Rear wheel hub assembly

[dent]

oh my this is going to be a serious pain....

when i did mine, i used tried a slide hammer, heat, soaking it in penetrating fluid for a day or so spraying 2-3 times a day, an air chisel (mind you my compressor is just a tiny pancake which probably couldn't build up enough pressure).

I eventually gave up and too the whole hub assembly off and took it to a shop that had a bigger compressor than what i had and they eventually got it off

when putting the bearing on, i lathered it up with anti seize incase i need to replace it again

edit
here's the link to my post regarding this
Wheel bearing DIY? not really....

 

[drcoffee]

Hi all. My first post here. I had to R&R the rear bearings on my daughters 2011 Explorer XLT and what a job that was. I watched the A1 video on youtube and it looked so easy. HAHAHA. Not so much. I beat the heck out of it and it never budged. I didnt want to but decided to remove the whole hub. It was actually easier in the end because I used the 20 ton press to free the bearing. Anyone who tries this without a press is going to be very disappointed. Those bearings were never going to come out using a hammer. Invest in a press from harbor freight $140 and an extra large bearing splitter $60. Still far cheaper than paying a shop. Oh and you will need a torque wrench able to go to 250 Lbs Ft. and a axle socket 32mm. with the press I was able to do each side in 2-3 hours without damaging the aluminum hub.

I also found a dremmel tool with a sanding drum made quick work of removing the corrosion in the hub opening for the bearing.

 

[peterk9]

^^ Welcome to the Forum.
Now that I've seen your member name, I'm going for a coffee.

Peter

 

[Sgwafng]

Came across this topic figured I’d drop this here.... remove all bolts except forward one on hub; only loosen this one a few turns. Put a bottle jack against frame and on this loosened bolt; apply pressure and hit the hub with a sledge. Whammo.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
It will be interesting to see if members find this a helpful tip.

Peter

 

[Windowguy]

Hey guys,

Great thread with some good tips. I will need to do this on my Explorer too. I am a little disappointed that I need to change this already. My Explorer has 90K kms. Is this common? One dealer said it is common.

What are you guys using for the bearing? OEM from the dealer? I am in the Toronto area (Canada) and can get a Moog one shipped for about $180 CDN $, dealer is $280 + taxes and I have a parts place that has an SKF one for $280 + tax also. Which one should I buy? Trying to prevent another failure.

Thanks,

Rob.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Rob.

Peter

 

[drcoffee]

Hey guys,

Great thread with some good tips. I will need to do this on my Explorer too. I am a little disappointed that I need to change this already. My Explorer has 90K kms. Is this common? One dealer said it is common.

What are you guys using for the bearing? OEM from the dealer? I am in the Toronto area (Canada) and can get a Moog one shipped for about $180 CDN $, dealer is $280 + taxes and I have a parts place that has an SKF one for $280 + tax also. Which one should I buy? Trying to prevent another failure.

Thanks,

Rob.

I prefer SKF. HIGHER QUALITY. It would Not surprise me if Ford sourced these wheel bearings from China or Mexico. As is typical for American car makers, It just needs to last past the warranty. Its very disappointing. And whats more disappointing is that Ford designed the suspension for a heavy truck around the bearing designed for a car. Get used to replacing these every 80-90,000 miles. Just a poor design.

one suggestion, just do both at the same time. Replace in pairs.

I bought 2 SKF bearings from rockauto for $130 each

 

[Sgwafng]

I prefer SKF. HIGHER QUALITY. It would Not surprise me if Ford sourced these wheel bearings from China or Mexico. As is typical for American car makers, It just needs to last past the warranty. Its very disappointing. And whats more disappointing is that Ford designed the suspension for a heavy truck around the bearing designed for a car. Get used to replacing these every 80-90,000 miles. Just a poor design.

one suggestion, just do both at the same time. Replace in pairs.

Did the rear one @ 78k miles. Had play @76k but waited till after winter; the other side still is good @85k; as well as the fronts. I only use motocraft OEM bearings on my Fords. Just my preference. Ordered @ rockauto 138$ I’m happy with 80-90kmiles in today’s world of lower quality parts. I just would hate to try something else and get less. Clean up the dissimilar metal corrosion apply anti seize as others mentioned and get the bottle jack out every 5 years . I’ll post when the other rear gets some play.

 

[Windowguy]

Hey guys,

I completed the rear wheel bearing replacement on my Explorer. What a pain in the but job.

I ended up removing the whole assemble as I could not get the bearing out on the Explorer.

This was a big help to get the four bolts out holding the bearing to the assembly. I thought I was going to get the bearing out on the vehicle. I was wrong.

Even though the Explorer is only three years old and has 90K kms it was still very hard to get out. I ended up taking it to a shop and had the mechanic press it out. Not sure how you could get it out without a press or maybe a slide hammer with it being on the vehicle.

I bought a new SKF bearing from Rock Auto and had the mechanic install it after he pressed out the old one.

The rest was just putting everything back together. I took my time and it took me about two hours. This included putting it all together, getting it down from jack stands, test drive, putting it on car ramps to tighten the rear trailing arm and toe link bolts and then putting everything away.

I have done lots of work on cars over the years but this was my first time changing a wheel bearing.

I hope this helps someone. Thanks to all who have posted in various parts of the forum because I learned a lot and it helped me to do the job.

Rob.

 

[jcar302]

Hey guys, my sister in laws 2013 limited is making a terrible bearing sound.
Bought new tires, sent it in for an alignment and had them check and sure enough, it's the rear passenger side.

She has a one year alignment plan at ford, so i don't care about having it done twice.

They want $600 and suggest the knuckle could need to be replaced if they break it for another $389. So could be $1000, for a hub that is $150 at rock auto and a knuckle (which i cannot find on rockauto) at another place for $289 complete with bushings.

Watched a few videos (some were taurus's but they are the same right?) and seems some pop right off and some refuse to come loose.
We live in the northeast and this year the vehicle has been driven on the beach (was a problem long before that).
So i'm going to assume, it's NOT going to want to come out.

I've never heard of someone breaking the knuckle, does this really occur?

I watched a few videos and one guy was successful at taking out a wheel stud, putting a bolt through the hole and a nut on the other side and driving the bolt in with an impact forcing the wheel stud out.

One thing i don't to do is take the car apart and not finish it in one sitting.

I've done these on other vehicles, including my old saleen explorer, but research suggests i be seriously prepared on this 13.

I really don't want her to throw $289 at the knuckle if we don't have to (but i will if need be).

Maybe there is an affordable complete assembly (knuckle with hub) available? I prefer to keep all the parts real ford, but i'm open to other options.

Any insight is appreciated,
Thanks,
Joe

Edit: Looks like the knuckle itself can be found for like $100, are the bushings pressed in? If not, it seems like a no brainer to just buy one and forget about taking it apart. From looking at pics, i don't see anything pressed in, but i'd hate to get it all apart and need something else.

 

[peterk9]

jcar302, your thread was merged with this existing one on pretty much the same topic. Hopefully it will help.

Peter

 

[jcar302]

As an update.
I decided to buy a low mileage used hub and spindle for $125.
Loosened all the bolts, knocked it out by hammer on them from the back (by hitting the bolts with the spindle supported).
Completely cleaned, wire wheeled added anti seize and reassembled.
Spent about a minute trying to get the one off the car (we live in NJ where they salt the roads), then quickly decided to just remove the whole spindle which took about 3 minutes with an impact and adjustable wrench.
Dropped the used one in and reassembled.
Using the same methodology to get the bad one out(keeping it as a spare knuckle) did NOT work. didn't budge.
My buddy with a machine shop will press it out, i'll clean it up and store it.
Good news is that the car is 90% quieter, bad news is now i can hear the front drivers side (the one i just did was passenger rear).
When you go side to side with the wheel you can hear the tone change.
Looks like i'm doing this again...
What i'm slightly worried about is on this same car, a tie rod went bad a few years ago and i not only destroyed it getting the nut off, but ford sold me a new one without the nut which is apparently one time use only.
Should i plan on a new tie rod?

 

[dstuht]

I have everything apart and I just can't separate the wheel hub. A couple of hours hitting with a full sized sledge hammer and deep creep is there any tricks? Or are these press in or out wheel hubs?

Hello Expochase did you ever get the hub off or a response? I'm in the same boat ... two days now and no budge

 

[vintage2]

This job was way easier than I was expecting it to be, even with an east coast rust belt car. No need for a press or even a big sledge. When I do the other side I'm not even going to remove the knuckle.

The concept is simple. Buy some Grade 8 or harder 1/2" x 2 1/2" bolts and nuts. Cut out and hammer 2-3 of the studs and put the bolt through to push against the face of the knuckle. If you look at my pictures below, you'll see I put a little piece of steel under the bolt against the knuckle face so the bolt won't dig into the aluminum.

 

[Moti1979]

Hi ,
I know it's and old thread , but by any chance does someone here knows the torques for the knuckle assembly bolt , 2016 4WD XLT ?

 

[peterk9]

Hi ,
I know it's and old thread , but by any chance does someone here knows the torques for the knuckle assembly bolt , 2016 4WD XLT ?

Welcome to the Forum.
There are a few techs on this forum. Hopefully, they will be able to help.

Peter