My 02 E450 has 45k. Is there any reason to repack the front wheel bearings? Hubs feel smooth when rotating. This is my motor home. Any thoughts? Stan

 

I just replaced my front hubs on my 2010 f-450 with 91k miles.

what I learned is that "the greased for life" concept is correct.....they just wont last very long. mine were are ready changed at least once by prior owners.

so to grease or not to......I would...but...not sure what your setup is , but on my 2010...the only way to grease the main bearing is to pull the ABS sensor and inject grease in the abs hole. after that...the lock spindle gets pulled and you grease the splines.

problem with the ABS hole method is the only what to do this on my truck was to pull the brake rotor.

also, the abs sensor broke on one of the hubs I was monkeying around with.

 

There is no reason to repack the bearings of the wheel hub, of it were 4x4 then there are plenty of reasons to clean and grease the components but not the actual internal bearings of the wheel hub, just replace the entire wheel hub once it wears out.

 

I have a 2012 E450 cutaway with front end problems. The left wheel was wearing bad, and since I bought the truck at 117k miles I'm replacing things that seem likely to fix the problem. I prefer to rebuild more than necessary so I know what is going on with the wear, not having bought it new and having no repair history.
I replaced all the tie rods, tie rod ends, and all the ball joints. I replaced both front tires with new tires and new rims. I got an alignment since I replaced the ball joints and tie rods.
The changes improved what seemed like wobble even though none of the parts were any where near as loose as I've replaced before; none of them were terrible.
Still there is a small problem at highway speeds. Steering is a little bit of a challenge, like somewhere it's not tight. No where near as bad a wobble/bounce as before, but still some at higher speeds. The front left wheel, when raised in the air has at least 1/16" play when I wiggle it back and forth, hitting sides like the bearings are not tight enough. I could not figure out the exact torque and procedure, torquing to 27 foot pounds to set the bearing, backing off a half turn, then tightening to 18 inch pounds. I only looked at the outer bearing for flat spots and problems since I expect to replace all of them on both sides.
I bought a complete set of bearings and seals with the intent to replace everything. I ran out of time because at first I could not figure out how to get the recessed cap off. I've figured out two small claw hammers will take that cap right off.
I suspect replacing the bearings might fix this whole remaining problem. I've replaced bearings before and never had the wheel move this much.
To fix the problem do I: 1. Nothing, that's not a lot of wiggle (I doubt this) 2. Tighten the bearings after getting the correct torque and procedure 3. Replace the bearings and then assemble with the correct torque and procedure?
Basic question is torque first to what foot pounds, back off and then end at what torque?