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

thanks for this, im also doing cv's and pulling the front diff to reseal. no breaker bars for me having a MAC 1/2 impact and lotsa sockets left over from my Heavy Duty mechanic days helps.

still have to get my rotor off first, or pull the entire assembly and get the rotor off later.
 



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While you are correct that you can't drive these without something to hold the bearings in place, you don't have to use the entire axle. When I converted mine to 2WD, I simply took the outer stub shaft of each axle and torqued it in place. That is all you need. Since I didn't need 4WD, this was a very simple solution for me. (I had already rebuilt the trans and converted it to 2WD)
 






While you are correct that you can't drive these without something to hold the bearings in place, you don't have to use the entire axle. When I converted mine to 2WD, I simply took the outer stub shaft of each axle and torqued it in place. That is all you need. Since I didn't need 4WD, this was a very simple solution for me. (I had already rebuilt the trans and converted it to 2WD)

You don't have to use the entire outter stub shaft either. Looks funny. I took the outer shaft and cut the CV mounting element off then ground down and rounded what was left. The plan is to restore the 4x4 at some point but till then I have a 2x4 solution. What did you do to convert the tranny to 2x4 ?
Did you just cover the hole for the output shaft?
Scott
95 EB Explorer 4.0
03 EB Explorer 4.6
90 ZR1 Corvette
 






front B's for sure mate.....change em'.............Larry
 






...What did you do to convert the tranny to 2x4 ?
Did you just cover the hole for the output shaft?...

No...I rebuilt the trans and changed the output shaft and added the 2WD extension housing. Speedo signal comes from the ABS module on the 99, so no special work there was required.
 






Awesome thread as I've done the bearings on my 1995 a few times. But, today was a surprise.

I had the typical roaring noise, but given that the noise went away when turning to the right, I first replaced the right front bearing. I took a quick ride to make sure the noise was gone, but it wasn't. It turned out to be the left front bearing.

The noise/turn direction test isn't always foolproof. The left front bearing was noisy when unloaded and quiet when loaded. Go figure... that's just my luck.
 






Btw, I'm getting an intermittant "high pitched squealing" sound from the front. Does that sound like it could be a front hub assembly going bad? Here's the thing. My AC went out, and before I could get it recharged, I had to drive around with the windows down to keep cool or at least cooler. That's when I began to notice it. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm braking, or turning, or just driving straight, at hwy speeds or backing up into my driveway, I hear this very high-pitched but rather faint squealing sound. Here's one more piece of info. I bought some aftermarket brushed alum rims a few years back. Well, they were really getting pitted bad, so a few weeks ago, I jacked up the car, pulled the rims/tires off, started sanding the wheels down with 220 grit and then 320 etc etc sandpaper and then put on a coat of wheel polish and put the tires/wheels back on. One by one. Took me 2 days. In any event, could that have anything to do with the squealing sound I'm hearing now ?? I've changed flats a million times, and I'm pretty good with knowing just how tight to tighten the lug nuts, but could that be part of the prob? Thanks for any info or suggestions. PS. no warping or thumping or vibrations or anything like that. Just this high pitched squeal.
 






Frot end noise

Might be some crap jammed in the caliper, best jack the front wheels off the ground and rotate (one side first) check the brake ass'y check the caliper mounting bolts, check the disc, then hold tyre top and bottom,and see if you have movement (hub bearings) check the backing plate is not not contacting the disc on rotation, if so, disc off, and re tighten the 3 retaining nuts to the steering nuckle,,hubs generally give off a low growl, increasing with wheel rotation, to an unmistakable rumble, and if really shot will allow lateral movement of the wheel and the disc running through the caliper,thus creating a terrible noise when braking, how many K's have the front hubs travelled ? if they need replacing, do the job, hone the discs,(check lower balljoints at the same time) you will solve the prob' no worries, safe motoring.......Larry
 






Last year I bought a 2001 Ranger xlt 4x4 from ford dealer,new clutch & rebuilt tranny,120,000 miles ,It had what I thought was a warped brake rotor .Took it to Les Schwab tire store ,Had new brakes and rotors installed,after a few hundred miles the front started squeeking again and brake making almost same sound as before ,Took it back and they tell me front hubs is bent ,[right front] ,is this common ,????????
The seals on the inside of the knuckles are hanging on the front axles ,What do I do ,remove upper a-arm from knuckle or lower ,will I need to put an extra jack under lower a-arm , I have ordered my hubs already should be here tomarrow ,,,Thank you for any help ,,Robert
 






I guess all the help was busy ,,Sure wish I knew for sure what way the Wheel seal went in ,I replaced the right side hub&bearing unit ,plus the [napa auto calls it ,,wheel seal,, goes on axle to knuckle ] ,I ended up having to take the knuckle off to try to press in the seal ,It wouldnt go in very far so decided to leave it there ,Its back together ,seems fine little test drive ,,,
The old hub,bearing unit checked out with a 0.35 wobble on face were lug bolts go ,to bad the bearings seem good ,It is a Timken bearing in it ,,is it the original hub or is it after market,,Doing the left side tomarrow ,,Robert
 






Yeah. Rob' well that will expose any other probs ya got under there, origionals were Motorcraft,,,,they'd prob' be worn by now, so good job well done huh, I gotta wait till mine arrive from the US before I can do it here !! its a pain in the arse owning a Ford here in the Philippines,,, parts are non existent, when they are, they cost a fortune eg: M/craft Hub bearing Ass'y for our truck....38.000.00 Pesos ea..($1000 US) so ya gotta ship em' over,, but this is a plum truck here, a real head turner, fully worth the bullshit of waiting for o/seas shipments........take care Rob.........Larry
 






They are installed new bearing hubs & wheel seals ,What a job but fun ,Took it for a test drive ,very nice ,what a difference ,hope these last longer than some of the other rigs are getting ,I used Timken's from Rock Auto ,The old ones are timken's also ,the bearings are still good in them just the seal on the knuckle was shot ,This post helped alot ,Thank you ,,,Robert :thumbsup:
 






This Site Rocks! you guys are a huge help! diy guys like myself im sure have benifited from all your posts. Doing my front hubs this weekend. Wish me luck
 






Bearing trouble!!

Ok I have an issue with the front bearings on my 2001 ford ranger, I have replaced the inner and outer bearings on this truck 2 times on the driver side and 3 times on the passenger, I put new rotors on it and changed the bearings then and from that point on I am having trouble with the bearings., I am not sure now what to do... I cant keep replacing the bearings every few months.. I am not sure what could be causing the bearings to go bad... Any help will be appreciated. Thank you
 






replacing front hub

I just replaced mine following what was said in the thread and i noticed my hub had an o'ring and the new hub didn't come with one. The O'ring was not mentioned in the thread so i just cleaned my old one greased it up and reused it. I am sure it is to keep water out of the housing. Any thoughts on this?

Chris
 






You have a picture? Not sure what you mean there. I don't recall any o-ring other than maybe for the ABS sensor. Or are you talking about the grease seal? That is purchased separately and should be replaced.
 






Thanks for the write up and pics. I will be attempting this on my 2003 AWD tomorrow and this will be very helpful. :salute: Is there anything different about the AWD model?
 






This is what happens when the bearing gives up at 50 MPH:

P1010016.jpg


P10100142.jpg


Twisted the axle end off like it was a stick.

..ED
 






awesome post and awesome site. I just came across this place trying to find the torque value for the hub nut. I have a 2001 Ranger XLT and have replaced the front hubs twice on one side and once on the other. I am now replacing them both again.

The first 3 times I went the cheapo route and bought MASTERPRO hubsfrom Schuck's/O'Reilly's. I can tell you with 100% certainty that they are crap. 3 for 3 failures, all in under 2 years.

This time, I did a bit of research and bought GMB hubs from http://www.hubandbearingwarehouse.com. I heard good things about the bearings (good quality, lifetime warranty and much cheaper than Timken @ $179 for the set) and also good things about the seller. We will see...

Thanks again for the detailed post. Nice when people take the time to help others.
 



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I just replaced both of my today, 2 hours as this was the 2nd time in a little over 2 years :( Don't get the cheap China ones! I got the Timken this time. :)
 






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