My wife has a 2005 Ford Explorer and the rear bearing is going bad. The local mechanic who fixed the other said it was a massive pain to get it removed and fixed. He then used a sledge to drive it out. Is that about right? is removing that sealed bearing something I can do next time for the other side? What am I looking at? I have some mechanical ability and wrench is not a foreign object in my hands.

 

are you talking about a wheel bearing?

 

A rear wheel bearing. Do I need to use hub assembly in total if this is something a layman can do? I have checked the archives and it appears to be a booger of a job. True?

 

THe front hub/ bearings are a unit... THE rear comes with a bearing and a hub in two pieces. You have to get the old one off with the spindle, push it apart on a 12 ton press and push the new parts back together in the right order.. a sledge hammer is not a good idea. You can take the spindle and hub off the truck and take it to a machine shop to do the disassembly and press backtogether if you dont have a press.. I have a writeup somewhere.

 

Explorer rear wheel bearing and hub replacement on a 2002 EXP---
sept 2006—passenger side

Jack up truck and take off wheel and brake assembly. Rotate the axle by hand and noted “noise”. Do the following steps--- I took the CV joint boot
Hose clamp loose, this is not necessary as it seals to the CV joint case, not
The knuckle.

• Disconnect the brake cable from knuckle
• Pull tie rod bolt out of hub holder and remove tie rod stud
• Remove the 32 MM nut holding axle shaft in hub
• Pull top A- frame bolt out of knuckle and remove A-frame ball socket stud. (you pound wedges in groove to remove stud).
• Remove knuckle bolt to lower A-frame
• The knuckle is now free, but splined to the alxe shaft
• Set knuckle on 2 x 4 on lower A-frame to support it up.
• Use 3 point hub puller, mount to hub studs, and push axle shaft out
• Take knuckle and hub to bench.

The bearings is a two piece tapered roller bearing mounted into a
One piece outer race. The 32 mm nut holds the two inner races together on
The axle. The nut should not be loosened when tire setting on the driveway.

• Set two 2 x 6 one edge on the hydraulic press
• Set the knuckle, studs down on the 2 x 6.
• Shim level as needed, put 3/8 plate under the sheetmetal ring
• Press the hub out of the knuckle.
• I pressed to extremely tight, then smacked the hub on top to move 1/16”
• After the hub is out, remove the snap ring inside the knuckle
• Clean the knuckle outside the snap ring area
• Pound out one of the inner bearing races.
• Pound out the second of the inner bearing races.
• Weld 4 stringer beads on the outer race
• Pound out the outer race toward the snap ring groove
• Wire brush inside the knuckle where the bearing sets.

The bearing must be install into the hub holder first, use the old outer
Race to press aginst the new race. (push on the outer race only)


• Press the new bearing into the knuckle with outer race.
• Install the snap ring ontop of the new bearing
• Find a pipe that will side over the new hub shaft
• Support the knuckle in the hydraulic press with the
Pipe above resting on the bearing inner race.
• Set the hub ontop of the bearing and press the hub into the inner races
By supporting the bottom of the inner race. This puts no load on the outer race.
• The hub will bottom out on the bearing shoulder.
• Clean the socket holes where the tie rod and A-frame studs set
• Reinstall knuckle unit on the truck
• Tighten the 32 mm nut prior to putting load on the bearing.