Friday I bought a great condition rust free F250 351w, the only issue what I believe to be a bad wheel bearing on the passenger side front.

It doesn't make any noise below 35mph, but between 35-65 there is a very loud vibrating/humming sound, after 65 the its still there but not as loud. The sound is very similar to the sound when driving with big mud tires.

Pretty sure I need to replace the wheel bearing on that side, but I was hoping someone could confirm this, and maybe elaborate on replacing. Thanks

 

has anyone replaced their front wheel bearings?

 

I replaced bad ones many times.But on my own trucks I never have because I repack the front wheel bearings and hubs every 2 yrs.Not a hard job .When replacing or repacking bearing you should always pull the spindle and check your u joints plus always pack grease into spindle bearing they make a tool that screws onto spindle so you can pack spindle bearing with a grease gun.. If your running down the road with hubs locked in and in 2 wheel drive you can load the left or right side by swerving putting more weight on the tire if the noise gets worst it can be either the wheel bearing or spindle bearing.If hubs are unlocked your not turning axels so a spindle bearing noise will not show up.My recomendation would be pull down the front hubs pull rotors clean check all wheel bearing replace as needed pull spindle check spindle and bearing pack replace if needed and check your u joints this really is the only way to really check ujoints in the front end I have seen alot of u joints froze up ,with this condition the truck will want to pull left or right untill you pull wheels back straight.You will need a front hub socket a deadblow hammer to loosen the spindle.remove the 5 spindle bolts first loosen spindle then pound pry bar to work off .apply anti seize grease to spindle back plate so next time it will come off easier.Note when replacing wheel bearings always replace bearing race plus axle seals

 

I knew I needed to get the hub socket, but do they come in different sizes or is it just one standard size hub socket? Also, its got auto hubs, and I can make the sound/vibe go away when swerving.

 

If it has a dana 44 axle you use a smaller hub socket 4 teeth a dana 60 heavy axle uses a bigger socket 6 teeth some may have had 4 ,Also some axles had the self racheting nut mosst 2 nuts with a lock spacer the inside nut has a pin on it .When reinstalling make sure you put the nut with the pin on first with pin facing you the lock spacer must line up with the pin and the slot on spindle.First nut tighten tight then back off 1/4 turn you may have to move nut a little tighter or looser to get spacer lined up and on..Another note you may have a auto hub making noise .If the auto hubs are coming a part you may want to replace with manual hubs ,They are cheaper and better

 

When you pull the spindle look inside see how the little roller bearing looks it will look like the inside of a u joint cap if the little roller are gone or damaged you will have to replace.usually a cutting torch works best to cut the bearing cage out being carefullnot to cut into spindle if you don;t have a torch you can still knock them out from thespindle with a staight punch or chishel

 

good info, thanks

 

I own an F150 but am guessing, not really sure, that the F250 is composed of the same setup. As far as a bad or worn bearing in the front, the easiest check would be to lift the truck up so you are able to grab the tire at 12 and 6 o'clock. You SHOULD NOT be able to tilt the tire back and forth. If you can tilt it, the bearing is possibly bad or worn, or, it could also be in need of adjustment. To adjust, you will need a torque wrench and the "special" socket for this truck. Also, if you change the bearing, you HAVE TO use a torque wrench and properly torque the bearing back to the proper torque or otherwise you will have premature failure of the bearing. I learned this the hard way. I had a mechanic that changed mine 3 times before I did it myself. I immediately saw why it was failing so often. The mechanic was just simply tightening the bearing back on with a ratchet, thus, causing the failure. Hope this helps.

 

The way my father taught me to set bearing preload was to get it as tight as I could so that I could still just barely barely barely feel some end play in the bearing when the lock nut was torqued down (check by grabbing wheel). We set my bearings like that when I first got the truck in 04' and I have repacked the bearings a couple times since, doing the preload the same way. 120k later (203k total) all the front wheel bearings are fine. I use plenty of grease, those hub cavities are not small.
And yes, cranking down a tapered rolling bearing will lead to its early demise. So no, a torque wrench is really needed, though I always torqued the lock nut down to 140ft lbs.

My guess on your noise though, is that the auto hub is trashed and sticking partly on. But on a 20ish year old truck you really ought to repack the front wheel bearings anyway.

If you grab the tire at 12 & 6 and there is more than a barely there (as in easy to not notice) amount of play, you could have a bearing too loose, bad ball joints, or a trashed bearing. If the bearing is loose, still pull it apart and make sure its not pitted, repack with fresh grease & a new hub seal, be on your way.

The bearing preload & locknut socket (4wheel drive socket) is usually just the right size for driving out the old grease seal. I've even reused a grease seal I popped out with the socket.