Just replaced the front wheel bearings/hubs on my '06 | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Just replaced the front wheel bearings/hubs on my '06

Hi Ben -

I am probably the worst guy here to follow directions and torque specs.
I have 165k miles on my 06, replaced the front bearings at least twice each side, and still used the original axle nuts. Probably, the next time I'll get a new one.
I have a torque wrench but just tighten all the bolts "appropriately", so far so good.
I hope someone will give you the specs, and follow them, and then I will :)
 



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Ben all of your torque specs. look correct from what my memory is telling me. As far as the specs. for the hub assembly bolts I am thinking somewhere around 95 ft/lbs., but there should be a package insert that came with the new hubs that give the torque specs. As far as the spindle nut goes, industry practice is to always use a new one, but as Explorer PL points out you can get away with reusing the one on there if you need to as long as you don't damage it when you take it off.
 






Thanks guys...the 95 Ft-lbs is what I couldn't find.
Sounds good.

It seemed to me that the axle nut torque spec was critical for longevity setting the load on the bearing, and I guess so it doesn't come off.

Since these bearings are such a critical driving component,
just wanted to get it right.

How much of a hassle am I in for, in removing the axle nut and Hub Assembly bolts on an '06? Just want my ducks in a row.

Ben
 






It shouldn't be too bad, just get a can of PB blaster and use it on all the nuts/bolts first and they should come off pretty easy.
 






I am not sure the nut load on the bearing plays that much of a role, maybe I am wrong.

But on 2 wd explorers, they use the same hub assemblies in the front, and there is no axle so no nut. It's just hollow hub.
But tightening the axle nuts front and rear is definitely a good thing. I remember, the 2 or 3 times I did the rears, I could "buy" few extra miles by tightening the rear nut, that would eliminate the play in the bearing for few days.
 






So after only 30K miles my front left hub was failing again, and I could hear it whining. I thought an SKF hub with Timken bearings would last longer than that, but must have gotten a bad one. So I bought another SKF hub. It was an SKF hub manufactured in Mexico for Napa. It looked good enough and for $94 shipped it was a good deal. Not sure what bearings were in it. Wasn't stamped Timken like the last one. Came with the bolt package too. Looks like the prices on these things have come down in the past 2 years. I paid $150 each last time, and now they can be readily had for $100. It swapped out fairly easily with my shade-tree mechanic tools. I still had my axle nut socket. The only areas of worry were getting the axle nut off, the 3 bolts and then getting the hub out. The fact that I did this 2 years ago made everything go smoothly. The hub was replaced and the noise is gone again. Let's see how long this one lasts.
 






Can anybody tell me what the actual difference is in the, lets say, HUB67 vs HUB29.......or BR930456 vs BR930741, other than price??

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the cheaper ones you bought use Chinese bearings and don't last as long. Even though they may say made in USA or Canada, doesn't mean they don't sneak cheap bearings in them. When dealing with bearings, when given a choice, ALWAYS choose the more expensive option. They will be US, German, or Japanese bearings.
 






Sorry, but you're wrong on this one. Did you even read the post? They were SKF Hubs made in Canada with Timken bearings. Not made in China. Just got a bad one, stuff happens. :dead:
 












Guys, I am trying to replace mine. The drivers side was not too bad, but the passenger side I is an unbearable #####! I have soaked it for several weekends in PB blaster and now wd40 penetrant. Banging the holy hell out of it with long handle sledge, taking as much a swing as I can inside the wheel house. I even mounted an old brake rotor to get better surface to hit. NOTHING and I mean nothing is happening. I have my son holding the steering to put knuckle tight to the stops to get solid hit. I have heated knuckle with MAP gas, nothing.

Any ideas? I have never given up and had a garage do anything for me, but really close on this.

Help!
 






Man that's a tough one. The only word I didn't hear you say is chisel, but you should have gotten some movement by now. Do you know anyone who has a better torch?
 






tmsoko - I had the same problem. Try using a grade 8 bolt in the caliper mounting hole and push the bolt against the old rotor you have. That was the only thing that worked for me. It should crack it loose enough. Hopefully that makes sense.
 






Ah, I like the idea for the bolt in caliper hole. I will give that a shot and then wail on it when I have it loaded up.

I tried the power steering thing. Bent a 5/8" bar stock and deformed lower a arm a bit. No good way to get clean direct loading with that method.
 






I have seen people trying to lift the car with a jack supporting the hub without those 3 bolts.....
 






Sorry, but you're wrong on this one. Did you even read the post? They were SKF Hubs made in Canada with Timken bearings. Not made in China. Just got a bad one, stuff happens. :dead:

I did read the post. FYI, Timken, makes a cheaper line of bearings made in CHINA. The Cheaper line of SKF gets those bearings. Dana/Spicer does the same thing with their Spicer SVL line. Even if they started making them here, they are still lower quality. Why do you think there is a price difference. One is garbage, the other is a quality part. This is a perfect example of "you get what you pay for." And those are the facts. If you don't believe me, call SKF.
 






Well... Finally got the bearing out / replaced. The suggestion of using bolts to push from caliper mount is what did it. Used 4" fine thread 1/2" bolts with nut pushing on caliper ears. Also made a bolt / sleeve to push at tie rod. Loaded up nice and tight, then beat the heck out of it. Amazing, even with bearing nearly 1/8" out, still had to wail in it. NEVER doing this again...
 






Well, you are the first one I've ever heard say that Timken bearings are lousy. You know that just because something is made in China doesn't mean it's a bad product. There is plenty of quality stuff produced to the manufacturers specs, that is made in China. There have been threads and posts ad nauseum on this forum touting the use of Timken bearings. Just because something is more expensive or made in America doesn't mean its better. IMO The less expensive part number is less expensive because it's generally for the Gen III Explorers. The Gen IV parts are more expensive. The price for Gen III hubs has come down across the board significantly in the last 3 years. If the part is stamped with the name Timken, it's good enough for me, I don't care where it's made. If you want to know what the real problem was, it was probably because it was an ebay part, it looked like it had been through a flood, and was dropped or something. That was the risk I took. I've been on this forum for almost 10 years and never heard any bad thing about SKF or Timken.
 






edwx, sorry to be the one to brake you the bad news. Just because you never heard it, doesn't mean it's not true. Like I said, give them a call before you spew nonsense. I have already done so, that is why I only purchase the PREMIUM GRADE parts. BTW, I have installed HUNDREDS wheel bearings, and TIMKEN PREMIUM bearings are always on the top of my list. Skf, Mopar, Dana/Spicer, and yes TIMKEN, offers a VALUE LINE bearings. SKF call theirs VALUE GRADE. My intent was not to bash you. I was merely pointing out the difference between the two part numbers, as YOU requested in your original post. Facts are Facts. Even if the bearings were in North America, they are still a lower quality than what came with your vehicle. So why don't you quit taking this personal and make a few phone calls. I challenge you to call SKF and Timken, and get back to the fine people in this forum with your findings. I am done.
 






Oh, not to worry, I'm not taking it personal, and I'm also not spewing nonsense. Although when you say someone is spewing nonsense, it's kinda hard to let an insult pass, but I'll let it pass. I respect your experience, but it doesn't mean you know everything, and I will also concede there is probably a Timken value line of bearings made in China, and a premium line made to better specs somewhere else. My whole original question was about the price difference between HUB 67, and HUB 29, and why that was so, because they are the same size. The reason for the question was because HUB 29 is spec'd for Gen IV Explorers (which I have,) and HUB 67 is spec'd for GEN III Explorers. I don't think there would be an inferior product with an additional bolt pack specified for Gen III Explorers, and a better product/more expensive without the bolt pack, specified for the Gen IV explorers. If the 67 hubs are the same size and will fit my truck, and less expensive, I want to use them. So if you say the 67s are poorer quality than the 29s, but are the recommended hub for all Gen IIIs, well, that doesn't make much sense to me imo. So do you still say the HUB67 uses inferior bearings as opposed to the HUB29 that you say uses better bearings? Your blanket statement about the price difference between the 29s and 67s as being poorer quality just doesn't fly.
 



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29 and 67 are same parts as I said here on some other post. Difference is extra bolts and different ABS wire, and the price in favor of 67. I do not know everything but in the past 2 weeks I replaced both front hubs with 67, they came in original Motorcraft boxes, but have Timken stamped on the seal. I used 29 at the beginning when they went bad first years ago. Now, I am using 67's.

Thread closed boys :)
 






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