Change 96 front wheel bearings?

[PDA1]

My 96 Explorer has a rumbling sound in the front driver side. I assume it's the wheel bearings. I just had an alignment and also the rear tires were rotated to the front. The rumbling was present before I had any of the aforementioned work done. The rumbling isn't that bad....but is bothersome.

Must I replace the entire front hub assembly or is there a way to replace only the bearings in the hub? Any opinions contrary to my bearing theory as to the source of the noise?

 

[Dan Whitaker]

On a 4wd you have to replace the whole hub.

How many miles are on your Explorer? It could also be a bearing in the differential. There are needle bearings on each side of the housing that support the axle.

 

[xFatcatx]

did you jack up the front and check the wheel bearings by wiggling the wheels back/forth, up/down, you should feel a lot of play in them if they need replacing. my dad just checked ours and the passenger side is really bad, drivers side not as bad but both need to be replaced. i just started a new thread on an ebay item trying to save money. if money is not an issue for you though buy some decent ones. you cannot replace the wheel bearing, its sold as a whole assembly, around $180 per side at autozone.

 

[PDA1]

shook front left wheel

I jacked up and shook the front left wheel but didn't feel any excessive movement EXCEPT the movement in the the stearing when I shook the tire.

The problem is not in the rear- I've had that problem before.

The Explorer has 116K on it.

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I was referring to the front differential.