier the next time you do it. I had bought many items for my 02 from Detroit Axle and their bearings now have 10 year warranties...hope this helps.

One thing to watch is if there is play in your wheel when on a jack. If bearing is bad, it can fail...hope this helps!

My brother and step dad helped me replace them as I have never done those before until this vehicle. If there is no play in the tires and there is no noise does that mean that the bearing is still good and its just a faulty sensor? The old bearing I let get really bad just because I did not have the money right away to fix them and the moment I replace one the next one starts going bad. Shortly after fixing the front drivers side the rear passenger started making the same noise and I know the rear drivers side will go out shortly after fixing it so I will be taking it into a shop and have them do both because they are the press in bearings. I will have to check them out and see what they have. I found one on Rock Auto that has a lifetime warranty but I'm not sure if I should go that route. It does help. Thank you.

 

[Ayame95]

So I cleaned the sensor yesterday and the lights still on. I will give it another day and see if it shuts off.

 

[PShay78]

I would also check the wiring harness that it connects to. If there is a short in that harness then that can throw you the problems.

 

[Ayame95]

Ok. I will have to check that out the next time I get a free minute to pull it into the shop. Is there anything else I should look at while I'm at it?

 

[Tony from NJ]

my 04 has gone through 3 sets of rear bearings and one set of front bearings. I do believe the ABS is impacted by the sensor

 

[TechGuru]

my 04 has gone through 3 sets of rear bearings and one set of front bearings. I do believe the ABS is impacted by the sensor

Sounds like you're buying junk bearings. For the rear get SKF from RockAuto OR the Moog hub assembly if you don't have a press, it comes with National bearings pre-installed. For the front get SKF from RockAuto.

 

[Tony from NJ]

Front I used motorcraft, the rears were done at a shop, not sure what he put in, was told the rears wearing out is a bad design

 

[kydirtscooter]

I have gotten a lot of miles out of rear bearings but have found incorrect install kills even the best bearing quickly.

• Incorrect torque on the retaining nut for the cv is the number 1 killer.
  
• Not using fresh threadlocker or ideally a new nut is killer number 2.
  
• Loading the bearing with vehicle weight and then tightening the nut is killer 3 (nut maintains bearing preload, has to be tightened BEFORE placing weight back on tire).
• Pressing the new bearing in using the inner race as the contact point ruins the bearing
• Pressing the hub back in and not using support of the inner race ruins the bearing.
  
• Reusing a hub that has excess corrosion can cause an issue as the press dimensions no longer are consistent and cause inner race distortion.
• Cheap bearings fail early typically
• Not bottoming out the bearing when pressing in new. (This leads to one tapered bearing having excess preload and the other not enough once nut is tightened

There is absolutely no reason to have gone through that many bearings that fast other than improper installation or low quality parts. The only brand I use is *** which also happens to have been the production bearing. Have not needed to use any other brand however SKF makes really good bearings as well but I get production bearings for less than SKF and get over 100,000mi so no reason to change.

 

[TechGuru]

Ya unless you're going to have Ford press the bearing the correct way I would just get the Moog hub assembly.