Wheel Bearing Question

[n0c7]

After a recent alignment on our 93 Explorer XLT we were told that the wheel bearings had a bit of play(which they did at 12 and 6 o'clock, both front left and right wheels) not much, but enough to notice there was some. They recommended a new seal, the one that goes into the back of the rotor, as well as repacking the wheel bearings. Today I began to do the work, pulling out all of the bearings and brake components, etc. The wheel bearings, once cleaned, looked fine as well as all the rest of the parts. I repacked them, put it all back together, put the wheel back on, and the play was still there. I repacked them by hand, which I'm not very good at, and the wheel bearings now make some noise on the inital around the block test drive. I'm going to pick up a packer tomorrow and redo it properly, but basically my question is - is a small amount of play, about equal on both sides, acceptable/normal or should I look at replacing the wheel bearings? And as for the slight noise, I'm thinking lack of grease as the culprit, as there was no noise prior?

 

[Spdrcer34]

...you know....

..funny thing you should mention wheel bearings right now...

Check out this carnage:

This happened after I noticed a 'little play' in the wheels, and didn't REALLY check out the culprit. It damaged my spindle a little, just enough to NOT get a good seal on the wheel seal....a new spindle is being located right now.

After this happened, I STILL had to drive another 20 miles to get it home...

Ryan

 

[Albino 94LTD]

If the play is at 6 and 12, it's probably NOT the wheel bearings, it's the ball joints.
When you preload the wheel bearings, do it by hand not by wrench. It's very easy to put too much pressure on them when tightening the nut.

 

[n0c7]

Wow Ryan, looks like quite the mess!

Albino, I bought the proper size 2 and something inch hex socket to initially torque them to 20 foot pounds to seat them, then backed it off, and retightened hand tight and inserted the little tab to hold them in place. I think the pressure was ok I'm going to get back to it after work and pick up a bearing packer.

 

[Tony H]

If there is no movement at 3 and 9 but there is a6 and 12... HAve someone look at the Balljoints on the Knucle while you do it. My guess is the same as ALBINO... Ball joints.

Did you put the same bearings back in the same spot or did you clean them and posibbly put the Driveres side outter bearing in the Passenger side? That may cause a bit of a growl too.

 

[n0c7]

Tony H, I took everything out in descending order and placed them in a row so I wouldnt get confused. I was only working on one wheel at a time and I'm pretty sure it all went back in properly. I think I'm getting noise because of a lack of lubrication now as I probably removed more while cleaning than I put back. The explorer ran fine down the block during the initial test drive, just didnt sound that great. Sounded like dry bearings. If I would have put something back incorrectly, I figure the wheel would have collapsed or some damage would have occured right off the bat. I'll find out more tonight when I get back to it. Adleast once I'm done this side I'll be pro while doing the other.

 

[n0c7]

Also, how do I check the ball joints? I've been told with other cars to use a crow bar and push on bushings and what not, but I've never had any luck diagnosing bad ball joints.

 

[Tony H]

OK, one side at a time. that's smart.

It's probably lack of Lube as you stated. Dont be afraid to really Gop them up.
Grease is your friend.

After re greasing...Post your results.

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Make sure your inner brake pads are sliding smoothly in thier cheannel, hate to see the back side of your disc ruined due to a hung up pad.

I forgot to see or ask whether you were running auto or manual hubs?

To check the ball joints, jack it up and put a bar under the tire and lift up while pusing in on the top of the tire. There shouldn't be more than 1/16th of an inch, maybe 1/8th at most.

 

[n0c7]

I forgot to see or ask whether you were running auto or manual hubs?

Auto

 

[n0c7]

Results: Picked up a grease gun, wheel bearing grease cartridge, and a bearing packer. I repacked the bearings real thick, noticed I had put a piece of the hub assembly on the wrong way(causing the hub to make the noise I stated originally as the hub wouldnt engage), realigned everything, torqued back up to specs, all seems well now and I did both sides last night. There is still a small amount of play at 12 and 6 o'clock but practically none at 3 and 9 o'clock, but a bit less than I had to start with. If any noises start and the wheels get looser we'll have to look at ball joints. Hopefully this is it for now! Thanks for all of your input.

 

[DR]

On the front drivers side of our 1993 Explorer 2 wheel drive a small amount wheel bearing grease comes out around the grease cap. This is just a small amount but does make it to the outside onto the wheel. Does anyone know the cause of this and the cure?

 

[n0c7]

On the front drivers side of our 1993 Explorer 2 wheel drive a small amount wheel bearing grease comes out around the grease cap. This is just a small amount but does make it to the outside onto the wheel. Does anyone know the cause of this and the cure?

Were they recently greased? If so, it could be excess working its way out. If not, I personally don't know. It could indicate failure of a seal.

 

[DR]

Dust Cap

Both fronts were repacked not too far back but if I remember this was happening before. This is at the dust cap where the grease comes out so may just put a new cap in place.

Thanks,
Don

P.S.

I have now replace the dust cap with a new one and at this time all looks great. Miles down the road will tell the full story.

 

[n0c7]

Good luck, I just learnt my way around the 4WD model hubs, never touched a 2WD yet

 

[Glacier991]

The 1st Gen Brake Job thread (Useful threads) shows the procedure to reinstall and pack and set the wheel bearings... check that out.....

 

[ma96782]

Check this:



http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122696


Aloha, Mark

PS...For ball joints, here is some stuff I've kept (from other posts) :

How to check the lower ball joints:

Jack up vehicle and support it under the lower control arm so the wheel is an inch or two off the ground.

Grab the wheel at the 6 and 12 o'clock positions and try to rock the wheel in and out while someone watches the ball joint. There should be no play. If any side to side play in the balljoint is seen, replace it.

Place a pry bar between the floor and the tire and lift up on the pry bar. The ball joint should have very little or no vertical deflection. If the deflection is more than about 1/16", the joints should be replaced. (I've noticed that even new factory joints have some vertical deflection.)


Balljoint life is very dependent upon the driving conditions. My '01 XLS needed to have the lower ball joints replaced at 28K and again at around 40k. Ford uses a non-greasable lower ball joint from the factory, and they don't last very long. When replacing the joints, DO NOT BUY FORD BALL JOINTS!!!! Use a Moog or TRW greasable ball joint and you shouldn't have to replace them again for a long time.


With the tire off the ground, grab the top with one hand and the bottom with the other and see if you can induce play by pulling and pushing on the tire with both hands at the same time, one hand pulling out while the other hand pushes in, and vice versa. It should feel pretty tight. If not, voila!, bad ball joint. You should be able to feel which one is bad, upper or lower.

You're right in saying that if you replace one, do the other at the same time.

What would really be nice is if you had someone that is experienced with checking ball joints so they could make sure your diagnosis is correct. If you don't know anyone personally, any front end shop should be able to check your ball joints for you for nothing or a minimal fee and also you can watch them and see how they check them.

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Here was what I did, It took right around an hour.
-We start on jackstands with no tire and nothing under the control arm yet.
-Remove all braking components
-Remove sway bar end links
-Remove axle nut
-Remove Hub/Bearing assembly
-Disconnect TRE
-Push stub axle back through the hole in the spindle and out of your way
-Remove cotter pin and castle nut from Lower BJ
-A few quick hit's with a 1 pound deadblow released the BJ from the spindle (strike the control arm)
-Grab the trusty BJ Press and propane torch.
-I put as muh pressure on the BJ as I could get with the press and an Impact wrench
-I then aimed the torch at the area and leaned back to have a smoke
-By the time my cig was done the BJ had begun to move on it's own and was relatively easy to press in.
-Let the area cool back down some before replacing with new part
-To press the New BJ In I found that it was easier to take my floor jack and fit the install cup from the BJ Press on it. The lift up on the bottom of the BJ I had started by hand. It won't press in all the way like this , but once you start to lift the whole vehicle rather than the control arm, get that trusty 1 pound deadblow back out and start tapping the control arm in a circular motion around the BJ. The vehicle weight combined with the tapping pressed them in a lot easier than the press.

P.S. Don't forget that the BJ boot has a notch in it which faces in.
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http://www.haroh.com/explorer/ball_joint.html

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http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149449&highlight=ball+joint+tools


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[duff]

Hey ! Any final solution to this ?

I noticed a little play in the passenger side wheel(4X4). Then I noticed it rumbling last fall. So I replaced the bearing set races and seal. Did my Bronco a week later. But the damn X still rumbled on the same side. I figured I just see what happens. Now this the spring, the passenger wheel is sloppy as hell again. Even cheep bearing would last more that 1k miles. I'm wondering if the spindle is bent or maybe a bad rotor ? Can anybody tell me how to diag this ?

Duff