Doing wheel bearings, do I need a new axle nut? Also torque wrench?

[dacaur2]

Well, the title pretty much says it. front diver wheel bearings went out, so I have new ones on order (timkin) but not sure if I need a new axle nut. On my jeeps its recommended to use a new nut any time you remove it, but this is my first ford... If yes, can anyone give me a link to exactly what I need?

Also, my torque wrench only goes to 150ft/lbs, my jeep axle nuts are spec'ed at 175ft/lbs, but they dont put any kind of preload on the bearings, plus they use a castle nut and cotter pin, so going till it clicks then giving a bit extra (not with the torque wrench) has always worked fine. But I watched a video on an explorer and he said that the axle nut puts preload on the bearings on this truck so its important to get it to the right torque (185ft/lbs?). Is this true? Should i get a bigger torque wrench or is "tighter than 150ft/lbs" good enough?

 

[Explorer_PL]

If you were doing the rear bearing I'd say yes - new nut.
On the front ones, I reuse the old ones, and just apply loctite.
The way I think about it, 2WD Explorer use same hub assemblies without the CV shaft and the nut and that's good.
Maybe I am missing something.
I thought the front nut specs were 150 something, and rear is 203 ft-lb.
What is it really - I am too lazy to look it up.
Get it to 150 and add 1/8 turn

 

[michael loibl]

I agree on front not being critical, and remember something like 180. I reuse my nuts on the front, and have a 150 torque wrench also, and give it a little more. Like PL said, fronts are same bearing as 2WD trucks that are completely hollow inside the bearing, so it doesn’t “need” the preload for the bearing. Rear Is a different story, and I finally have some rear noise on my original bearings...Good Times ahead

 

[JoeSpeedo]

I literally just did this today. You can reuse the nut unless you strip it. So it’s good to have a backup, but mine came off and back on without a problem. Did both fronts hubs today. Torque on the axle nut is 185.

 

[Bill MacLeod]

Joe is correct, 184 ft lb on the bearing nut, 122 on the caliper anchor bolts, 90 on the rear facing knuckle to bearing bolts and 53 on the caliper bolts. Get in the habit of using medium Loctite on all brake and suspension bolts.

Most rear suspension bolts are in the 180 to 260 range, so a xx to 250 - 1/2" drive torque wrench is mandatory. You will need the longer handle for leverage. (as well as 21 to 24mm sockets and wrenches)

 

[dacaur2]

Holy crap I hate this truck..... Wheel bearing WILL. NOT. come out of the knuckle.... tried tapping it like I normally do for wheel bearings. Ineffective. Tapped harder, nothing, got a bigger hammer, still not moving. Beat the **** out of it, even removing the brake shield to get at it from all angles. Nothing. tried using a chisel to get between bearing and knuckle, no effect other than wrecking two nice chisels.... Finally just took the whole stupid knuckle off (which of course was way harder than it should have been) And will try to press it out after work on the shop press....... *sigh*.....

 

[garye]

Holy crap I hate this truck..... Wheel bearing WILL. NOT. come out of the knuckle.... tried tapping it like I normally do for wheel bearings. Ineffective. Tapped harder, nothing, got a bigger hammer, still not moving. Beat the **** out of it, even removing the brake shield to get at it from all angles. Nothing. tried using a chisel to get between bearing and knuckle, no effect other than wrecking two nice chisels.... Finally just took the whole stupid knuckle off (which of course was way harder than it should have been) And will try to press it out after work on the shop press....... *sigh*.....

Got mine out with an eight pound sledge hammer on my 08. you are correct they don't want to come out.

 

[07EddyB]

Yeah - it pretty much requires a press. I've never heard of anyone that got one out with the knuckle still on the vehicle. The knuckle is pretty easy to pull on this gen - no ball joints to deal with.

Edit: OK - I stand corrected. Apparently an eight pound sledge will do it. Hopefully that was off the vehicle.

 

[JoeSpeedo]

I had to use an air hammer, blow torch, and sledge. Took 2 hours of hammering on it. Make sure to put some anti seize on the new one so you don’t ever have this problem again. I’ve heard from a few Ford guys that this is just due to a poor design.

 

[michael loibl]

Both my Fronts came off with about five minutes of tapping, and that was after having been on the car 10 years and 12 years from new. For the passenger side I did go ahead and remove the brake rotor splash shield for better swinging ability

 

[Bill MacLeod]

If you have the knuckle off, support it and drive the bearing assy out from behind. Big socket on the hub and a BFH.

Couple smacks and its out.(Ford used a sealant between the bearing to knuckle face)

 

[Explorer_PL]

Are we talking about front hubs or rear bearings ?
Yes, the front hubs will give you a hard time when replacing the OEM for the first time, but wow, that was glued well to the knuckle.
I used a heavy chisel on mine the first time, but it came off eventually. After that I do not use anything on the new ones and they come off easily on subsequent replacements.
Some people support the vehicle on the hub and jack stand without the 3 bolts behind and then go at it with the hammer. That way they are preloaded for separation.
Of course you need a secondary support for when it gives and the car drops

 

[Bill MacLeod]

OP has only mentioned the front left bearing, not the rears.

Since he has the knuckle off, the bearing assy could be easily driven out, but with access to a shop press, he will have it out in no time. Clean all scale/rust from the knuckle and use anti seize around the spindle/flange and blue loctite on all the bolts. Torque the 3 bolts to 90 lb ft.

Assembly is reverse of removal. Torque upper bj nut to 41 ft #, tie-rod end nut to 76 and lower bj nut to 111. Caliper anchor bolts to 122 ft #, caliper pin bolts to 24 ft #. Wheel bearing nut to 184 ft #.

If you have a lot of miles on the front suspension components, now is the time to replace them.

 

[dacaur2]

well its out... shops 20 ton press took care of it... loudly..... I cant belive how rusty it was in there.... I didnt see anything that could be adhesive, just a crapton of rust..... wire wheeled it till I could get the new one in, liberal coating of antiseize applied, now to get home and reinstall everything.... joy.....