bearings

[floater180]

how can you tell when your front bearings are going out? old school bearings whine and growl, but new bearings not too sure. my 2007 sport trac 4x4 has a weird low pitch, kinda quiet wobblish sound, wife can't hear it but I can,that's there at any speed so i'm curious if that's the sound of bearings going or not.:scratch:

 

[beermoney]

Me too. I hope we get an answer.

 

[96ZJBeast]

Replaced both front hubs two months ago

I had to replace both front hubs this winter and I can tell you, the old ones were noisy as they were going bad. I needed to replace my tires around Thanksgiving because the tread wasn't going to get me through the snow. After I got the new tires on, I was surprised the Trac wasn't much quieter than before the tire swap--I blamed the noise on the new tires.

When doing the tire swap, the tech told me my hubs had some corrosion in them but it took me a while to realize the hubs were the source of the noise. My truck sounded like a propeller plane at any speed from 5 mph up.

I got the new hubs replaced by Ford under my extended warranty, so saved myself at least $900 but the 2nd best thing is the Trac is as quiet again as the day I bought it.

Worn bearings definitely make a lot of sound.

 

[BannonJr]

Generally speaking, jack up the front wheels... lock the steering wheel and grab the tire at 9 and 3 o clock.

Any side to side movement or play (right hand in, left hand out n vice versa) is a sign of worn bearings.

Up and down (12 and 6 o clock) play means ball joints.

 

[Tech By Trade]

Damn it, Looks like my right front is going. Gave her a push at 3 and 9 to hear the click of death. The left front still has a sticker on it so I am guessing the last owner had it done before he sold it. Hopefully this is the last repair for a while. parts are not too expensive but I am sick of wasting my weekends changing them.

 

[JohnnyO]

Either noise or if the steering wheel feels smooth ONLY when it is at dead center.
Basically, if you have a Gen 2 4x4 Trac your wheel bearings are bad. Always.
Lovin' my extended warranty. LF hub and bearing been replaced three times and the RF once.

 

[Tech By Trade]

Anyone got the torque specs handy for this project?

Edit: Found it http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=384394&highlight=Hub+Assembly

 

[fogghornn]

I had to replace both front hubs this winter and I can tell you, the old ones were noisy as they were going bad. I needed to replace my tires around Thanksgiving because the tread wasn't going to get me through the snow. After I got the new tires on, I was surprised the Trac wasn't much quieter than before the tire swap--I blamed the noise on the new tires.

When doing the tire swap, the tech told me my hubs had some corrosion in them but it took me a while to realize the hubs were the source of the noise. My truck sounded like a propeller plane at any speed from 5 mph up.

I got the new hubs replaced by Ford under my extended warranty, so saved myself at least $900 but the 2nd best thing is the Trac is as quiet again as the day I bought it.

Worn bearings definitely make a lot of sound.

Recently I went through the same thing... Put on new tires at 96,000 kms in Dec'12, then I noticed a gradual increase in noise, which I chalked up to tire treads. The noise continued to get louder, so I had my dealer test ride the STA. Bearings/Hub assemblies were replaced under extended warranty, but I had to pay for new rotors and pads. I love the quiet ride so much I drive with the radio off. Discovered my jack was loose under the rear seat, so I ensured the jack parts were wrapped in the felt "sock", and the jack was turned to tighten up in the brackets. This eliminated another occasional source of noise. I also asked about transmission TSBs I read about on this Forum. My STA had never had the tranny re-flashed. I must say, this was the best $40.00 I ever spent on a vehicle. The "coming-to-a-stop-clunk" is GONE ! At 103,000 kms, my STA is now a joy to drive. But the questions remains... Why did FORD never inform me that a tranny TSB was available ???

 

[1Aauto]

We carry a decent line of wheel bearing assemblies on our website with free shipping in the lower 48 states. They have a 2 year warranty on them too.

Here's a link to the Explorer Sport Trac ones. Ford Explorer Sport Trac Wheel Bearing Hub Assemblies