2000 Explorer Sport 2wd Front Bearing issues

[astanford]

Hello!

I have a 2000 Explorer Sport 2wd, 4.0 OHV.

I recently had my drivers front wheel bearing go out at 30mph, It literally welded the washer and outer bearing to the spindle and after 12 hours of beating with a hammer and chisel, and using a hacksaw I was able to get it off and replace the Inner/Outer bearings and races, New washer, new seal and of course smother it in grease, the spindle had a small dink but was able to smooth it out with some emery cloth. I torqued it down to the initial 25lbs and backed it off half a turn and then torqued it 20lbs as seen in a post on this forum. The wheel was snug and no play what so ever and it spun freely.

On to the test drive, Since replacing the bearings on the drivers side my car now pulls insanely hard to the passenger side, Can go around a 45 degree turn by it self almost, And when braking its the same, Pulls hard to the right.

(not sure if this is due to when the bearing went out it nearly put me in the ditch it pulled that hard to the left, Maybe it messed up alignment? not sure?)

I took it through some S curves and when going through a left handed curve I hear a popping/clicking sound coming from my front drivers side, But only when going into a left handed curve at 35 mph or more.

Any help would be greatly appreciated so I can get this problem taken care of ASAP, I will be replacing the other wheel bearing on the passenger side next week as I'm sure its getting worn as well, just didn't have the money to cover it this week.

 

[koda2000]

I don't know where you got a final torque of 20 ft lbs from. 20 inch pounds maybe. the way I've always done it is to torque to 35 ft lbs initially, then spin the wheel (or rotor). then I back off and barely tighten the nut (pretty much using the weight of the wrench dropped from about the 1 o'clock position). I've never had a problem doing it this way. it's okay to feel a little amount of play on a cold wheel, as the tolerance will decrease once things warm up.

 

[swshawaii]

Ditto koda. Workshop manual 4x2 final torque spec shows 17 INCH lbs. The bearing is over
tightened more than 12 times the recommended spec shown in step 8 and is probably toast.

Disc Removal and Installation
https://www.scribd.com/doc/245196793/Disc-Removal-and-Installation

 

[astanford]

My bad, Meant 20 Inch lbs on the final torque not 20lbs

 

[swshawaii]

You tweaked something since the right pull wasn't there until you replaced the left bearing. Symptom sounds very typical of a sticking caliper but the rotor would be getting very hot if that were the case. Need to get the wheels off the ground and check.

 

[astanford]

Problem resolved, Turns out when I initially torqued down the left wheel bearing nut the bearings didn't seat properly. Pulled the nut off and threw in a bit more grease (just in case) and snugged the nut down until I felt the wheel actually move inward, Backed it off and torqued to specs, The pull to the right is now gone, The brakes work properly again and no more clicking in the turns!