2002 XLS too many wheel bearing failures.

[Wood17129]

Hello I'm trying to find out why my 2002 XLS goes thru wheel bearings.
After I reached the 54,000 mile mark The bearings started to go
I have replaced all around and 1/2 again total of 6. My 7th just went bad
I have used top of the line timkins bearings and cheep napa bearings it dosn't matter. so I don't think its Chinese steal or cheep bearings. I checked with a Ford Dealer after 3 and they said its the lugs arn't torqued tight. I have been watching this and have had loose lugs, I have been Checking after a few hundred miles and re- touque . I'm stumped. I have been told by one mechanic that it my be a static issue. The vehicle has never been hit of any frame damage. I just don't get why I replace a bearing about every 20,000 miles.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread to the stock 2002-2005 section.

 

[JCR]

I had a rear wheel bearing go bad the second time, and after some checking with my mechanic we found a bad bushing that allowed front to back play. Ford says the bushings in the suspension are not replaceable. NAPA auto parts said differently. Bushing replaced! It now has no play and is tracking straight in line with the other wheel.

 

[eXcali]

Hello I'm trying to find out why my 2002 XLS goes thru wheel bearings.
After I reached the 54,000 mile mark The bearings started to go
I have replaced all around and 1/2 again total of 6. My 7th just went bad
I have used top of the line timkins bearings and cheep napa bearings it dosn't matter. so I don't think its Chinese steal or cheep bearings. I checked with a Ford Dealer after 3 and they said its the lugs arn't torqued tight. I have been watching this and have had loose lugs, I have been Checking after a few hundred miles and re- touque . I'm stumped. I have been told by one mechanic that it my be a static issue. The vehicle has never been hit of any frame damage. I just don't get why I replace a bearing about every 20,000 miles.

If I recall correctly the 3rd gens have the wheel bearing hubs all around correct? It's the entire hub assembly that must be replaced if that is the case. If someone were to over or under torque the CV bolt (the 1 1/4 or 1 1/8 bolt) this could contribute to premature wear, but most likely with only 54k miles, that's 1/2 their expected life span.

It's hard to venture a guess as to what's going on with them without hands on. You would have noticed an out of balance set of wheels before loose lugs would cause the failure I would expect.

 

[jrford]

double check the suspension as suggested, a alignment might reveal if something was wrong up front. I've notice camber can has a large range to it. You are running stock tires and setup?
If everything else checks out what about the steering knuckle itself, it maybe out of round or messed up enough that the bearing doesn't seat as its suppose to, just a guess.