Front end and wheel bearing question

[skid2964]

2004 Sport Trac 4x4, 91k miles

Have a road noise, like a buzzing, I have theorized (possibly incorrectly) that I need lower ball joints and this buzzing is coming from the left front tire riding on its edge. I do have noticeably negative camber on that side. So I buy ball joints and lift the truck up to get started but noticed when I spin the driver side wheel, it has more mechanical noise and does not spin quite as freely as the pass side wheel. (I confirmed it is not brake drag).

Now I am assuming I need a wheel bearing assembly. I am here to confirm my thinking before I order more parts.

Also, should my upper control arm bushing mount have play in it? the rear bushing on both sides rattle in the rear mount. The bushing looks good, bolts are tight, but they both rattle slightly.

I am not opposed to replacing all of it, upper arms, lower joints, wheel bearings, tie rod ends..... do ALL these parts wear out quickly on this model?

 

[mustang6878]

I redid the entire front end of my 03 4X4 at 100 K. New upper & lower ball joints, tie rod ends, shocks, brakes & rotors.

At 105 K I got a hum from the left front wheel bearing and replaced both sides. I figure now I am good for at least another 40K when I need to replace brakes again. I went with quality parts thru Rock Auto...Moog suspension parts, Monroe shocks, Wagner brake parts and Timkin bearings. All fit perfectly, and the front end has not made a whimper since.

 

[BeefMan]

My passenger front wheel bearing just died. Actually it's still dead, the new assembly is showing up Tuesday. Mine began as a faint sound that was kind of like metal rubbing on metal, or something abrasive rubbing on metal. Not a squeaking noise, just a low, sustained whir. I let it go for a while (bad, I know) and it quickly turned into a sustained roaring sound. I wouldn't really describe any of the noises it made as "buzzing", and actually I would also be of the mind that that might be tire-related. You should be able to check that by driving on different surfaces and rotating the tires though.
Anyway, jacked the front end up to check it out Friday and the wheel had quite a bit of play in it in all directions. In my case I know it's not the ball joints as I've replaced all of them recently. I also know the tie-rod ends are fine. So having a bunch of play really narrowed it down.
Can't say much on the bushings, that's something I've kind of overlooked and need to check out again myself. As far as the parts wearing out, it really depends on how and where you drive it. I wouldn't say quickly though, my factory ball joints made it to 150k. Tie-rods are stock at 155k.

 

[BeefMan]

Ohhh, something very important I forgot to mention. If you do your lower ball joints or pull the axle nut for any reason, be VERY careful that you torque it back to spec. I think it's like 190 ft-lbs, don't quote me on that. As I have come to understand, after the fact, that nut provides a compressive load on the bearing. If you don't torque it down enough, the bearing will quickly fail, and then you're out another ~$115 as you have to buy the whole assembly. I think that's what I may have done when I changed out the lower ball joint on that side. The threads and nut will likely be rusty and you'll be fighting the friction of the axle seating into the hub assembly, so it can be tricky to know when you've run the nut back on far enough. Especially if you're torque wrench doesn't go that high like mine haha.

 

[EvinH]

Just as a side note, make sure you replace both of your wheel bearings at the same time. I made the unfortunate mistake of only replacing one and ran into some braking/abs annoyances. When I finally got around to replacing both, after the left one started failing (same sound as described by BeefMan) those issues went away.

 

[BeefMan]

Ohh good tip. Damn, guess I'm ordering another one now haha.

I have a lot of respect for them now actually... As an update to my earlier post, I thought I could get away with driving it one last time before swapping in the new bearing. Nope, completely failed. The assembly broke apart into several pieces actually. All in all, it took with it the rotor, caliper, pads, steering knuckle, upper ball-joint, cv axle, tire, and the inner tie-rod is showing play. Lower ball-joint and outer tie-rod are questionable as well at this point. That was Saturday, I've been parts shopping and scrap-yard diving since.

Moral of the story: do not drive on a bad wheel bearing.