Hub & Bearing Assembly 95-01 (I think)

[needwheels]

Removal of rear hub

Does anyone how to remove the rear hub on a 1997 ford explorer and get to the shoes in disc?

 

[gijoecam]

Does anyone how to remove the rear hub on a 1997 ford explorer and get to the shoes in disc?

There is no rear hub on a 97. You have a standard axle with an axle shaft.

As for your problem, remove the rubber plug in the backing plate and adjust the parking brake adjusting screw back into itself to remove the rotor. The parking brakes work just like any traditional drum brake, except that they are not self-adjusting.

as someone mentioned above, 2wd bearings are a traditional tapered roller bearing on a spindle design. (can replace the bearings for $10 per side) Much easier to work on, but require periodic maintenance. 4wd hubs are not servicable and must be replaced as an assembly. They are also vulnerable to brinelling when doing abrake job as it often requires a BFH to remove the rotors. Doing so causes these marks on the bearing surface:

Often times, the bearings fail less than 10k after doing abrake job. Nobody ever thinks to examine why they failed. If you could easily remove them, service them, and re-torque them like a 2wd setup, they would surely last longer.

I sold my '90 2wd Ranger with 140,000 miles on the clock with the original front bearings still in it. The bearings were re-packed once a year.

-Joe

 

[stretch]

I think this is what just went out in mine. Does anybody know if the AWD hub is the same as the 4WD hub?

 

[jwrezz]

I think this is what just went out in mine. Does anybody know if the AWD hub is the same as the 4WD hub?

Can't say I know for sure, but it's gotta be the same.

 

[Jefe]

I think this is what just went out in mine. Does anybody know if the AWD hub is the same as the 4WD hub?

Yes they are the same.

 

[stretch]

Just bought one off of ebay for $120. I hate putting money into a front end that isn't going to be there in a few months , but I need my DD back. It figures that while I've got most of the parts for my HP D44 sitting at my house waiting to be put together, that the front end would start to fall apart. It only has to make it a little longer.

 

[toddious]

Just bought one off of ebay for $120. I hate putting money into a front end that isn't going to be there in a few months , but I need my DD back. It figures that while I've got most of the parts for my HP D44 sitting at my house waiting to be put together, that the front end would start to fall apart. It only has to make it a little longer.

i know exactly how you feel, i'm in the same situation. front drivers hub went out, and passenger up control arm/ball joint is bad. both happening while i'm planning SAS of course....

anyway, how do you loosen the big nut in the middle? turning causes the whole axle/wheel assembly to turn. should i put my wheel/tire back on just so i can undo this bolt? i have the 1.25" socket to do the trick..... thanks, todd.

 

[Jefe]

anyway, how do you loosen the big nut in the middle? turning causes the whole axle/wheel assembly to turn. should i put my wheel/tire back on just so i can undo this bolt? i have the 1.25" socket to do the trick..... thanks, todd.

About the only way possible is with the tire mounted and sitting on the ground. Its torqued to ~250 ft lbs, so you've gotta have a good sized breaker bar to get it loose (and tighten it back up).

 

[toddious]

thanks for the advice....

the hub assembly shouldn't have much play to it should it? while grabbing the lugs and the inner assembly, it has a good amount of play in it. is this a good indicator that my bearings are the problem? thanks, todd.

 

[gijoecam]

About the only way possible is with the tire mounted and sitting on the ground. Its torqued to ~250 ft lbs, so you've gotta have a good sized breaker bar to get it loose (and tighten it back up).

That's by far the easiest way. Of course, I did it the ahrd way.... with the wheel in the air, I put a couple of lug nuts back on to save the threads and moved the floor jack over just to the side of it. Then I wedged a breaker bar in between the two "protected" lugs, and rested the breaker bar on the jack head to keep the hub from turning. Then I used a 3-foot breaker bar with the previously-mentiond jack's handle (approx 4 feet long) on it to break the nut loose.

The easy way is to take the nut off before you even jack up the car. Pop the center cap off and it's right there. Use a good socket on a breaker-bar, a 3" extension, and a a piece of steel pipe or conduit, and the thing comes right off.

FWIW, that's the easiest way to torque it back down too.

-Joe

 

[toddious]

thanks, i'm gonna try to get a nice sized piece of metal pipe to use as a breaker. I'm waiting on the hub anyway, so there's no need to rush into getting it back up on stands anyway. thanks, todd.

 

[Jefe]

FWIW, that's the easiest way to torque it back down too.

Yes, but you should be using a torque wrench capable of 250 ft-lbs. makes life a lot easier than a piece of pipe over a rachet.

 

[toddious]

all the torque wrenches i saw were only about 18" long, which i think would be a tough job. not to mention how expensive they are (i think like $35 at discount auto parts). todd.

 

[have2goski]

if you have somebody helping you out its not a bad idea to step on the brakes when you are breaking that nut loose. Setting it on the ground does basically the same thing but if you step on the brakes the car won't rock at all.

Just replaced my grandpa's hub assembly on the front of his Olds minvan.

That torque spec is way up there. my grandpa's olds only took 185 ft.lbs.

a 3/4" socket set is really nice to have as well. just glad i didn't have to buy it

 

[jwrezz]

A 250 # capable torque wrench? Why not just put it on really tight?!?

 

[toddious]

thats what i'm gonna do, tighten as much as i can.

 

[jwrezz]

My big craftsman 3/4 drive ratchet did the trick. I re-used the nut, and it's been on since I originally posted this!

 

[toddious]

the wheel bearing from all 2nd gens are the same correct? so a 5.0 wheel bearing is the same as my 4.0? thanks, todd.

 

[Rodeo Joe]

So, should this be added to the "over 100K mile" list of things to do?

Is there any indication that they might be going? Thanks!

Joe

 

[stretch]

the wheel bearing from all 2nd gens are the same correct? so a 5.0 wheel bearing is the same as my 4.0? thanks, todd.

That's what I was told in another thread. That the 5.0 AWD and 4.0 4WD hubs are the same.