Hi, I have a question concerning my 1994 F150 4x4 truck. A year ago we had a loud whomping type noise from the front driver's side tire which we pointed out to the Ford dealer on several occasions. Before we went camping in August I had them check out the tires, brakes, everything in that area carefully because I didn't want problems towing. They couldn't find the source of the noise and said not to worry that safetywise everything checked out. While camping we found the 4x4 system wasn't working and the mechanic recommended we switch over to manual hubs. We didn't have the money at the time, so have just taken it in now to have the hubs changed and have that area "serviced" - basically overhauled. We expected a bill of around $700 Cdn. Now they tell us the bearings need to be replaced in the front which is covered by the $700 estimate. But they also told us there was a leak from a rear seal and that the bearing had worn away the axle then quoted us $1,200 to fix this.

My question is this - we have taken our truck to the same Ford dealer on a very regular basis for servicing. We really only drive it around town and it only needs a service once or twice a year. If I have pointed out a loud noise to the dealer for about a year, should they not have guessed bearings could be the problem? Also, should they have been recommending the bearings be checked/serviced on a regular basis. I'm really surprised at the amount of repairs we are now faced with. I have to go and talk to them on Monday and want to know if it is reasonable for the bearings to go without warning or if they should have been checking this area on a regular basis and warning us that they could be wearing out and need checked. As you can tell I have very little truck knowledge - I just don't want to be taken for a ride. As a women going in to a truck service department I want to be as prepared as I can be.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

It really depends on the noise. A whompa-whompa-whompa lower pitch sound typically is due to worn hubs, or warped rotors. A squeeling, scraping, or high pitched whine at high speeds could either be the pads dragging on the rotor, or the wheel bearings.

Its possible when they test drove your vehicle, it didn't make the noise. Or, they didn't take it up to a high enough speed to make a noise. Some dealers consider a 'test drive' driving it out of the parking lot, into the garage bay.

In general, most service places (dealers included) don't seem to consider bearings a servicable item unless the customer complains about it. And in fact, properly greased bearings can last many, many miles and is really not a wear item. However, if something else goes wrong, dirt and roadsalt can get into the bearings, which grinds them down very quickly.

If the plastic hubs got cracked, or the seals went bad, this would explain why the bearings may have gone.

BTW, if the hubs are "shot" and have to come off anyway, replacing the bearings shouldn't add more than about 3-4 hours to the labor bill, based on book rate, since the front will be apart anyway.

This is the very reason why every time I take off brake rotors to be replaced, or "turned down", I always take of, clean and inspect the wheel bearings, then repack them (which means drown them in sludgy bearing grease). They are not considered a maintanence item.

Wheel bearings only wear out when the vehicle is grossly overloaded, either by weight or excessive speed on a regular basis, or the grease gets dirty. The latter is the most common reason of course.


Thats okay, we're all happy to help. If they insist the wheel bearings are shot, I would ask how the dirt got in there in the first place. They should respond with "the seals went bad" which is very possible, or "the hub is cracked" and dirt got in.

This is assuming you don't tow 12,000 lbs driving at 125 MPH in your F150

Best of luck monday...

Frederic

 

Thank you for your response. It was very, very helpful. I'm glad to know our dealer is being upfront with us regarding the bearings and they are not considered a regular maintenance item. We do tow with the truck, but not much and are careful not to overload it and we don't drive fast, but it is a 10 year old truck and these parts have probably never been replaced. We also live in British Columbia and I'm sure going up and down the mountains with an old trailer attached has caused some wear and tear.

The noise we have in the front is a whomping noise and you can hear it at low speeds when you've only gone half a block. There's absolutely no mistaking it.

Again, thanks very much for this info. It's nice to know I don't have to go in on Monday to do battle, but to try and negotiate a little discount on the price instead.

 

I was teasing when I suggested you towed 12Klbs at 125MPH

Probably true. And 10 years is not unreasonable for bearings.

Have you ever gone roller skating? A wheel bearing is much like a roller skate wheel.

There is a hollow ring, with little rollers in it. The rollers touch both the inside of the axle casing (the tube you see looking under the truck), and the actual axle itself, which is inside the casing. Kinda like a donut with rollers in it.

If you are doing 40 MPH, your wheel bearing rotates about a third of that, but the little rollers inside the wheel bearing rotate at almost 14 times the axle speed. And it does this while supporting your vehicle!

How they generally wear out is from dirt getting in, and wearing the surface of the rollers, so they are a slightly smaller diameter than they are supposed to be. Once that happens, the entire bearing can move a small amount, up and down, and forward and back. As smooth as roads seem to be, remember that you're isolated from the road through the softness of your tires, and the springs and the shocks. Your wheel bearings are only isolated from the road by the tires. So once you have a tiny bit of play in them, they essentially get hammered to death.

Unless you're really cornering hard regularly, neither hills nor trailering will ruin the bearings. its almost always dirt, or defective manufacturing. Since they lasted 10 years, I'm going to cling to the dirt scenario

Well, if thats the case, they should be embarrased they didn't notice it and tear things down properly the first time. Maybe they noticed, and decided "its not bad enough" and postponed it trying to allow you back on your way. I'd just be guessing.

You're more than welcome. And definately negotiate. Worse that happens is they say no, and give you free coffee