Do it myself? Front Diff Bearing Replace???

[Big6ft6]

Hello

My truck is sitting in the CarX lot next door, they say it needs a new front differential driver side bearing..with labor $375.

I've seen people on here mention they've replaced them and I assume they mean they did it themselves. How difficult is the repair, do you need a speacial "ford" tool or bearing puller or anything?

Will this be in my Haynes manual when I get home?

Any advice will be appreciated,

 

[410Fortune]

front differential drives side bearing eh?
What in the world is that?

The front differential has a grease seal where the CV shaft attaches but no bearing that I am aware of

Does it need a drivers side wheel bearing/ hub assembly?

Something is fishy fishy.
I would ask them to show me what they are talking about

Why do they have your truck? did you take it to them complaining of a problem?

 

[Hartman]

There are roller bearings in the ends of the front diff where the CV shaft goes into. I've never heard of one going bad though.

 

[410Fortune]

even if the inner CV does ride on a bearing on the GEN III model as Hartman says (I believe him) $375 is TOO MUCH unless it includes a new CV axle shaft assembly as well

 

[Hartman]

even if the inner CV does ride on a bearing on the GEN III model as Hartman says (I believe him) $375 is TOO MUCH unless it includes a new CV axle shaft assembly as well

labor $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[410Fortune]

okay so lets say the bearing is $35, so $340 of labor approx a high shop rate for Denver dealer would be $85 an hour so thats 4 hours of labor?
Come on I could replace the entire front suspension in 4 hours time.
Takes me 1 hour max to remove the complete CV assembly even on the most stubborn trucks.

Now I am going on gyuessing here because I am not familiar with the Gen III front end, BUT I would at least find out why they are telling you this bearing is bad, how they know and then get a second and third opinion. Seems AWFULLY high to me

 

[Hartman]

It doesn't matter how long it "actually" takes them to do it, they charge by the book. CarX quoted me something like $300 for u-joints back when I first got my license so I'm not surprised at the quote.

 

[Big6ft6]

Yes I took it into them becuase I get a noise that sounds like tire noise anytime above 30 mph. I rotated tires front to back on driver side and the noise is still there, a little louder with one tire versus the other.

thing is these tires are almost new. They say all four tires are "cupped".

So they say I should get two new front tires $375, replace bearing $375, sway bar link, new brake rotors and pad (both of which I know I can do myslef) for a grand total of ....................$1200

I just bought this truck a few months ago, before I bought it I had it inspected and my mechanic said it needed a new "wheel bearing" ...well I bought the truck and that new wheel bearing turned into $500 for a new hub and $500 for a control arm bushing that was shot.

Then I saw on here that a hub only costs $175 and I couldda done it myself I was so mad. So I'm suspicious of all mechanic diagnosis and especially suspicous of costs.

I got the impression there were bearings where the half-shaft enter the front diff. I looked them up on RockAuto.com and they are only $9.90 for the bearings.

If they were loose could they lead to damage in my ring and pinion in front diff?

 

[IZwack]

That is kinda weird that those bearings would go out -- there typically is no weight riding on these bearings other than the CV shaft itself (which is very light) and a little bit when you're in 4wd due to torque. The front suspension technically is a full-floater design in that obviously the shafts themselves do not take any of the weight of the vehicle - unlike the rear axle.

 

[410Fortune]

$500 for a control arm bushing?
Yikes

I would be suspicious as well, not saying your truck doesnt need these parts or the work but um it sounds to me like this shop is raking you over the coals, a second opinion is a GREAT idea

 

[Big6ft6]

good point IZwack,

I'm really starting to think this truck spun-out and hit the drivers-side wheel against a curb during ice weather.

I just bought the truck this winter and here are the repairs it needed.

sway-bar link broke on passenger side, rear upper control arm bushing completely wacked out on driverside, driverside hub was loose and needed repari, and now the driver-side bearing in the front diff is damaged.

They said they found the bad bearing using a needle-stethescope running the truck while it was up on the hoist and listening to the locations of different bearings.

I feel like it is something I should replace, it would most likely get messy if that froze up and melted in there. yes?

 

[Doug]

I had my front diff go bad and ended up replacing half the bearings in it. I don't know what caused it to go back but it used to belong to Lizard so you be the judge. At the ends of the axle shafts there are roller bearings and then there are the tapered bearings on the carrier. All the bearings are fairly easy to replace, but you're going to need some special tools. You can get the tools at autozone (I think) or a tool rental place. You'll need an inside bearing puller for the axle shafts. To get them back in I hammered them back into place with bearing tool that was the same size as the bearing. For the carrier bearings an outside bearing puller and a press to put the new bearings back on. A machine shop or similiar place should be able to press the bearings on for you.

If your good with hand tools it shouldn't take you more than a weekend to rebuild your front diff. If you have to do the carrier bearings make sure you don't loose the shims on the carrier as you're going to need to reuse them. (I think the shims are on the carrier but it's been a while)

 

[Weekend]

Did you end up replacing those outer carrier bearings on the front diff? If so -- are these able to be replaced from the outside with a puller or does the diff need to be removed?

 

[koda2000]

dude, this thread was from 2007.

 

[Weekend]

I know.

I was just trying to avoid multiple topics on the same issue... but also hoping some of the original folks who posted might still have this in their subscribed list.

 

[Poke_IS300]

Okay so after reading this post i think i have it nailed down to do my own rebuild of the front diff on my 2000 mercury mountaineer.

Rockauto.com and advanceautoparts.com sell the same bearing and seal rebuild kit which is:

NATIONAL RA335 Bearing/Oil Seal Kit
Front; Spicer 35-SLA; 7.59" R.G.

RockAuto.com - only ($77.79)
TIMKEN DRK335
Front; 4WD; AWD; Dana/Spicer 35 Axle

They both share the same part number on their websites. both sites offer the kits between $63.99(advanceauto) and $62.79(rockauto), but advance always give a 10% discount on orders above $30 bucks which comes out to be $57.59, but not including tax though. i do have a my own shop press and bearing puller/separators

Can't believe the Ford dealership wanted to charge me $215.00 for pinion bearing+races. Carrier bearing $35.49 ea. and 32.66 ea. for the races.