went camping on the weekend and on the way back home i noticed some crazy whining coming from the front end.

the noise persists when i hit the brakes.
the noise stops when the truck is running but not moving.

my best guess is that the wheel bearings are on the way out.

i was looking through a parts catalog and it looks like the hub and bearing is a 1-piece assembly that runs about $200 per side.

i had also heard somewhere that it may be possible to knock the old bearing off and press a new one on. I have access to a press.


if i lift the front wheels off of the ground will i notice any lateral play if the bearings are going? how much lash is there supposed to be? what size is the locknut?



thanks,

Spencer

ps. it is a 2003 f-150 4x4, 5.4L

 

ed.

just called my parts store and they gave me the price of $360.


re ed.

i was just reading this:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...end-noise.html

and now that i think if it i heard a crazy noise the other day while i was going around a tight left turn.


hopefully it has just run dry

 

anybody out there?

 

5 or 7 lug? IF it is your bearings, they are on ebay for around 60 bucks. 2wd and 4 wd are the same. They have the axle splines and they all have holes for 4 wabs sensors too. The main difference is to make sure you get one for your years and for your gvwr, they have different lug bolt sizes, they are the same bolt center though.

 

it is a 5 lug. im not sure about the abs situation though. i will check tomorrow.

i was looking at getting the hubs off of the internet, problem is that I'm up in Canada and shipping is a killer.

still cheaper to ship then to buy from NAPA i guess.

my main question though is weather or not it is possible to replace the bearings themselves on the hub assembly.

I heard a whisper about it but I would like to hear from someone who has actually done (or tried to do) it

 

Also to note. Don't even try to press them, can't get the bearings seperate anyway. Been down that road to try it with mine, parts stores, and tried several too, can't cross reference the bearings. I'm talking I pulled it out and tried to cross the individual bearings and races themselves. That was before I looked on ebay. I am sure its Chinese, but I bet NAPA and Autozones are too....
Hard to find anything that's not nowadays. I was wanting to put bearings in mine to go with Timkens or something, but no dice. 60 bucks is cheap, you couldn't buy good bearings for that...

 

darn,

thanks for the info.


do you think i should cough up the $360 (more like hack it up)

if i cheap out how badly will i regret it?

 

I am used to the forum with a signature...

I am a 10 year experienced mechanic. ASE master certified, some GM factory training while working at a dealer, and John Deere master certified.

Not tooting my horn, but said that to say this. I need one right now, just haven't had time to mess with it. There is absolutely no way I will pay 400 dollars for it. The one I found was in CA, but at that price I am sure its imported. Looks quality in the ad and pictures. I can't say from experience, but when I do fix it, that is the way I am going. I am for Made in America, but at the same time my family is more important than a slogan to me. Not even close, 60 bucks compared to 400, that is obsurd to think I would pay that much more....

 

Surely their must be parts places in Canada that sell name-brand parts for less than Napa, right?

Here in the US, just taking a quick look at rockauto for example (because their internet catalog is so fast, and the pics are good), can see 5-stud hub assemblies by Raybestos - Timken - National for $105 - $139 - $186 apiece respectively, just looking quickly at the choices. And those are in USD, not in Loonies.

When I have looked for FWD car wheel hubs, I got them locally through O'Reilly Auto around here. Name brands.

 

hmm that is inspirational.

i will try some other suppliers

 

i found a used bearing/hub assembly for $120 at the local ford wrecker.

they didn't know how many kms were on it but he said that it felt tight and rolled smooth.

what do you guys think?

 

do you really wanna cheap out on something that holds up you and your truck? get quality parts.

 

i don't want to cheap out, but i don't really have a choice at this exact point in time.

i just finished my 7 month pre-app for heavy duty mechanics and i'm searching for a job. 7 months in school = all spending and no earning.

 

jacked up the front end today and i couldn't feel any bearing slop.

i lifted one side at a time and noticed a bit of slop through the steering linkage. nothing major though.


this goes back to my original theory that maybe the bearings are just starting to dry up.

i know that they are sealed units, but have any of you guys seen this happen before?

 

to really check you need to take the brake caliper off and spin the wheel. Sometimes it is very hard to tell which wheel bearing is the problme. YES, they can go dry and howl without having much clearance. I have seen them make noise for close to 5000 miles before they fail. YOu cana get GOOD bearing / hubs on the internet for under $100. I would NEVER buy a used unit for even close to that. Even a good chineese unit will run 100k miles.