How to: 2002 Explorer rear wheel bearing replacement (pictures)

[esclamada]

They're made in China and might be better than what you are replacing. I'd try it and let us know. I've tried their struts and quite impressed.

Most of the stuff we have are made in China nowadays.

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MY MOUNTY
http://www.facebook.com/diyfordexplorer

 

[guilateen]

Ordered them yesterday I hope all works out well. I will no longer attempt this install of all the parts I ordered. I came across some horrible news from my doc about my arm. I been kit of work for six weeks with a sprained wrist, now thee telling me my two arm bones are at different lengths causing pain and possible surgery. My first question was can I use air tools. He laughed and said not if you still want your tdi checks.

 

[MGG]

Frankly, this thread has givin me inspiration and nightmares at the same time. My 02 4.0 2wd now has 141k. I initially had both the rear bearings done at 100K. And the drivers side just recently replaced again. So now as we speak the passenger side is groaning again. I'm half tempted to try it my first time and give myself a weeks time to do this job by jabbing at it every spare 45 mins that I have. But my gut tells me I should just take it in again to have it done. I think it was $382 for just the bearing itself replaced. I am hoping to be able to buy own parts as I will buy a better quality oem bearing. Just a vent really. Sorry nothing else to add. It just stinks the second set of bearings only lasted 40K while the originals lasted 100K.

 

[Pontisteve]

Frankly, this thread has givin me inspiration and nightmares at the same time. My 02 4.0 2wd now has 141k. I initially had both the rear bearings done at 100K. And the drivers side just recently replaced again. So now as we speak the passenger side is groaning again. I'm half tempted to try it my first time and give myself a weeks time to do this job by jabbing at it every spare 45 mins that I have. But my gut tells me I should just take it in again to have it done. I think it was $382 for just the bearing itself replaced. I am hoping to be able to buy own parts as I will buy a better quality oem bearing. Just a vent really. Sorry nothing else to add. It just stinks the second set of bearings only lasted 40K while the originals lasted 100K.

Not all original bearings last 100k. And if the wheel bearing isnt torqued right, or isnt pressed in carefully, that can shorten its life considerably. If you plan on keeping it, it might pay off to buy the appropriate tools and learn to do it right. Quite frankly, its cheaper to buy the tools and DIY, and you end up with tools that way.

You'll need a drum brake gage, headlight adjusting tool, 35 mm socket, 250 ft lb torque wrench, ball joint separator, mini sledge hammer, breaker bar, hub puller (i think), and other misc tools.

 

[MGG]

I must have been real lucky then making the originals last to 100k! Or they installed them perfectly at the factory...

I'm gonna tackle the front ball joints on my own... but probly gonna wuss out on these bearings.

 

[Pontisteve]

Mine made it to around 100k originally, but I think it makes a difference on the usage. If you put a boat in the water, I bet that seriously affects longevity of these bearings. There's a dust seal, and they're sealed bearings. But water finds its way into things real easy.

There's another theory about new bearings I just heard. If you don't put on the correct amount of torque on the axle nut, the bearings can get "squished" out some, greatly reducing their life expectancy.

Personally, I believe most new bearing premature wear is likely caused by not supporting the rear bearing and hub correctly at each phase of the press job. That, and cheap bearings. SKF (ford) and Timken should be fine.

 

[guilateen]

I must have been real lucky then making the originals last to 100k! Or they installed them perfectly at the factory...

I'm gonna tackle the front ball joints on my own... but probly gonna wuss out on these bearings.

If you can do the ball joints you can do the bearings. Besides you will probably do it better than a shop that doesn't know or care to know all the specs of installing them. I did my ball joints, struts, and bearings this weekend and the bearing was by far the easiest part of the job. Don't wuss out. As Rob Snidher would say . YOU CAN DO IIIT.

 

[Bdaniel]

great thread, i'm gonna tackle my bearings soon.

 

[AVCM12]

Smooth Start, ruff middle, unknown finish

Tyler,

Great post and pics that save a lot of time. I started this morning at 08:30 and by 10:15 was on the way to NAPA to get the new bearing installed. Dropped the knuckle off with the bearing at 10:45 with the promise of a two hour response time. Went to lunch and got a call from the machine shop at 11:45 saying he had 20 tons on the knuckle and if he went any further the knuckle would likely break and I would need junk yard or (forbid Ford New). He said it was common problem for the hub and knuckle to be "welded" due to dissimilar metal and heat and he had seen a bunch break. I told him to go for it and call me. 10 minutes later I got the "it broke" call. So off to one junk yard that turned out to be a "take off your own parts yard" Not me once a day is enough. So off to another yard who had just gotten a Explorer in and can't get the knuckle off until tomorrow. So hopefully I will get the call early to get to the machine shop and have the new bearing installed, I am not about to put a used one back on after this much trouble. I am sure it will go back on the vehicle much easier then it came off although 1 hr 45 ain't bad.

I post this only to give a heads up that you might have the same luck when you go to the machine shop and end up looking for a knuckle. Even with spending the extra money to get a knuckle I am saving a bunch over what Ford wanted for the original job.

AVCM12

 

[Pontisteve]

Didn't read all 12 pages, huh? LOL

Those bearings either are too tight of a press fit, or more than likely Ford used some sort of loctite for bearing races. There is some color that suggests that on the original. Check it out and let us know when you get the bearing out of your new spindle.

Ok, here's the trick:

The bearing is really two tapered inner bearings housed in one outer race. Bust out the bearings, leaving just the race. Then take a pretty small whiz wheel (fairly thin), and cut the race in half. You can't tell how much race depth there is, but I can tell you it's very thick in the middle... maybe 1/4 to 5/16 thick. On the outer edges, it may be considerably less, like 1/8th inch or less. You don't have to saw all the way thru the bearing. You just have to weaken it considerably. The press will bust out the rest.

If the race does not bust coming out, keep it handy. It can be used to press the new bearing in.

Make SURE the press guys understand that it's a double-tapered bearing (which they can see when you hammer out the inner race and bearings). When you go to press in the new bearing, it can be tricky. You need to press in the new bearing/race using the old race, so the pressure is applied to the outside only. Otherwise, it will press out the new bearings, or at least damage them some.

Then, when it's time to press in the new hub, you'll need to support the inner race so the hub doesn't press out the new bearings or damage them. Supporting the bearings is KEY, and I suspect it's the reason why so many people are only getting 30 - 40k out of their new bearings. That, and they're probably using China bearings that cost $40. Buy American. SKF, Timken, Ford, National.

Remember, the middle of the bearing race is the thickest, and that's where we really need to be sawing it in half. Then just weakening the rest of the race with a score cut is probably enough for a 20 ton press to bust it out. Makes a pretty loud bang when she pops.

 

[AVCM12]

Pontisteve,

Thanks for the reply. I actually did read all 12 pages but do not have the equipment to cut the bearing race like you did. I have to depend on and trust the machine shop, NAPA, would know this technique but will share it with them when I go back. They said they do this all the time and it was not unusual to break the way mine did. Maybe they can learn something new as well. I know he used heat but I have the old one and the bearing is still in her so I know it was not beat out and cut as you stated.

To update my project I changed my mind about installing the new SKF bearing after seeing the stub axle assembly from the junk yard. It was the rotor, knuckle, hub and bearing, parking brake assembly and backing plate all intact and as it turned smoothly and looked good. I took the risk of installing it as a "package" to get my kid back on the road. It came with a 90 day warranty so I might be kicking the can down the road. If I have to replace the bearing in the future the tear down will go smoothly as I have loaded up with anti seize.

I returned the bearing ($116) to NAPA and the junk yard part was $160 tax included so I am satisfied at this point. The truck runs great and is again quiet.

Thanks again to all contributors,

AVCM12

 

[Pontisteve]

That machine shop failed you... if they have broken them before, they should have known better. Glad you got by with the used one though! Dont worry, I'm sure you'll get another chance to install one of these unfortunately.

 

[Brian05]

Many thanks for putting this together! Used it to replace one wheel bearing a year ago, and then second one yesterday.

 

[avritch]

The local garages wanted $600 labor to do the rears... and they couldn't get to me for a couple of weeks... so with a day off for the holiday... I decided to give it a try. Took me about 4 hours to get everything disassembled. I'm ready to take the hubs to the local NAPA to get the bearings pressed out/in. I'm hoping to not have the problems mentioned here. My only suggestion is to remove the upper and lower arms along with the hub. It is so much easier to separate the squeeze joints with the entire assembly off the car. It only takes about 5 to 10 extra minutes to take take off both the top and bottom arms... way less time than all the banging trying to get the joints separated when on the vehicle where you can't get a good angle on the sledge.

So off I go to NAPA with my timkin bearings on Black Friday... (hopefully Black in this case is GOOD!!!!!)

I'm reserving my 4 letter words for putting the parking brake pads back on based on what I've read here... any suggestions are appreciated (by the way... I have to put on new parking break shoes... the originals dissintegrated when I pulled of the rotors... leaving the metal shoe and a handful of brake material on the floor)...

Other than the parking brake shoes... I'm thinking the assembly will be easier than the dissassembly

 

[Snowcone]

Piece of cake if you assemble the parking brake onto the backing plate before the hub is pressed back on.
Complete PIA if you do it after

 

[avritch]

I was wondering if you could do that... so you can squeeze the bars on the end of the cable into the back of the hub with the pads already installed? Even with the upper spring installed? Do you simple pry the two pads apart at the top to get the actuator arms in there?

 

[Snowcone]

Yes, that's correct.
Just assemble the whole brake set up on the backing plate, press the hub back on, install on the vehicle as an assembly, and push the 2 levers through the rubber grommet thingy, and you're done.

 

[avritch]

Well I'm all done... the Napa guy was expensive at $50 each for pressing in the bearing... but I wasn't going to travel all over to save $25 or $30. The parking brake wasn't too bad except that I think I set them a little too wide... because when I slid the rotor on... I couldn't get it back off... that took me a while (I recommend starting narrow on the adjuster and then widening very slowly... sliding the rotor on and off each time to check it(my 2003 didn't have the rubber cover to adjust the parking brake... however, there is a knockout... It would have been a little easier if I knocked out the knockout ... but I didn't have a plug to replace it)

Now... the part that made it a challenge... After it was all back together... there was a metal-on-metal scraping noise... at first I thought it was the parking brake being a little to tight... but after dissembling and reassembing the wheel/brake/rotor a few times... I finally found a small "bump" in the round sheet metal plate that just behind the rotor (may be the dust cover)... of course the "bump" was at the very bottom so I couldn't see it initially. Both hubs had the "bump" in the exact same spot... it's clear the "bump" wasn't original... I'm assuming the shield got dented a little in the bearing press out/in process.

Anyway, got a nice fat screw driver and gave the bump a few whacks to put it back in its place so it didn't contact the rotor.

After that... smooth as silk.

Over all.. not a highly technical job... just very physical. You can get at all of the nuts and bolts without having to be a contorsionist

Also.. for the record, the hub nut on a 2003 AWD is 35mm. I've seen a few post talking about 35mm vs. 36mm.

Finally... about reusing the axle nut.... I'm believe the only reason for not reusing them is the locktite type material that is on an original unused nut. I decided to go with new nuts... and sure as heck, there's a bead of locktite on the threads of the new nut. Not sure if it's "special" locktite... but $30 for 2 small beads of locktite is a little too much to handle.

So in the end...New Timkin bearings, new rotors, new pads (both parking brake and regular brakes), new axle nuts, a few scrapes on my hands... It's all worth not having my wife complain about the noise anymore!!!

PS... one last note... My torque wrench only went up to 150ft-lb... Advance Auto's loaner only went to 150... but Autozone's loner went to 250... so I borrowed the Autozone wrench to torque down the axle nut.

 

[01spirit750]

Thanks to everyone.

 

[rocco123]

I just replaced my 5th bearing on my 02. This last one was the left rear. This was the first time the inner race stuck to the spindle & I used a whiz wheel to cut it just enough (not through) to be able to chistle it off. When the actual bearing was exposed I found it was a damn ball bearing (at least that side of the double bearing assy). I put this one on just over a year ago and am not surprised it would fail. These should be double taper roller bearings, not ball bearings due to the load incurred. Maybe autozone sold me the wrong type, but you wouldn't know from the outside. I see roller bearings in the rear on pics of this post. I'm sure I did not load the bearing the last time I installed this set being sure not to press thru the bearing, and only pressing on the race that is being pushed in (ie: press inner race for the bearing into hub spindle , outter race for the knuckle).