Front Wheel Bearing Help

[93FordEx]

Hey everyone!

I've been browsing around here for awhile, finally decided to post.

I'm currently majoring in a Bachelor's Degree in automotive technology, so I took some free time today to check out my Explorer and make sure everything was alright for a road trip I'm planning for the weekend.

Bottom line, the inside tread on the front driver tire is completely wiped off, to the point of the steel bands being exposed.

The wheel has play in it, and the Explorer pulls extremely hard to the right. I know the wheel bearing is the culprit, and I had just repacked these about 2,000 miles ago.

Anyways, if the spindle nut just needs a retighten, does driving the Explorer for about 1,500 miles with a loose nut affect the bearing wear? Or if I just tighten it up, will I be okay?


My Main Concern:

If when I dig into it tomorrow and the bearing is in fact damaged, are the inner wheel bearings pressed into the race, or are they simply set loose in there and then followed by the grease seal? Thanks for all your help!

 

[surf]

The nside bearing is loose followed by the seal.

 

[obie]

Get new bearing and races. Also, get a new spindle nut, and locking washer and cotter pin if your Explorer uses them. Spindle nuts are prevailing torque and should never be re-used. After loosening, the same torque applied again will be a completely different clamping force. New bearings should never be used with old races, and vice versa. Bearings and races wear together. I'd say use rockauto.com, but if you need them right away then go to Napa, they typically have the highest quality parts. More expensive, but worth it.

Also, you're going to need a new tire. Rotate your two rears into the front and put the new one in the back. Never drive on a radial with the belts exposed.

 

[93FordEx]

Awesome, thanks guys. On my way to the parts store to get everything I need. Hopefully I can get this knocked out today. Spindle nuts should be tightened to 35 ft-lbs and then backed off 1/4 turn, then retightened to 16 in-lbs, and then rotated until lined up with the lock washer, correct?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[4x4junkie]

Tighten to 35ft-lbs while spinning the rotor back & forth, back it off and retighten it to 16 inch-lbs. Then insert your lock key (or if you have manual hubs, put the lock ring and outer locknut on, then tighten the locknut to 225ft-lbs, this so the assembly doesn't come loose as easy).

Use Timken SET-37 bearings & races for the D35 axle (comes as a set). Accept nothing else (these frontends tend to eat the cheaper stuff).


FWIW, I've never once ever heard you can't reuse the spindle bearing nuts. I've had mine apart probably at least a half-dozen times. They are not like a pinion yoke nut where the nut is crimped so that friction holds the nut from loosening.

 

[Roadrunner777]

+1 on everything 4x4junkie said. You should know from your schooling that there are good parts and not so good parts. Timken is the deal. You should not have to replace them for the life of the Exp.

I am also puzzled by the spindle nut re-use question. I would really like to see a source for that.

When I replaced my bearings, I did have to retorque after some mileage.

Also, how the play works is a big deal. You could easily have ball joint play. I sure hope not, ball joint replacement is a big job.

 

[FLwireman]

Spindle Nuts

Interestingly both alldatadiy and autozone say that spindle nuts cannot be reused. But they are not stocked in autozone, advance, or o'riellys stores in DeFuniak Springs, FL. They are special order. If they are so important why are they not stocked? I have reused mine, also.
The same warning was noted for the caliper bolts on my wife's 2001 Lincoln Towncar. I could not find them, so I reused them.
BTW My Ex is a 93 Eddie with autohubs.
That is my FWIW. I agree with the above post.

 

[obie]

You may be half right about the spindle nut. From what I can tell, they can be reused only if you have auto locking hubs for a gen 1 4x4. In nearly every other case, and dang near every other vehicle, spindle nuts should never be reused.

Excluding exotic cars with crazy systems, I've only ever come across two types of spindle nuts. Some have nylon inserts, others are just standard threaded. The nylon ones are never, ever reusable. Once that nut reaches torque, the nylon deforms. Any future attempt to reach the same torque will result in an incorrect clamping load.

Standard threaded are designed to have the threads stretch when torqued correctly. Once a thread stretches, as in head bolts, it should not be reused. Any future attempts to torque will result in incorrect clamping loads. Ideally, any torqued fastener should not be reused. If it is, and it has not been forced to or past the deformation plastic zone, it will require a higher torque to achieve the same clamp load. Without measuring the bolt clamping force and torque at the same time, it is impossible to know what the new torque needs to be.

However, that's nearly impossible to actually follow. I'm certainly not going to buy new bolts that hold my fender on because of a slight stretch. And many times you can get away with reusing bolts over and over. But when it comes to a fastener that holds a critical component in place, or sets the preload of a bearing, new nuts and bolts are cheap insurance.

If you're interested in learning more about fastener torques and reuse, here's a pretty easy to follow article written about it: http://www.fastenal.com/content/feds/pdf/Article%20-%20Reuse%20of%20Fasteners.pdf

I work as an R&D drivetrain tech for construction equipment, and we have to do a good amount of testing involving fastener stretch, torque, clamping force, preload, etc.

 

[Roadrunner777]

Wow, ok, I guess I need to add to my garage spare parts inventory. Thanks for the info.

 

[wood1]

Hey thanks for that article. Very interesting info. I had an "oh... right..." moment.

 

[4x4junkie]

Head bolts are a much different application (typically called "Torque-to-Yield"). These are where you see assembly specs like: "Torque to 40 ft-lbs, then turn an additional 90°." That extra ¼ turn is what makes them yield.

Spindle nuts (at least on our rigs) aren't TTY, there's no significant clamping force created (after all there's only 15 or 16 inch-lbs on that huge nut). For the manual-hub nuts, they do nothing more than clamp to each other against a lockring to keep them from spinning (I don't think they or the spindle threads could yield at all before breaking anyway... They are actually somewhat brittle).

I have no explanation for if Autozone or others say not to reuse them... The Ford factory service books make no mention whatsoever about not reusing them.
Autozone (and many others) cannot seem to get half the parts correct for our frontends in their computers anyway, so i wouldn't put much weight on that.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Make sure you gentlemen aren't confusing bearing retainer nuts for the actual spindle nuts that hold the spindle to the knuckle.

 

[4x4junkie]

Make sure you gentlemen aren't confusing bearing retainer nuts for the actual spindle nuts that hold the spindle to the knuckle.

I could see this with those... The D35 spindle-to-knuckle nuts are stover-type locknuts (like the pinion nut I mentioned). However the factory service manual is again mum on the subject of their reuse. :scratch:

 

[Mettler]

There is a big difference between the spindle nuts that you guys are talking about. Think about it like this, lets, for the sake of conversation say we're working on a fwd car. Your replacing the half shaft. The new half shaft comes with a new "spindle nut" because you don't re-use the old one. On alot of newer explorers the hubs are similar. But not on the 1st gen explorers with auto hubs. Are we understanding now? I too have never replaced the 2 3/8" spindle nut on my truck either. What size is the spindle nut that needs to be replaced? 28, maybe 30mm? Big difference. To the original poster, don't sweat it.

 

[93FordEx]

Replaced the inner and outer wheel bearings, the hub and rotor assembly (included races), and the seal. Goes down the road perfectly straight now, no pull and no steering movement!

Thanks everyone!

Now to tackle the cruise control...and gas gauge... always reads "Empty"

 

[wood1]

The gas gauge problem is likely what everyone else experiences... the brass float degrades and fills with gas. I changed mine with a float from an S-10, closed cell foam float. Fit right in there.

 

[93FordEx]

Thanks for the info! Might be smart to post a new thread, but..

It worked on and off for a few days between 3/4 tank and 1/2 tank, but after it dropped below 1/2 it went straight to E...

Possibly the sending unit? After a few days it stopped working altogether.

 

[wood1]

I did a quick search for you

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367949&highlight=sender

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154007&highlight=sender