right or left rear bearing?

[llwta76]

Getting this "road noise" from the right or left rear .It's been going on for several months now! I'd better get to it. I figure it's the bearing. Road noise goes away on right turns and increases on left turns(at speed). Would that indicate a right or left wheel bearing? Also what's involved in changing it? Thanks for your comments! Larry

 

[racin8]

Just do both.

Evently you'll have to replace all the wheel bearings, Ford cheaped out on quality on all of them. My 02 had the fronts go out at 80K, rears at 90K

Fronts are easy, rears will require a hydraulic press

 

[fordbluefamily]

Agreed. If its bad on one side, its gonna be bad on the other very soon. I just ordered all four bearings/hubs for my 04. 3 of them made it 97K miles before I started hearing them. The other one was damaged when a truck hit it.

 

[llwta76]

My '02 only has 48000 on it

 

[fordbluefamily]

Think of it like this. Your bearings have 7+ years on them. I think they go bad from moisture and faulty seal design just as much as usage takes them out.

 

[fordbluefamily]

Also, dont rule out a noisy tire until you rotate it away from the source of the noise.

 

[joefnh]

Do both, they both have the same mileage on them and even though the left ones tend to fail more often the right one is not far behind. I just finished replacing both of them today and am glad I did it. The truck rides great again and it is quiet

--Joe

 

[02 SILVER XLS]

i have a question, do you have to change the hub and bearings on the rear or can you just change the bearings, i would like to know so when i do go to get them changed i dont get screwed by the shop i get them done at ...........

 

[Layinhp]

you can just change the bearings on the rear cheaper (to buy) yes but a PITA to press out yourself there about $114 from Ford (rears) if you can get nuckle off best bet is take it to a shop pay to have them pressed out save alot of headaches a ford shop has the right tool to pressthem out and new in

 

[joefnh]

Yes you can replace just the bearings, however I would replace the hubs also. There have been several people reporting problems with the hubs after having the bearings pressed in / out. They can sometimes have issues with maintaining their round shape.

Given that these bearings only fail ~ 130k miles and given the PITA it is to get the knuckles off, I would replace both sides, both the bearings and hubs. Rock Auto has a rebuild kit that you can bring to your local automotive machine shop that contains the bearing, hub and snap ring.

Order: TIMKEN Part # HA590259K from www.rockauto.com for a 2002 explorer

Good Luck

--Joe

 

[02 SILVER XLS]

JOE, if i am understaning you correctly all i need to do is purchase 2 of those kits for the rear that should be all....

 

[Layinhp]

or buy one and fix the problem bearing save the $$ from the other one untill it actually goes... it could go next week or never...

 

[fordbluefamily]

Item # 190283183495 on fleabay is what I just bought two of. I will let you guys know how they hold up. 45 bucks with free shipping isn't too bad. My front hubs just showed up Saturday, they were Falcon brand and have Timken bearings. Hoping the rears have good bearings also.

 

[joefnh]

JOE, if i am understaning you correctly all i need to do is purchase 2 of those kits for the rear that should be all....

Yes all you need is the kit TIMKEN Part # HA590259K, then take the removed knuckle to an automotive machine shop. The kit contains everything they will need to give you back a knuckle with a new bearing and hub.


--Joe