About how long can I expect my hub bearings to last? My 98 Expy is all original with 102k on it. Im about to go on a very long drive (about 3k miles) and want to be sure.

Also, what are the signs of a bad bearing? My wheels are tight with no play up, down, left or right and there is no vibration. But I do get a weird noise that is coming from the drivers side wheel when driving that goes away after about 15 minutes. It kind of sounds like old brakes.

My brakes and ball joints all have about 4k miles on them and my cv axles are tight with no problems.

 

In my experience it's completely arbitrary. I've seen them last 300k on one wheel and 75k on another. Obviously if you live up north and have good old salt covered winter roads they are going to last a lot less than those of us lucky enough to live in Fl.

They usually will make a constant noise that gets louder with speed, and the gets quieter and may even go away as you go around a sharp corner at speed.

Jack up the suspected wheel, rotate it and listen, usually sounds like a dragging brake shoe so, if you hear a noise, or even if you don't try and rock the wheel up and down, if it's loose, you've probably got a bad hub bearing, if it clunks you've probably got a bad ball joint. Sealed bearings shouldn't make any noise when you spin them, so if you spin them and they make noise it usually means that the grease has dried up, or the bearing is worn out, either way it needs to be replaced.

I don't recommend replacing them until they go bad. Some may last the life of your truck and never need to be changed.

Lastly, E-bay is a great place to buy them, usually less than half of what you will pay anywhere else, and quality is almost always just as good.

 

The noise sounds a little like the pads against the rotor so its hard to tell right now as I havent removed the caliper to verify. The noise goes away if the speed goes up and 10 -15 minutes later I dont hear anything. The ball joints are new

 

Agree mileage can vary greatly. No problems yet on my 98 Expy with 130k on the clock. Just put one in my wife's Exploder at 91k. No looseness, just a low noise all the time was moving that got louder when turning on that one.

 

[quote=teamlx88;10620457]About how long can I expect my hub bearings to last? My 98 Expy is all original with 102k on it. Im about to go on a very long drive (about 3k miles) and want to be sure.

If taken care of properly, you should really never have to change your front wheel bearings. The key is to re-pack both inside and out, everytime you put on new brake pads.
Just ensure that you have the nut tension correct, snug but not tight. Make sure you spin the wheel as you adjust to ensure there's not too much friction and you should have years of life without issue.

 

Thats good to know. How do I go about repacking the bearings?

 

There is a "squeezing" machine that pushes grease up into the bearing that auto shops use. I just put a wad of grease in my palm and work it into the bearing, rotating around as I push. You will see the grease work its way out the opposite side, knowing it is full. For the inside bearing, you must remove the inner seal to remove and then do just the same. Once filled, replace the bearing, seal, and remount, insert the outer bearing, washer, nut, and cotter pin. Be sure to tighten nut only snug, rotating the wheel as you go. The wheel should not slow down after tightening the nut fully.
This process should keep you from ever needing replacement bearings.

 

Before any front wheel bearing advice was given, I would think the question of if you have a 2WD or a 4WD Expedition should've been asked an answered. Only 2WD has front wheel bearings that can be removed, cleaned, and repacked with grease. While 4WD uses non-serviceable hubs that must be replaced as an assembly.

 

That's how I repack the front wheel bearings on my '79 F-150 (2WD) but I doubt you can do that on the OP's '98 Expy if its 4WD.

 

I was happy until it dawned on me that he was referring to a 2wd Expy. My fault. I keep forgetting that these trucks also came in 2wd versions. So to set the record straight, my 98 is 4wd.

 

Suggestion: Add the 4WD to your sig line.

 

I have a 98 Expe 4x4 w/ 140k miles. Last year, I had ball joints replaced. Just a few days ago, 1 tie rod went so I replaced all of them. So far my wheel bearings haven't been a problem. Like others said, they could last the life of the vehicle but its just the luck of the draw.

 

Im getting concerned because I have a noise that I cant pinpoint and there is a big trip coming up. I tried to take the bearings out for a closer inspection but the bolts are rusted pretty good and the heads are starting to strip. I dont want to open a can of worms right now if I dont have to

 

Put the hub up in the air with the wheel first and without . Spin it and use a stethoscope or a long screwdriver, blunt end in your ear and put it on the rotor, bearing cap, etc to try and pinpoint the sound first.
Until then, it's truly a guessing game.

 

The drivers wheel sounds like I have a brake dragging but it only makes the sound when driving and only for 10-15 minutes. When I have the wheel in the air and spin it by hand I get nothing. When I checked the passenger side it sounds like I have a rock or something inside of my tire. It makes a random thumping sound that moves around when I spin the wheel. I know that nothing got inside the tire, but I cant think of what could be moving around inside causing the noise.

I will be pulling the wheels off tomorrow for another close inspection. Cross your fingers.