In a bind (Lifted Explorer)

[budro574]

Took my truck to the mechanic for an oil change and he lets me know I need bearings on the passenger side. I have been driving it with a bad noise and hard pull to the right, so I replaced inner and outer bearings. It is still very loose at 12 and 6 and at 3 and 9 since the swap. Dont know where to go from here, should I replace the Spindle and hub? I have replaced the front end (tie rods and so on) except for ball joints. I have a 4.5 inch lift kit 33's.

 

[Anime]

Replace the ball joints. Use heavy-duty parts from NAPA if you want them to last. Expect to spend ~$200 for all 4 ball joints.

 

[budro574]

Thanks man, I already did the driver side joints ill get the passengers done this weekend. Theres a loud whining noise coming from that side that sounds alot like bearings..... I should have mentioned that before. Dont know if it makes a difference

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

From what I just read, the bearings were packed and/or installed improperly.

Can you describe in detail how you packed the grease in the bearings, and how you set the torque on the inner nut?

FWIW, I don't mean to offend you, but it had to have been done wrong if new bearings were installed and its currently loose in all directions and noisy.

 

[Naasau]

These bearings are tricky, and can be damned hard to get right. If you've already had one set go bad, then there is a good chance that the races are screwed. You could pull them and replace em, but I wouldn't bother.

Before you go throwing money at it, identify the exact point of the slop, have a friend/family member/dog push and pull on the 6&12 position while you look carefully at the assembly from the inside. If you determine that it is the hub assembly rather than ball joints (this should be obvious), pull everything out down to the spindle, clean it. Look for damage, loose bolts, etc. Then pull out the bearings and throw em out. Clean and check the races, looking for cracking, chipping, catastrophic failure stuff. If bad, go get a new rotor, if good, get timkin bearings, a grease packer tool (ten bucks or so) then reassemble. I've found that when I first tighten down a new set of bearings that I have to really crank on the first nut (bearings and races are hardened steel, you won't hurt it), then when I'm sure that the rotor and bearings are nice and tight, I back it off, then set it to 'snug', and lock it up with the outer stuff.

I have also gotten into the habit of rechecking my bearing preload every day for the first week or so after a swap, and retensioning as necessary. I know it sucks, but these bearings don't have much room for error on a stock X, so our lifted ones with big tires have virtually none.

 

[budro574]

I packed them the ole fashioned way, put grease on my hand and rolled the bearings over it until the grease was inside the rollers. Ill pull it back apart and use a bearing tool. What about the races, can they be replaced with a race tool or does the rotor and races come as an assembly? I looked at the races briefly and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but it was very brief.
Thanks again, I don't take offense criticism never hurt anybody. It's stupidity that's the real killer.

I forgot to mention I used a screwdriver and hammer to loosen and used the same to tighten. I hand tightened and then love tapped it a few times with hammer and flat head.

 

[Naasau]

Okay, the bearing packer tool is way more effective, especially for these bearings. You wouldn't believe how much more grease you can get in there.

For the races, they come prepressed in the rotors, but they can be removed and replaced, which is a giant pain in the ass.

Finally: get the right socket, either the auto hub one or manual hub one. I use a breaker bar to make sure that the bearings and inner dust seal are fully seated on the spindle, then I back off and re-tension. When I switched to manual hubs, the factory spec for the outer locknut was about 150ft-lbs, but mine kept backing off.... so now I put about 220 on it.

As a side note: I also reworked the key-way tabs, by welding a big damned blob, then grinding and shaping so that it filled the slot completely.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Your missing one very important step...

After you tighten the inner nut, you need to spin the rotor around, back and forth. Loosen it back up and spin again, then tighten and spin again, then loosen it d spin it again, then set your final torque.

Doing this gets the extra grease out from between the bearings and races. You will notice that each time you tighten, that the nut will turn more before getting tight. The more times you do ot the better.

If you don't do this, the truck will do it on its own and you end up with exactly what you have, brand-new loose bearings.

Also make sure the pin on the inner nut fits the washer good, and if the pin won't engage. The washer simply flip the washer over, do not tighten or loosen the nut. With the proper socket, and my 2' long 1/2" ratchet, tighten the hell out of the outer nut, while ensuring the inner nut does turn even a little.

If the retaining nuts/washer aren't set-up properly the right side will tighten, and the left side will loosen, while driving, both which will ruin your bearings.

Also, you cannot properly pack the bearings by hand, by rolling the bearings in grease. It needs to be packed in from the large side, till it squeezes out the small size. It's an awkward tamping/ rolling motion, I prefer it over the bearing-packer on my own rode. Though for speed I use the packer on customer vehicles.

 

[RangerX]

I forgot to mention I used a screwdriver and hammer to loosen and used the same to tighten. I hand tightened and then love tapped it a few times with hammer and flat head.

That's your problem I bet. That doesn't sound tight at all.
But the ball joints on that side could still be bad, too. i always thought the 12 and 6 looseness was ball joints. It's easy to see with two people, one moving the tire, one watching the slop at the ball joints. The lower usually goes first, btw.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

That's your problem I bet. That doesn't sound tight at all.
But the ball joints on that side could still be bad, too. i always thought the 12 and 6 looseness was ball joints. It's easy to see with two people, one moving the tire, one watching the slop at the ball joints. The lower usually goes first, btw.

12+6 looseness(is that a word???) Is balljoints, and 9+3 looseness is steering components... If the wheel bearings are tight.

 

[Naasau]

12+6 looseness(is that a word???) Is balljoints, and 9+3 looseness is steering components... If the wheel bearings are tight.

Yep. If the bearings are loose, all bets are off.

 

[budro574]

Hey guys my motor sergeant said he didn't mind if I use my lunch today to jump into it and try to get it fixed. I really appreciate everyone's help. I'll pull it all back apart break out my half inch breaker bar and give that outer nut hell. I'm going to Loctite everything as well. I'm going to tighten the Internet to about 35 pounds spinthe rotor retighten spin the rotor re tighten spin the rotor. Then I'll hand tighten the Internet and put about 150 to 200 pounds on the outer not put the tire on And test the play. I'll let you guys know how it goes. I really do appreciate all the help and the replies on such short notice.

 

[budro574]

I bought the bearing socket and gave it all I could before it slipped off 3 or 4 times. The noise is gone and I'm hoping it stays that way. Thanks everyone for all the help. $49for 2 bearings and a new so socket is a good deal compared to the 300$ it would have cost.

 

[Naasau]

Yep. Don't forget to Jack it up and check again tomorrow morning. And the next.... and the next.... for a full week.

 

[4x4junkie]

Before you go throwing money at it, identify the exact point of the slop, have a friend/family member/dog push and pull on the 6&12 position while you look carefully at the assembly from the inside. If you determine that it is the hub assembly rather than ball joints (this should be obvious), pull everything out down to the spindle, clean it. Look for damage, loose bolts, etc. Then pull out the bearings and throw em out. Then tap out the races and throw them out too, get timkin bearings & races, a grease packer tool (ten bucks or so) then reassemble. I've found that when I first tighten down a new set of bearings that I have to really crank on the first nut (bearings and races are hardened steel, you won't hurt it), then when I'm sure that the rotor and bearings are nice and tight, I back it off, then set it to 'snug', and lock it up with the outer stuff.

Fixed it for you.

Mixing bearings and races (new with old and/or different brands) is bad juju. Once a bearing & race are run together, they should not be separated. If one goes bad, chances are the other will be toast as well anyway.

Yes I'm aware there are rotors sold with pre-installed races ( :thumbdwn: ), I can only guess this is part of why we hear of so many issues on these frontends.

I bought the bearing socket and gave it all I could before it slipped off 3 or 4 times. The noise is gone and I'm hoping it stays that way. Thanks everyone for all the help. $49for 2 bearings and a new so socket is a good deal compared to the 300$ it would have cost.

Just for future reference,
No-slip bearing nut socket:
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/wmr-w1269

 

[budro574]

Ill be checking it everyother day for the next week or so. Im not going to pull anything apart, just check the tire.

 

[Nedwreck]

I'm running 33x12.50's on 15x10 wheels with a 3.75 backspace... needless to say I go thru bearings nearly on a schedule. (every six months one inner goes out it seems like)

Replacing the races doesn't have to be difficult once you've done it a few times. I can replace an inner unit in about 30mins, if the bearing is pre-packed...

4x4junkie is spot on, a race will conform to the bearing it's mated with.. never reuse a race!