Rear Wheel Bearing - few questions

[thammel]

Hi,

I have a 2002 XLS with a little over 80k miles. The left rear wheel bearing is bad. First it was noisy, then I jacked it up today and there is a lot of wiggle on the left side.

First question - is the axle nut a 36 or a 35 mm? I read old posts and saw both sizes mentioned. I think it's a 36 though. I have an IR impact wrench that should do the trick. But I need a deep 36mm socket.

Second question - do I really have to buy a new hub/bearing assy? I saw one old post that implied there was a new approach where you didn't have to replace both. (I see the price is $216 for the assy, and since I'd like to do both sides, it ain't gonna be cheap.)

Third question - the manual says to buy new nuts for a bunch of places. Why? Are these "one time use" deformed thread locking nuts?

Thanks for your comments!

Tom

 

[Opera House]

The nut is 35mm and socket is available at Pep Boys for $14. Mention this because I looked everywhere for this oddball size. Autozone has one that doesn't seem as good for $17. Just last week I bought the bearing and center hub for $131 + tax at a local store. Interesting that at a different location of the same store they quoted me $165 and would give me a special deal of $155. Obviously there is a lot of markup and you can deal. Hope you have a good press because these take a lot of force to get out. 10 ton barely did it. I am replacing one today with only 16K on it because it wasn't torqued tight enough. The axle nut has a deforming washer attached. Has your fun, takes your chances. Like I said I had a bearing fail just 16K later. If I had the right socket at the time it might have lasted. Think dealer wanted $14 for the axle nut. I don't see a problem with the other nuts.

The upper arm ball is hard to remove because it is aluminum and looks easy to crack with too much force. Took heating with a torch. I don't know if it helped, but I used a flat blade screwdriver bit. I cut this down and used a clamp to spread the mounting slot apart. That may have let just enough to let some oil in.

 

[thammel]

Hmmmm?

Thanks for your reply...do you have a gen 3 ex? Because I'm just about positive the rear axle nut on my 2002 is a 36 mm. I measured very carefully across the flats and there's no way a 35 mm would fit.

I also just ordered over the internet 2 hubs with bearings at $86 each. I'll also need to buy new axle and other nuts locally at the dealers. I'm planning on taking the knuckles to a machine shop with a big press.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Opera House]

I never make absolute claims on what you will find on a Ford. My 97 V6 took an air filter that is used on a V8. My 02 is an early Feb 01 manufacture date and I was told by Ford there are three axle versions. My 35mm socket is a very tight fit and a 36 is way too loose.

 

[Thelt]

I had both my rear hub assemblies replaced by a local shop for a total of $700. If the parts are $216 each and you have to buy tools I would see how much it would cost to get a shop to do it.

 

[EasyRhino]

I never make absolute claims on what you will find on a Ford. My 97 V6 took an air filter that is used on a V8. My 02 is an early Feb 01 manufacture date and I was told by Ford there are three axle versions. My 35mm socket is a very tight fit and a 36 is way too loose.

I thought I was the only crazy guy with a 97 (V8) Explorer that took an air filter different from the catalog parts numbers. No kidding. Drove me nuts. I actually installed a rechargable K&N to get away from this frustration.

 

[Nytroman]

Hi,


Third question - the manual says to buy new nuts for a bunch of places. Why? Are these "one time use" deformed thread locking nuts?

Thanks for your comments!

Tom

usually the nut comes with the bearing, and it's good to replace the nut because on some bearings you have to notch it out to keep it in place, some have a nylon locking end, and onced removed they are no good. fords i believe have neither(Can't remember). so i would not worry too much

 

[thammel]

I bought new axle nuts today and they may very well be 35 mm. They are expensive at about $25 for 2 of them from the dealer. They have a washer that slips integrated into the design and is concave facing inwards to the differential. Also, there is a locktight type of compound on the threads. Another post I see says that the torque spec is 203 ft-lbs (for a 2003) whereas for my 2002 the torque is listed as 258 ft-lbs. That's interesting!

Tom

 

[Opera House]

usually the nut comes with the bearing........

I have seen that printed often, but have bought quite a few of these from different manufacturers and never got a nut with one. The two halves of the bearing are only lightly pressed together and will separate if the nut is not torqued tight enough. When pressing these make sure that only the back of the center race is supported to insure the clearance doesn't open up when pressing on the center hub.

 

[rrgone]

I bought new axle nuts today and they may very well be 35 mm. They are expensive at about $25 for 2 of them from the dealer. They have a washer that slips integrated into the design and is concave facing inwards to the differential. Also, there is a locktight type of compound on the threads. Another post I see says that the torque spec is 203 ft-lbs (for a 2003) whereas for my 2002 the torque is listed as 258 ft-lbs. That's interesting!

Tom

I posted the pic with torque spec for the 2003s in that other thread. I have Ford repair manuals for 2002 and 2003, both show 203 ft-lbs for the rear axel nut. Where did you get the 258 ft-lbs value for 2002? Since the difference is significant, please call the dealer where you got the nuts and ask them what torque value they recommend. Let us know, thanks.

 

[tonkatruck]

I can tell you that the 258lb/ft comes from other ford irs vehicles. All mn-12's, fn-10's and cobras have that high an axle nut torque spec. I have to double nut my axles on my tbird to keep them from coming off!

 

[thammel]

My 2002 Ford Explorer/Mountaineer factory workshop manual shows 258 ft lbs on page 204-02-17. So I'm really confused as to which Ford manual you have which shows another number. The Ford light duty truck specification manual forf 2002 also shows 258. What gives?

Tom

 

[rrgone]

thammel

I downloaded the 2000-2004 Service Information DVD about 2 years ago from a website that has since been taken down. The DVD has the workshop manuals for all Fords in that range (except almost all of the 2004's are missing). That's where I got the 203 lb-ft value for 2002 and 2003 Explorers. I'm totally confused about why there are different values shown there than in what you have. If you check with the dealer let us know. Thanks.

 

[thammel]

More detailed rear wheel bearing removal questions..

Well, my good impact wrench easily removed the big 36 mm axle nuts. I tried a 35 and a 36 mm socket and a 35 does not fit but the 36 is a little sloppy. But it worked fine at removing the nute, even with rusty axle shafts - but I did hit them with PB blaster first.

On one side the rotor is not off yet - stupid parking brake shoes! I totally replaced everything last year and they're still stuck.

My question is re the brake shield. The manual says to cut the shield at the seration. Do you really have to cut it? If so, do you need to replace with a new one?

The new garage project is hpefully starting this year - for now the "2" car garage is too small for this job and the weather has not been cooperating!

Thanks!
Tom

 

[Opera House]

Ever notice there is no way to spin the adjuster from the outside. There seems to be an adjustment hole with metal that could be knocked out. Perhaps that is what they mean. Never spent any time with it, it does look thin at the adjustment hole. When I get the drum off, I always taper the last 1/4 inch with a grinder. That way when rust builds up it will still come off easily. The person that owned the car before drove with a bad bearing so long that the rotor cut all the way through 200 degrees of the shield. New shield was $28, I welded it back together so the shoes had something to rub on.

 

[thammel]

Rear brake shield

No, there's a picture and they definitely mean to cut slots in the shield. I'm not at that point yet since I haven't yet removed the parking brake shoes. I know what you mean - the Ford "engineers" (I'm one too so I can poke fun at engineers) blew it when they did not put a parking brake adjustment hole with rubber plug in the backing plate. The design is terrible. Last summer when re-doing it, I had to repeatedly adjust and remove the rotor/drum until I had it right. Also, I'm not too wild about the way the shoes are expanded out against the drum.

Anyway, the question is "can I do the bearing replacement job without cutting the brake shield?"

Thanks,
Tom

 

[thammel]

I have some answers on rear wheel bearing job

First of all, to remove the brake shield, you do have to cut it - I'll probably use my cut-off wheel. It's installed from the factory using 3 bolts. When you cut it into 2 sections, the first question is how will it be securely fastened when re-installed. Well, careful inspection shows that there is an additional unused bolt hole so that each half can now be securely fastened with 2 bolts (a trip to the hardware store to buy 2 more metric bolts if you don't have a supply).

I got the second rotor removed tonight - a hassle - but now I have access to everything else. I removed one toe link-to-knuckle tonight also. Removing the nut was easy. I had to bang the bolt out(with old nut on to protect the bolt threads). Then the next question was how to get the toe link out of the knuckle. First I used a screwdriver and hammer to open up the gap a little, then used a pickle fork to drive the toe link out. I used it just as a wedge and did not span the boot...this enabled me to remove the link and not damage the boot.

I will say that this job is a pain in the butt job not for the amateur. It requires removal of a lot of parts and you need a good supply of tools.

Tom

 

[Opera House]

I just removed and installed new bearings on both sides without removing the shield or any brake parts. I does require quite an assortment of shims and other odd pieces of metal to do it and some of the brake shield will get slightly deformed. It all bangs back pretty well. Be aware that the shoes do ride on this plate. Observe those places on the shoe with the triangle.

 

[thammel]

tough job!

Hi,

Well, I've got it all apart now. This has been tough. Getting the knuckle off was tough because it was tough to get the toe links off and the upper ball joint. I ruined one boot at the upper balljoint so now I have to fix that! The Ford manual says you have to replace the rear upper arm to replace the balljoint. Has anyone pressed out a rear balljoint? I've used the big "C" tools in the past to replace balljoints, but just dont know if that's possible with the Explorer. I had to use a hub puller and had to drive the axle out of the knuckle using an impact wrench. Special tools make this job one for the pros. This is not a job for the amateur.

Tom

 

[BDawson1234]

I went with the 36mm as well. I don't think 1mm makes that much diffrance on a nut that is that big. (35/36mm) Smaller nuts you deff. would round it off if you were 1mm big, but anyway I had no trouble with using 36mm 6point deep wall socket on 2004 Exp. AWD rear hub nut. I will say I wouldn't wanna try your luck with a 12 point.....just in case sombody has a deep wall 36mm 12 point socket in the tool box. Get the 6point!