89 F250 hd

Brakes were done not too long ago, but I wonder if wheel bearings have been repacked per maintenance requirements

Is that a hard job? I have done some misc auto work but never brakes. I am ready the FSM and it talks about it but it looks scary - with inner and outer bearings, grease cup, nut retainer, bearing cup driver, seal replacer tool and calipers.
What exactly should I do? How often does need to be done?

this is a 1 ton fully floating axles.

 

Hi,

Doing a bearing job is not to hard. It is rather messy though. You will need a tub of bearing grease, new seal(1 for each wheel) and cotter pins. This is how I do it.

Take the tire off and then remove the brake caliper from the spindle assembly. I usually hang the caliper from a support bracket with a tie strap. You don't want to let it hang on it hose.

Next take the center cap off with a big set of pliers. Now you see the cotter pin, remove it. You will now be able to remove the large spindle nut. Don't be surprised that the nut is easy to remove. It is not suppose to be extremely tight.

Now pull the rotor towards you about an inch or so then push it back in. You will see that this "pops" the outer bearing and retainer out. Set the bearing aside and remove the rotor.

Flip the rotor over and you will see the rear seal. I just use a big screwdriver and pry the seal out. Then you can remove the inner bearing.

Clean both bearing in a solvent. I use gas but acetone would be better. Now inspect the bearings for any damage. I also remove as much of the old grease from the rotor as possable and then glob some new grease in the cavity. Repack both bearings in new grease. Make sure the grease completely fills the bearing.

Now you just assemble in reverse order. I install the new seal on the rotor with a hammer. Just make sure it starts sqaure and tap it home.

When you put the spindle nut on and it just starts to get tight spin the rotor back and forth as you tighten. This helps seat the bearings. Snug the nut up tight then back it off about 1/3 turn. Don't forget the cotter pin.

Hope I haven't left anything out. Good luck,

 

Oops, as for how often you do this. I perform this every 50,000 miles. If you drive in deep water that covers the wheels it a good idea to do an inspection much sooner though as water can get into the bearing area and cause problems.

I once saw a chebby truck that the bearings had never been repacked. They were very dry and the outer bearing's inner race had welded itself to the spindle shaft. A costly repair.

As for the bearings on the rear axle I have never had to service them. They are lubricated by the oil in the differantial.

 

On the front end:
For removing the inner bearing and seal... after you pull the outer bearing, leave the disc on the stub axle, replace nut only, yank fast and hard staight out, avoiding scraping the outer race, of course. The seal and bearing will be hanging on the stub. (If you are real poor, the seal is still good most of the time.)
Packing bearing by hand sucks, there is a nifty $7.00 funnel looking thing to attatch to your grease gun and well worth the $$$$, to me anyway.
Go synthetic grease.

 

My 98 exp. 4X4 front axle does not have the center caps, (dust caps?) After I pull the cotter pin the the tin castle nut comes off exposing the axle nut. I applied approx. 100 to 125 ft lbs. and it still held tight. I did not think that it suppose to be that tight, but the wheel turns freely. Is this normal? Is mine sealed bearings? Should I just increase the torque to remove the nut and if it is set properly what is the torque procedure for reinstalling?

 

I was just dealing with 2WD stuff, you will prob get an answer a lot faster starting a thread in your particular truck forum. I don't own a 4WD yet. GL

 

Thank you, this doesn't seem too hard. I will report on my progress. I will use synth. grease.