Front wheel bearing failure picture

[p38fln]

Does anyone have a picture of a 2nd generation Explorer that had a catastrophic front bearing failure?

I have a relative who has a 1999 Explorer and she noticed it was making a grinding noise. I was able to shake the right front tire "just a bit" with it sitting on the ground and told her she definitely needs to replace the right front hub & wheel bearing (I checked the other wheels too, this was the only one that was 'loose'). Her grandmother asked her grandfather for a second opinion, and it wouldn't make the noise when he drove it. He said it was probably the AC clutch, which, while low on Freon, doesn't actually make any noise.

Anyway, I'm hoping to find a picture of a 2nd generation explorer like hers where the wheel bearing has failed in some spectacular manner to try and get the point across to everyone that this isn't something that you can ignore.

All I could find on Google were pictures of Explorers in garages with failed bearings, but nothing cool like an exterior shot with the wheel bent at a funky angle.

 

[p38fln]

I should add, she's 16, and while the truck is "hers" it legally belongs to her grandmother which is how her grandfather became involved.

 

[jester1023]

Alright...wheel bearings are extremely common failure points on second generation ('95-'01) Explorers. You did not specify if this '99 is 2wd or 4x4/AWD. The seriousness of prolonging the replacement of a bad wheel bearing is determined on how it fails. A 2wd acts similar to a rear wheel drive passenger car. The hearings are greasable and are held in place with a castle washer and cotter pin. On a 4x4/AWD Ex, the front bearing is actually a hub assembly, consisting of a bearing housing, sealed bearing and pressed in lug hub. 3 bolts hold this assembly in the knuckle/spindle from the back side. The only thing retaining the center hub from coming out upon failure is the axle shaft nut. Though it has some size, that nut is useless under serious failure. The axle shaft is not retained in the front differential, so it will give slack, but most likely come short of coming through the hub assembly. If the bearing does separate, it will give enough play for the wheel to wobble furiously. At highway speeds, it will be violent enough to sheer the end of the axle shaft...resulting in the wheel coming off. If the wheel comes off cleanly, it will take the rotor and caliper along with severing the brake line. You now not only have a 3 wheeled vehicle, you have no brakes to go with it...unless you're savvy enough to use the emergency brake. Worst case scenario would be the wheel lodging in the wheel well acting like the brake locking up. It can pull the vehicle into traffic or off the road...neither of which has a positive ending. Top heavy vehicles don't fair well to quick directional change. The best way I have found to track down if the bearing is bad and pinpoint which one is to drive it in a straight line around 25-30 mph. Hopefully it will begin to growl a little for the test. As you are driving turn the wheel to the left, as if you were taking a curve. If the sound quiets, the right bearing is the culprit. If the bearing quiets while doing the same thing to the right, it's the left one.

 

[XLTrunner]

Well stated...

I can't offer up any pics, either...but, want to commend you for taking on the responsibility of looking out for this young gal's safety.

Bad wheel brgs are one of the easier problems to diagnose IMO. Hopefully, if her Grandfather isn't going to take this seriously, you will have the time and mechanical know-how to help her out and avoid a potentially dangerous outcome. Good luck!

 

[Dude13450]

Here's a YouTube video. The result of a wheel bearing failure on a Mountaineer!

 

[intelisevil]

FYI - The video shows a RWD Mounty.

You never stated if the Explorer in question is RWD or 4WD/AWD.

Parts are more expensive and the job is a bit more labor intensive for the 4WD/AWD version but either one is possible to do with a basic tool set and jack stand on a level drive way.

Do a little bit of research on this forum and you'll be an expert in no time!

Good Luck!

 

[Dude13450]

FYI - The video shows a RWD Mounty.

You never stated if the Explorer in question is RWD or 4WD/AWD.

Parts are more expensive and the job is a bit more labor intensive for the 4WD/AWD version but either one is possible to do with a basic tool set and jack stand on a level drive way.

Do a little bit of research on this forum and you'll be an expert in no time!

Good Luck!

I understand that it was RWD; however, a catastrophic wheel bearing / hub failure is going to be fairly similar if not the same.

 

[intelisevil]

I understand that it was RWD; however, a catastrophic wheel bearing / hub failure is going to be fairly similar if not the same.

Dude

That video was a great find!

My comment was directed to the OP, in case they took a front wheel off and found something different from your video.

 

[koda2000]

that had to have been making a hell of a racket before that happened. It amazes me what people will just ignore.

 

[1997XLTRollover]

I just did the hub/bearing on my 96 V8 AWD, it was fairly straight forward. If you want to scare your grandfather, just jack the truck up and wiggle the wheel in the air. The bearing on my 96 went south within a week, first the ABS light came on because the wheel was sitting crooked and then it wobbled like a SOB. Grab a bearing assembly off Rockauto they're a great price even for the higher quality ones.

 

[p38fln]

It's a 1999 Eddie Bauer 4WD with 4.0 SOHC. Several people have offered to help fix it (including her father) since from what we can see it's not anything too difficult but since it's not technically her car, all we can really do is scare the living crap out of her grandparents (who are the actual owners of the car) until they actually believe that there's a problem with the truck and let someone fix it or pay someone to fix it or do something about it, which is why I was hoping someone had some pictures

intelisevil, do you know what the hub assembly part is for the 4WD version? When I looked it up on O'Reilly all I found was one part number for both 2WD and 4WD.

 

[p38fln]

I also wanted to make it clearer that we know its the front right wheel bearing, when I went over to her house I was able to grab that wheel and shake it with the explorer still sitting on the ground. I demonstrated this to her so she could see the problem and had her try shaking the wheel herself (Which she was able to do) and then I had her try doing this to the left front wheel to show her what it was supposed to be like.

 

[chefduane]

It's a 1999 Eddie Bauer 4WD with 4.0 SOHC.
...do you know what the hub assembly part is for the 4WD version? When I looked it up on O'Reilly all I found was one part number for both 2WD and 4WD.

I have a '98 SOHC 4x so essentially the same truck. 4x4 OE part number is #F87Z1104CA. 1AAuto has both hubs on sale for $120.45/pair w/ 2yr. warranty. Granted, not Timken or MC quality but I put a set on in May and have had no probs so far. A single hub/bearing is like $67 and change.

 

[jester1023]

I also wanted to make it clearer that we know its the front right wheel bearing, when I went over to her house I was able to grab that wheel and shake it with the explorer still sitting on the ground. I demonstrated this to her so she could see the problem and had her try shaking the wheel herself (Which she was able to do) and then I had her try doing this to the left front wheel to show her what it was supposed to be like.

See my post above (#3). At the end of my rambling, there is a discription on how to tell. A CV shaft will also do some talking when their grease boot fails and the joint goes dry. Play in the wheel is NOT a dead giveaway for a bad bearing. Bad ball joints and tie rod ends will also allow for excessive play or movement. There is also a way to check those, but you won't get any noise until failure. They will just wear out tires and shake the steering wheel.

 

[1Aauto]

I have a '98 SOHC 4x so essentially the same truck. 4x4 OE part number is #F87Z1104CA. 1AAuto has both hubs on sale for $120.45/pair w/ 2yr. warranty. Granted, not Timken or MC quality but I put a set on in May and have had no probs so far. A single hub/bearing is like $67 and change.

Thank you for your order. I ran our economy hubs on my 97 Grand Cherokee too for 4 years and multiple snowstorms. Never had an issue. Just torque them down correctly and you should be fine.

If anyone needs help, finding a set of hubs I can help you out.

Tony

 

[Flash]

Here's a YouTube video. The result of a wheel bearing failure on a Mountaineer!

I see what's making the noise, there's no brake pads.

 

[SoNic67]

I also wanted to make it clearer that we know its the front right wheel bearing, when I went over to her house I was able to grab that wheel and shake it with the explorer still sitting on the ground. I demonstrated this to her so she could see the problem and had her try shaking the wheel herself (Which she was able to do) and then I had her try doing this to the left front wheel to show her what it was supposed to be like.

I don't care who owns the truck, I would do the fix myself if I was driving it. It's unsafe to drive it like that.
Some people just don't have common sense anymore.

 

[p38fln]

It's fixed now, just in case anyone was afraid of driving on the same road

 

[SoNic67]

That's great news! I don't think anybody (that drives an Explorer) was "afraid" of a collision with a runaway tire, but maybe somebody that drives a "fuel-saver" small car might
Like owners of cars form this list: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/01/29/iihs-driver-death-cars-top-10/22536459/