I just replaced my d/s wheel bearing 9 days ago and the new one is already toast. What are some common reasons as to why it would go so fast?

At the same time I did the wheel bearing I did: upper lower ball joints both sides, all new steering (tie rods drop arm all new) minus the gear box that is sitting in my living room waiting to get done, new orings that go around the hub assembly and the seal that gets put on the axle shaft that goes behind the wheel bearing. All parts were from the local ford dealer minus the wheel bearing that was from napa. I also a few weeks prior to all that work replaced the axle shaft u joints but who's to say that they themselves are not the issue.

Any thoughts are welcome. At the rate the truck is going I might as well buy them in pallets.

Thanks in advance to all who comment.

 

I am assuming that your truck is 4x4....what did the surface on the stub axle where the hub unit bearing seats look like? Was it smooth or worn?

Find out who makes the hub unit bearings for NAPA. Most of the guys on here will say to go OEM with them as well and if not Timken will probably be next even though there is some speculation that some of the ones on the web are Timken boxes with cheap Chinese knock-offs in the box as replacements.

 

Also, did you grease the bearings prior to installation?

I think the Timken part number is 515025. Also, from my experience, usually the ones for 4W ABS are cheaper than the non ABS ones and you can use them whether you have 4W ABS or not.

 

What kind of truck are you working on? F150, F250, F350?
What year?
What brand of wheel bearing did you get inside the NAPA box? Country of origin is suppose to be marked on the bearing.
Did you replace the race too?
Did you pack the bearings with the proper grease?
What about the seal, what brand, and was it installed correctly?
How did you set the end play in the hub?
What's the condition of the spindle? If it's had a bearing failure, it may be junk.

 

Sorry I forget that all my info doesn't pop up when posting mobile. It is a 2000 f250 4wd. I replaced the whole assembly it's easier to just undo the bolt and replace the whole thing. Honestly I didn't know there was a way to set end play I just always took the snap ring off and then the washers. Reverse the way I took it off for install I was hoping that they would have lasted a little longer so I could get better ones but I worked with what money I had.

 

From what I could tell the end looked to be ok I don't have any way to measure or what not so I just have to eye ball it. I have a feeling that it may end up being the stub shaft on that side. I seem to have more problems with that side then I do the other

 

What you replaced was the entire hub then. If that's the case, the part should be under warranty.

 

Yeah it is. But I'm sure they won't replace the next one under warranty which I'm sure it won't be long before it goes again so I figured I'd get ideas of what else to look at and see if I find any other problems so I don't have to fork over more money for another assembly.

 

Just for clarification, when you push and pull in and out on the top and bottom of your tire, is this when you notice a lot of looseness/play?

How long is the warranty on the NAPA part? Should be at least a year. If it has been less than 30 days, this should be day ten at the most, I think you can get your money back due to them selling you a bad part.

Timkens at Autozone have a three year warranty.

 

No I had a really really bad vibration between 30-45 and after I did all the work it went away and a day later it was back but faint and that evening I was half way home from work and there it was back in full force again. The reason I replaced it was when I pulled the old one the bearing in the back all the small needle bearings fell out of it. I did apply a generous amount of grease to it before I installed it as well.

 

OK.

Link to helpful instructions:

Welcome to guzzle's 4x4 Needle Bearing Maintenance Web Page

Most part #'s are listed as well.

 

Thanks for the link but do you think that the new needle bearings went dry in 10 days? I packed them full and then put more grease on the shaft were they sit

 

I would be very surprised if they have unless 1. the hub unit bearing was defective or 2. the bearing surface on the axle was worn. Have you been running it in 4x4 the entire time?

 

No I leave it in 2wd I had to replace the hubs about 6 months ago the d/s one imploded on itself so now I have warn hubs on there now and all my 4x4 is manual from the factory

 

OK. So, if you try to turn your wheel shafts and front drive shaft, do they turn while the truck is not running and 4WD is disengaged?