Hub & Bearing Assembly 95-01 (I think)

[jwrezz]

I haven't found much info regarding this so I thought I'd tell ya my experience.

Found the part on ebay for 99 & bid on it. I was getting some really bad noises, and abs had quit so I figured I'd shell out the 225 for one at the store, and use the ebay one later on the other side. Email and internet was out for one day, and I lost the auction (went for $112!), but luckily I had the part I needed!

Removed wheel, hub nut (1.25" socket), calliper, pads, calliper bracket, rotor, and brake dust shield.

Soaked the 3 bolts (threads exposed at the ends) in wd40, heated, and wacked w/ a hammer (the old hub, not the bolts). Bolt towards rear of truck came out pretty easy. The one on top wasn't moving, so I went on to the front one. It didn't move. Called dad for some moral support, he came over with a really big hammer, and one more bolt was out (top one). Had to leave for a camping trip (Bass River State Park, NJ) & hoped the last bolt would be good after soaking for a few days. Came back today, and it was loose. Hub came right out. New one went in, reversed the removal order, put on a power slot rotor (I'll do the other side tomorrow) and went for a ride. What a great thing! I guess this bearing has been going for a while. ETD told me that it was play in my rack (even tho it was new) that kept my otherwise good allignment from steering straight. W/ this new bearing I'm loving the steering (even under heavy braking). I'ts straight, & tight w/ no play! One note, I reused the axle nut. It says not to, but I read here somewhere that it can be reused, I put some locktite on the threads "for justin". I'll post again if there are problems! Hope not! Here's a link to some pics.

http://homepage.mac.com/jwrezz/xlt/PhotoAlbum26.html

I'll try and get them in this thread ASAP. Any one needs to do this job, I'd be happy to help, just send an email.

 

[cjbarron5]

as a general rule the hub nut should be replaced becouse it is "egg shapped" and slightly smaller so it holds tightly and wont back off.............but i HAVE reused them before but only if im the first one to take it off the lock tight will help lots but it can come back to haunt you too good luck

 

[jasonb]

man i've reused those hub nuts about 4 times per side... no problems here!

 

[jwrezz]

Well then, like I said, 2 different opinions. Sounds like I should be ok, but then again, there's always that chance! Here's some pics...

 

[95expledbau]

Nice write-up!

One question though. There seem to be different opinions on the size of the hub nut. So far I've read 32mm, 33mm and you're saying 1.25". Could someone verify it? Does it depend on a year of the truck? I'm waiting for the hub I got on e-bay (for $112 , sorry...) and going to put it on. Hopefully this will fix my funny steering thing

 

[jasonb]

32mm and 1.25" are the same thing. either will work. never heard anyone say use a 33mm.
i have a 32mm for the job.

 

[95expledbau]

Thanks JsonB!

 

[jwrezz]

Congrats onthe $112 hub! I was so ticked when I came back from only one day (the 25th) to find myself outbid! No one else even bid until the last day, I had been the only bidder from Aug 21 to 26, then every one else found it! My 1.25" socket fits nicely, I guess 32mm and 1.25" ARE really close. Yup, just did the math 1.25" = 31.75mm. Good luck. SOAK those hub bolts (for a few days even), heat 'em up, and wack 'em a lot. Mine had 130,000 miles, and a lot of deep water crossings, so they were pretty siezed up. Good luck,

 

[95expledbau]

Congrats onthe $112 hub!

Thanks!

Good luck. SOAK those hub bolts (for a few days even), heat 'em up, and wack 'em a lot. Mine had 130,000 miles, and a lot of deep water crossings, so they were pretty siezed up. Good luck,

I got some SeaFoam Deep Creep just for the occasion.

Thanks again!

 

[rikguy]

jwrezz - when you install the new hub, do you need to grease the spline or anything in there? I replaced my bearing last night and everything was dry and I wasn't sure if it was suppossed to be or not.
Also ... is there a torque spec for the spline nut?

 

[jasonb]

torque spec on that nut is to use a big breaker bar and tighten until you can't tighten it anymore.

 

[rikguy]

Thanks Jason, thats what I did. I had to use the "big bar" to get it off so ... I used the same bar to tighten it down.

 

[Jefe]

Also ... is there a torque spec for the spline nut?

250 ft-lbs

 

[boominXplorer]

wow i just sold both from my mounty to BigD for 40$. Maybe I should of asked more haha.

 

[rikguy]

I paid $165 for one. I'll need another one shortly if anyone out there has one.

 

[BigDakota]

32mm and 1.25" are the same thing. either will work. never heard anyone say use a 33mm.
i have a 32mm for the job.

I just changed out both my hubs. I used an 1.25" and that was a little sloppy for my 95 X hub nuts.

Hey Boom, I know I sent you $75..you must have figured minus shipping on your end..

 

[Katmandu]

I assume it's the same procedure for 4x2 and 4x4 ??

BTW, WTF is with these Explorer wheel/hub bearings going out so frequently and at LOW mileage ??

My Explorer's LF started going bad around 50k or so. It's a 4x2 and NOT driven hard or off-roaded at all.

 

[jwrezz]

The 4x2 is different. How, I'm not so sure. I believe it's more like a normal spindle assembly. Bearings are actually replaceable rather than the entire hub.

BTW my first one went last year at 120,000 mi. and they've been beaten on! Deep water, and off road abuse. I bought 2 knowing that the other would fail eventually but it hasn't yet.

 

[jwrezz]

Here's one on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7965671606&category=42614

 

[Katmandu]

Here's one on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7965671606&category=42614

Pretty ODD that he states it came from an 01 w/35k miles with a blown engine. Parting the truck out and the ONLY part he's selling is a wheel hub........ Hmm...... ??