Wheel Bearings for 2006 Ford Explorer.

[RedFordExplorer]

I have the abs and traction control lights lit up on my dash. Research indicates it is a bad wheel bearing.

I contacted the local auto parts store and they want over $200.00 a pop for each one. Ebay has a set for just over 100 for a pair and they include the ABS sensor and are new.

Thoughts on purchasing a pair off Ebay or should I stick with the local auto parts store? If I purchased them off Ebay what should I look for?

 

[Tech By Trade]

Timken and SKS are forum favorites and definitely recommended. Will cost you about 200 bucks each.

I will let you in on a dirty little secret I have though, I replaced mine with a 60 dollar beater off amazon 2 years ago. I have taken my truck hunting off road (we can truck hunt here), Ice fishing through 3 foot snow drifts, towing a trailer, and as a daily driver 30 km round trip to work daily in temperatures ranging from +35 deg c to -40 deg c. Close to 50000k so far and its still kicking.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Stay away from Chinese $ 99 bearings. I tried it twice and they last few thousand miles at best.

 

[MotorCityFats13]

sealed hubs

I bought the $120 1 year one from autozone because I had one go quick and I drive 50 miles to and from work a day and it was 7pm and I had to be at work at 6am..... this hub died just over the year... so I replaced it with the $47 ebay one and no problems... I then bought one for my girls trailblazer and it is doing a great job.... unless you like spending the big time money on expensive bearings that at most only have a 3 year replacement the cheap ones will still be a better bargain if you install them your self ..... I have the hub replacement on most trucks down to well under 1 hour so I will keep buying the ones from "detroit axle" off ebay and I am in michigan and they ship them to my door in under 2 days....funny tid bit.. I work at bodycote canton "metallurgical quality inspector" that heat treats the hubs that aerostar in Romulus MI makes that SKF packs their bearings into.... unless someone is totally disregarding proper safety measures all the outer rings are the same just the bearings differ and SKF and Timkin want way too much money..... If one of my ebay ones ever die I will take it to work and cut it open and inspect the outer ring just like I do with the aerostar parts..... I still have the 2 that died dont know what they are but I am too lazy to take them to work and chop them up

 

[Tech By Trade]

If you are doing them yourself the biggest, biggest, and I can't stress this enough, biggest thing is to get the torque correct on the large bolt of the CV where it goes through the hub. Too light and it fails within a year or falls out, too tight and it compresses the bearing and eats it up within a year. Torque is key!

 

[MotorCityFats13]

Yes propper torque on the axle nut is the most important thing i forgot to mention that... I suspect people that have them die in 2000 miles probably went way too far

 

[jrford]

I wouldn't be so fast on wheel bearings, my '04 i thought the same thing. But it turns out it wasn't them at all. I'd pull codes first, when i did it was only a $20 part that failed, the sensor that sits on the master cyl had failed; common issue. Another time it came on it was the Rear sensor that was in the Differential. If the ABS light is on there will be a code which tells you which one. Sensor's for the wheel bearings i think you can buy separately.

If the wheel bearings are going they will make noise, usually obvious, to the ear.

 

[MotorCityFats13]

the wheel will also have play in directions that it should not move in