The time has come to make repairs...unfortunately for my wallet...

[AlexSport'00]

Alright. So, there are three main issues currently. Wheel bearings, and oil leak, and the oil pan.
First, the wheels bearings. I heard that they should make noise when they are going bad, but mine aren't, even though I've had my normal mechanic tell me that they need replacing, and also my friend who works on cars for a living and wouldn't lie about it since he wouldn't be getting paid to replace them. What are all the warning signs that they need replacing? Cause I'm not convinced that they are to the point of needing replacement...
Second, it seems like (and my mechanic agrees) that the rear main seal is leaking. I had replaced the valve cover gaskets at some point cause they were leaking, and this seems like the last main leak, and it's getting worse, so the gasket needs replacing.
Third, the oil pan. Somehow the oil pan drain bolt has gotten stuck onto the oil pan (like seriously, it's not coming off no matter what unless we destroy the oil pan). So that needs replacing. It's the most expensive of the three jobs according to my mechanic, but that's if they get parts from the dealer.
So, basically what I'm wondering is which of these would be most important to get done soon, and stuff like that? How hard would each of these jobs be to do by a son and his dad, who both know cars well, but have no access to a lift, and don't want to be doing jobs under the car with the car just up on jacks? I know for the bearings it would have to be on jacks, but for the oil pan and the seal we'll be leaving it on the ground. I 400ish miles overdue on my oil change, so I know I need the oil pan replaced very soon so I can change my oil. I'm not sure if I should replace the seal or the wheel bearings first. I'm not sure which will go first, but I'm pretty sure the wheel bearings would cause the worst damage when they completely go. Any advice in general would be great guys. Thanks, you all are always great help. And I think I can convince my parents to pay for one of these jobs at the shop, so which one would you recommend to have done there, based on skills and tools needed and time it takes to do the job.

 

[windsors03cobra]

The oil pan, its gasket and rear main seal leak are one job, engine removal job.
Myself I charge $500 to change a motor and do a job like that. YMMV
Keep in mind that just changing the rear main seal may be an exercise in futility if the seal diameter is damaged. I would make sure the mechanic is comfortable with the seal diameter sealing or consider a repair sleeve on the journal.
A sure sign of a failed wheel bearing hub is an abs light for one of those wheels. They also grind and vibrate and hum, saw a Jeep wheel bearing 2 weeks ago that had a BB fall out and trapped between the axle's metal shield and spindle, customer had no money and drove on.

 

[AlexSport'00]

Engine removal? Really? You'd pull the engine to do it? That seems excessive, but I'm not sure how to do it so that why I asked, haha. But ok. I wish you were down in FL, cause Wisconsin is a little far, but it's definitely cheaper than that tire's plus quote.
And no ABS light yet, so I guess they aren't too far gone.

 

[AlexSport'00]

How hard of a job would new bearings be for the common guy?

 

[Joe Dirt]

Wheel bearings can fail or be bad long before an ABS light goes on. I pulled both off my truck this past weekend, and both were bad, I didn't have a light on this truck and have never had an ABS light come on for any of my 4 Ex's that I put bearings in.

Here is a writeup:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1499806

Definitely a job to do yourself vs. what you'll pay a shop to do it, especially once you have done one of them and see how easy it really is.
When you get them, do NOT get the cheap bearings. Head to Rockauto.com and get the Timken bearings at the very least, or there is a 90%+ chance you will be doing it again within a few months. The Chinese knockoffs do not last. Very well documented. The Timkens are $100 at Rock Auto, plus we have a 5% discount code in the vendor forum that will pretty much get you free shipping.

 

[bandana]

Well, if want to replace the oil pan just so you can change the oil, then I'd save some money and buy an oil extractor pump.
e.g,
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...mp&sprefix=oil+extraction+pump,automotive,949

If you're worried about the bit of dirty oil it might leave in the bottom of the pan, then just change the oil more often - you can buy a lot of oil for $500.

 

[alohamonte]

i'd do the bearings first. for the oil just dump a bunch of rear main seal stop leak and see what happens

 

[IAmTodd]

Easiest way to check for a wheel bearing is to jack the truck and, see if there is any play in the wheel. The wheel should also rotate smoothly. ABS light is not a sign of a bad wheel bearing. It can be a side effect but not a for sure sign.

Rear main can replaced with the transmission removed, depending on crossmembers you will probably have to pull the engine for the pain. Have you tried a propane torch around the drain bolt? Care as there is oil in there and the pan is aluminum!

As mentioned above extract the oil out, put a new filter on and fill up. The rear main isn't a big deal as long as it isn't gushing (check the level often). Wheel bearings, well if they go completely bad I imagine you could lose a wheel and have a firey crash as you explorer rolls over and flings it's Firestone tires all over the scene. Plus the wheel bearing is very DIY friendly.

 

[AlexSport'00]

I should have known that there would be a write up on the wheel bearings. Cause there is definitely a good amount of play in the wheels. The spin fine though, but I'd rather not fling my Firestone tires all over the crash scene. hahaha
I didn't even know about the oil extractor pump. That seems much easier than the cost of repairs at the shop, definitely going to look into that. Anyone have further advice for that?
And the rear main isn't gushing...yet...but it has definitely increased it's dripping within the last 6 months. I'm a little lazy (and under-tooled) to feel like doing the whole transmission drop at the moment, mainly cause I would have no way to lift it up, and it's a tight fit under there for me. I'm not a huge guy, but getting my hand to all of those bolts would probably be a pain. So what advice do you guys have for the "stop leak" stuff that alohamonte mentioned?
And thanks for the responses, it's been very helpful!

 

[IAmTodd]

I would avoid any 'stop leak' like additives. It may collect where the leak is and stop it but it's also collecting everywhere else and possibly blocking oil passages. Fix the problem, don't cover it up.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Agreed- I know a lot of people use stop-leak, but I really have no knowledge of stats showing how many leaks were stopped compared to issues created by stop leak blocking other passages- remember-0 stop leak isn't smart, it doesn't know to stop this crack but not this other (and potentially needed) crack...

I wouldn't stress out over a rear main leak if it isn't a lot of oil- I think of all of the 5.0L engines I've had or seen in the past, probably or even better than half have all had a drop of pol waiting to fall tot eh ground when I've looked under them.

I'd do bearings first.

 

[AlexSport'00]

Cool guys, thanks for the help. I'm gonna order the bearings and do them soon.
I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the oil pan situation. I know the extractor was recommended by a few on here, but I'm just not sold on it, and after talking to my friend who owns a shop, he suggested against the extractor and said I should just get it fixed. He offered to let me use his engine hoist, and also said he would get me a quote on if he did it in his shop, and would do the rear main at the same time.
However, I looked at another thread and saw that someone had used helicoil to fix the threads in their oil pan. Could I take my ex to a machine shop and have them just drill the bolt out and put the heilcoil in? Or would they still have to have the oil pan taken off to drill the hole? I had never heard of helicoil, so any advice would be great. I know it won't be as good of a fix as a new pan, but I'm about to start college, so having a smaller bill would be good, even if it's just a five year fix so I can at least get my feet on the ground.

 

[IAmTodd]

The extractor does work. For a while I was looking into getting a Mercedes M-Class and that was the preferred DIY way to change the (13 quarts!) oil. The drain plug is very difficult to get to in those. I have zero experience with the process however.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Have you had the mechanic try to remove the plug? I can't believe a drain plug is that far in there. It's can't corrode, really...

 

[windsors03cobra]

Yea I agree with taking the plug out for sure, there are oversize plugs of all sorts available at any decent auto parts store, a tap, maybe a drill and you will be back in business in no time. Done correctly the new threads and plug will be solid as a rock.

I dont know if the pan is alum or steel ? Doesnt this 4.0 have the stupid little sump plate oil pan that is easily removed ?

 

[AlexSport'00]

Todd: I think I'll use the extractor as a last resort, as I'm worried about the leftover gunk since it won't get all the oil out as well...
Joe: The Tires Plus guy said they aren't going to try to get it off cause it'll damage the pan. My mechanic friend though said he could do the pan replacement for cheaper and he would work on a final offer for me, but I'll talk to him about having it redrilled.
Cobra: Yeah, I'm gonna check my mechanic friend and see if he could recommend me machine shop to drill it out for me; he sorta mentioned it, but once I also mentioned the rear main seal he just suggested redoing the whole thing. The pan is aluminum, and since the engine must be pulled in order to replace the pan, I assume it's not the "easily removed" kind. haha

 

[AlexSport'00]

Ok, I'm feeling like a helpless kid right now. Could someone post a link to the best wheel bearings for me? Like, I'm finding just the bearings and also the whole hub assembly, and I just want the bearing, but I don't know which one is best. And should I replace the "race" at the same time? or do the bearings come with new "race"s? I'm not overly familiar with the whole set up, but my dad will be helping me with this and he's done them before, just not in a little bit. Thanks!

 

[bobflood]

Ok, I'm feeling like a helpless kid right now. Could someone post a link to the best wheel bearings for me? Like, I'm finding just the bearings and also the whole hub assembly, and I just want the bearing, but I don't know which one is best. And should I replace the "race" at the same time? or do the bearings come with new "race"s? I'm not overly familiar with the whole set up, but my dad will be helping me with this and he's done them before, just not in a little bit. Thanks!

According to your signature, you have a 2WD. In that vehicle, the hub and rotor are a single unit, with the bearing races pressed into the hub. If you don't need to replace the rotor, you can just do the bearings. You might not even have to replace the races; which makes the job even easier. IIRC, the bearings come with new races, as did the new hubs I bought from Advance. I don't think I have ever replaced the races in a hub, so don't know if it requires a machine shop or not. Good luck.

 

[AlexSport'00]

Alrighty, that would be nice if they came with new races. Hopefully it'll be that way.
Anyone else have anything? Like someone who's done them more recently and can give me some better advice. Cause I've found a thread about how to replace the whole hub on a 2wd, and a bunch about the bearings on a 4wd, but I'm not finding one for the just the front bearings on a 2wd. I'm lost.

 

[koda2000]

I can't believe someone can't get the oil drain plug out. I've seen idiots severly over tighten and even strip them, but I've never seen one I couldn't get out. One thing about those oversized plugs with the slots, they make changing oil a real mess because as you losen them the oil starts squirting out of the slots in 4 directions at once. I keep a length of pipe in my tool box just big enough to slide over the end of a ratchet handle. The extra leverage makes all the difference with stuborn bolts. Not to sound dumb, but are you sure you're turning it in the right direction? Lefty losey, righty tighty...