98 Ex Sport.......wheel bearings?

[RichRed 98]

I've looked through alot of threads here and came across few with my Ex's symptom. This rotational wump, wump, wump between 20 and 40 mph is the only thing that bothers me about the Sport. If the problem is , in fact, front wheel bearings, how much to fix it myself?...in a shop? I have some decent mechanical ability. Is this job best left to the pros? Can a good front end shop diagnose this sound? Any input is appreciated.

Rich
98 Explorer Sport 4x4...81,000 miles

 

[Bronco638]

Rich,
I had the same sound right about 30-35 mph. It turned out to be a cupped tire (which indicates a bad alignment). Try rotating the tires, front to rear and see if the noise moves too. If it does, it's the tire and not the bearings.

As for replacing the bearings, I've never attempted that on my Explorer so I cannot answer. I'm sure another Forum member will know, though.

Hope this helps, Dave.

 

[RichRed 98]

Thanks Dave....tire rotation coming up.

 

[Doug]

Wheel bearings arent to hard to do yourself, i changed them out on my truck a few months ago. The down side is, the bearings are ~200 each and the CV shaft nut is torqued to 200ftlbs. you can get it on and off with a good breaker bar and a piece of pipe but it is a bit of a pita unless you have air tools. then it isnt to bad. It took me about 6 hours to swap them out having never done them before. and if your wheel bearings were as bad as mine where (which i doubt) you could jack up the front and and wiggle the tire around.

 

[RichRed 98]

Thanks Doug....I was talking to a maint. guy at work today. He has some Ford front end background and he said also to plan a couple of hours to do the job.

 

[IZwack]

I think the first time I replaced the bearings, it took about 2.0 to 2.5 hrs for one side (3 hub bolts in the back and 1 monster nut that holds the hub to the CV). Perhaps the most frustrating part is if you're rotor is rusted on to the hub. Shop around for the hub assembly. Sometimes you can find these for about $170.

I believe my Chilton manual says that the big nut holding the hub to the CV should be replaced when you take it off. I have removed my hub twice and have not replaced the nut. If you have some cash left, maybe get another nut.

 

[My98xplorer]

i had the same noise coming from my 2002 Taurus tire. the tire was supposedly "cupping" from what the dealer said and he said if i kept driving on it that eventually it would wear itself even. Well last week at about 12:30 am as i got off the interstate the tire blew. I got a new tire and now everything is great. I think the tire was just a defected tire cause it was making that noise when the car only had 18,000 miles on it.

 

[jasonb]

check the for sale forum. brett is parting out a wrecked ranger. grab a hub from that thing for a good price if you need to replace it. like others said, its not bad. grab a 32mm socket for that spindle nut and big breaker and go to town on it. i have reused the nut many times without issue. just use loctite!