Bad front hub bearing?

[99XLT-Explorer]

i have been having a groaning noise coming from the front end of my x recently that has been gettting louder im pretty sure its the wheel bearings plus my abs sensors are out on both front wheels which i heard was a sign of a bad bearing. so the other day i jacked it up and tried to whiggle the wheel back and forth which it normaly will move if the bearing is bad but it didnt sooo any ideas?

 

[Jason c]

I did the wiggle test on mine with the same symptoms and it didn't wiggle either. The bearing/hub was still bad though and smelled burnt when I pulled it off. Replaced the hub and no more noise.

 

[Beargap]

i have been having a groaning noise coming from the front end of my x recently that has been gettting louder im pretty sure its the wheel bearings plus my abs sensors are out on both front wheels which i heard was a sign of a bad bearing. so the other day i jacked it up and tried to whiggle the wheel back and forth which it normaly will move if the bearing is bad but it didnt sooo any ideas?

Tried the hard-left/hard-right test and had decided my noisy bearing was on the left front. On the lift, it was the right hub that had a bit of roughness when the wheel was rotated while the left was smooth. Fortunately, the same hub is used on both sides so we replaced the right and all is well.

BTW, shop around for those hubs. I found a spot on ebay that sold the assembly for only $41 including 2nd day freight.

=Vic=

 

[gonenuke]

BTW, shop around for those hubs. I found a spot on ebay that sold the assembly for only $41 including 2nd day freight.

=Vic=

Were these Timkens or Moogs?

 

[Beargap]

I don't know, the actual bearings are buried in the hub assembly that includes the ABS sensor and electrical connectors. It does work fine, though. Here's the link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310410451840?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

=Vic=

 

[Turdle]

Kentucky Deluxe is a lot cheaper too, but when it comes down to the next day you get more of a headache. I truly hope that cheap chinese hub doesn't give you the same hangover.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Agreed. Front hubs is probably one of the 4 major parts you can't skimp on. Cross your fingers and don't break any mirrors. I'd guess that about 90%+ of the members that have used the cheap hubs have had to replace them within 6 months max...

National/BCA/Moog are good, as well as obviously the Timkens.

Make SURE you hit the correct torque spec on that hub nut or they'll be done in a week.

 

[imp]

..... I'd guess that about 90%+ of the members that have used the cheap hubs have had to replace them within 6 months max...

Too bad I learned the dire predictions too late. I bought & installed the Chinese Cheapies for my '04 (rear, though, same basic design). However, I checked the HARDNESS of the bearing material and of the wheel lugs (hubs w/lugs were included), about fifty bucks each side. Hardness and dimensional specs were right on.

They've been fine, so far, going on 2 years now.

imp

 

[Joe Dirt]

Cool- I greatly enjoy the sarcasm. You're in the 10% imp. It is well documented on the forum that the failure rate on cheap bearings far exceeds the failure rate of the Timkens or other top-shelf brands. There are a lot of things that go into the construction of bearings besides hardness ratings. What were the tolerances? Maybe you got some that were at the top end of tolerance where the guy down the street got some Friday bearings that toasted faster due to barely making spec?

 

[99XLT-Explorer]

im going to be getting them soon probally getting the moogs from advance anyway to tell what wheel is bad or worse than the other probally going to replace both tho just curious

 

[imp]

Cool- I greatly enjoy the sarcasm. You're in the 10% imp. It is well documented on the forum that the failure rate on cheap bearings far exceeds the failure rate of the Timkens or other top-shelf brands. There are a lot of things that go into the construction of bearings besides hardness ratings. What were the tolerances? Maybe you got some that were at the top end of tolerance where the guy down the street got some Friday bearings that toasted faster due to barely making spec?

You may be quite right, Joe! Manufacturing tolerances ARE important; that's why I measured the dimensions of the imports vs. non-imports. They were mighty close, on my ten-thousandth's mike.

What I question is, how do we know those good old Timkens are not foreign-made? Does it say USA on the box? Not knocking Timkens, understand, as I've backed them all my life. After all, what other bearing-maker can claim they originated their own steel alloy, (Timken 52100 bearing steel), and at that, many years ago! imp