Front Wheel Bearing replacement

[Bigham]

I tried turning the hub by hand and nothing we easily noticeable. SHould the brake caliper be able to move around by hand 1/4-3/8 of an inch? Maybe the bearing is shot and that is the play in the bearing?

 

[Bigham]

Went to have an alignment done today and it turns out the one the shop replaced 8 months ago went bad after 13k miles. Going in for replacement under warranty tomorrow.

 

[Bigham]

Turns out it was not a wheel bearing but a bad tire. Seems like I will never get rid of this stupid vibration.

 

[Allen Bradley]

new here. Hello all. Got a 91 mazda navajo 4x4 ( first edition ford exp ) haha front bearings removal. Any suggestions

 

[RomeovilleIL]

new here. Hello all. Got a 91 mazda navajo 4x4 ( first edition ford exp ) haha front bearings removal. Any suggestions

Not the same as the 95-01's. There is a write-up in the stock 91-94 sticky section: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232754

 

[philc444]

on my 98 ranger 4x4, front wheel noise turned out to be the caged needle bearing that supports the half-shaft inside the wheel bearing.
the large seal in the knuckle was bad, allowing water inside the needle bearing. the hub bearing was fine, but the needle bearing was dust! You can replace the needle bearing (about $4o per side from ford). The red axle retainer snap ring was not seated properly,and allowed the axle to pull in and let water past the knuckle seal. Just a few of the things to look for on these vehicles with the pulse vacuum hubs. Hope this helps more than confuses.

 

[tomhuot]

I wouldn't buy anything like that on eBay. It is a crap shoot there. Half of the stuff you get there is legit and the other half is crap.

 

[SoNic67]

I have bought parts from ebay, but only from a manufacturer store - in my case Detroit Axle.

 

[Impact9]

Just ordered a Detroit Axle version off amazon for $41. Yea it's cheap but all I can afford at the moment being in college right now. This is for my 2000 AWD.

http://www.amazon.com/Detroit-Axle-Bearing-Assembly-515003/dp/B009G4Y9RG/

 

[Turdle]

Just ordered a Detroit Axle version off amazon for $41. Yea it's cheap but all I can afford at the moment being in college right now. This is for my 2000 AWD.

http://www.amazon.com/Detroit-Axle-Bearing-Assembly-515003/dp/B009G4Y9RG/

I do not blame you one bit. I have a feeling with that brand name they will hold up great. Good find!

 

[AK Addict]

Time to resurrect an old thread, I'm getting some noise on my 98 Explorer I suspect it is a bad front hub. Question I have is at what mileage do these things go bad? I have 107k, is that around what is expected?

 

[bobflood]

Not unreasonable given your combination of age and mileage. Are you 2WD or AWD/4WD?? On my 2WD, hub and front brake disk are integrated in one unit. I believe that AWD/4WD front architecture is different. Good luck.

 

[Techelite]

For my 99 v8 awd mounty, can anyone who has replaced the hubs confirm the size of the spindle nut and where they got a replacement, as I'd like to use new ones if possible.

I've searched for both, but can't find anybody list sizes (I'd rather not drop cash on the wrong size socket) and the replacements I see online don't look like mine.

 

[SoNic67]

Rent the spindle nut tool set from Advance Auto Parts.

 

[drdoom]

32mm socket, Ford has nuts, probably eBay too.

 

[chefduane]

Amazon has the Detroit Axle hub for a '98 4x4 4.0L for $44 free shipping with DA's standard 12mos/12kmiles warranty. I'm thinking about ordering 2 just to have in hand. I've got 194k on my original front hubs and that price is really attractive. I don't think spending the extra $$$ on a Timken set is warranted on a truck with 194k miles on it.

EDIT: I missed a special that they are running when you purchase both L & R hubs. $74.00 plus free shipping when you buy both.

 

[SoNic67]

^ I have put more than that mileage on my DA hubs and they are still fine.

 

[chefduane]

^ I have put more than that mileage on my DA hubs and they are still fine.

That's a reasonable point, and my 194k hubs may be still OK and probably still have some miles left in them. But, $74 for both (assuming they are quality hubs) is a great deal. That, and a few hours work, is pretty good for complete peace of mind.

 

[Techelite]

One, so now I have a new issue. Replaced both front bearings (and my spark plugs and wires while I had the wheel wells open) and now it drives great... Until I turn the wheel.

I now have this God awful shudder when turning. If I'm at a low speed (under ~10 mph) it only shudders when I'm actually physically turning the wheel, but once I hold the wheel turned, it stops until I turn the wheel back to straighten the car. Over ~10 mph it does it the entire time the car is turning.

I even stuck my head out today and could see my tire shaking while I turned. I followed all the best advice I'd gleaned off here; anti-seized everything, damaged nothing, torqued to spec (157-213 ft-lbs for the spindle nut [150 with my torque wrench, then a bit more with my much longer breaker bar]) and I even tightened a bit more once I discovered the issue.

Could this be a steering issue? I had the entire front end up and was turning the spindles back and forth by hand depending on which side I needed more clearance on. I saw videos of mechanics doing this with a car on a lift, but could doing it several times have introduced air into the steering system? Could this be bled?

 

[SoNic67]

Air in the steering rack, probably because you moved the wheels while car was lifted. You need to do several full left-to right steering excursions, with engine (pump) running, to air it out.