Hello -

I have a 1996 Ford Explorer (4WD model). Approximately 4 months ago I had a new set of tires put on it, and in the process of replacing the tires the shop noticed that I had a bad ball joint and one of my wheel bearings was going bad. They said the ball joints were known for completely failing, but the wheel bearings usually didn't, so they recommended that the ball joint be replaced first. That is what I had them do. I haven't had the money to get the wheel bearing replaced yet. This past week it got worse to the point where I can hear it now. At low speeds I can hear a grinding/rattling-type noise from the front drivers side (that's the side that has the bad wheel bearing). At higher speeds the grinding/rattling-type noise fades away due to road noise, but I can still hear a humming-type of noise that is a bit loader than normal - this noise just started a couple of weeks ago so I'm suspecting that this might also be related to the bad bearing.

I won't have the money to get this fixed for another 2 weeks. In order for me to have the money in 2 weeks I will need to continue working at my job 2 days a week. It's approximately 2 hours round-trip from my home to my job. Obviously with the bearing sounding significantly worse I don't want to drive it any more than I have to, but the only way I can get the money to fix it is to keep driving it back and forth to work.

Here's my question. What risks am I running by continuing to drive this? I'd appreciate input from anybody that has any knowledge of this type of situation, whether it be on Explorers or any other type of vehicle. Am I running the risk of the wheel falling off while I'm driving down the freeway at 70 mph? Am I likely to experience other damaged parts in that area of the vehicle?

Thanks!

 

The biggest risk you run isn't necessarily the wheel falling off but more the bearing welding itself to the spindle (from not spinning as it should). You really run the risk of making things much worse. I would suggest having the work done and making special arrangements for payments. With this being your main transportion and basically your safety riding on it, get it fixed as soon as possible.

 

Jessman1128

Its funny how stories vary....I had similar problems with my 'UN' Explorer. The Ford dealer over here suggested that the ball joints would not self-destruct with excessive wear....however....The wear will affect your alignment - thus damaging your new tires.

Ball joints here in Aus were around $760AU per side (upper and lower)

The wheel bearings are not replaceable units. You have to replace the hub as a complete piece. It's a simple replacement job. The cost of these bits through Timkins is around $175US at Autozone over there - and $461AU here.

I go with 1081's advice. The wheel bearings are not serviceable. They are a sealed unit. Driving 2 hours at speed with this problem is a serious concern.

All the best.

Paul

 

With that much noise DON'T DRIVE IT! GET IT FIXED!!! You will have more expenses by continuing to drive it. When it goes, then, you will have towing charges, more damage, possible accident, and probable to a garage not of your choice far from home. Don't know how it is replacing one piece hub with bearing. Sounds much easier than the typically type wheel bearing. Might give it a try. Plenty of help here.
Good luck.

 

They cost HOW MUCH!!

For sale, one '96 Explorer.

 

I had both the front done on my Mountaineer... cost me about $275 for both

They were almost to the point of seizing up... I was told it would be REAL bad for everything around the things if that happens.

 

If you got both for 275 that's a pretty good deal. I just had the ones on my 97 mountaineer done and just parts (the hub and bearings are an integral unit) were ~225 USD each. And that was not from the dealer either. List on them from the Ford price guide is $260 USD each.

I would also agree that you do not want to be driving a vehicle if the bearings are making anything more than a little noise... specially not two hours on the highyway. It sucks that there is not a less expensive/bad timing answer.

 

I changed the hub on my 97 explorer a few weeks ago.I shopped around and the cheapest I could find it was at NAPA for $180.00.It took me about an hour to change and was real easy.

 

Well, I am considering doing this myself now, simply because I don't want to take any chances with my family's safety. The price that the repair shop quoted me was $450. I can get the part from my local AutoZone for $176 though. Unfortunately I don't even have this much - I only have $30. I'm going to check with a friend tomorrow and see if he'll let me borrow the money until next payday.

I do have another question though. Both my repair manual and the repair guide on AutoZone's web site says that the wheel hub nut and washer can not be re-used because of their design. (AutoZone's website says it is a "torque prevailing design".) I cannot find a replacement wheel hub nut that seems to match on the websites of AutoZone, Napa, or Advance Auto Parts. The guy at my local AutoZone says the hub/bearing unit does not come with a nut - he said he's never seen one that came with a nut before, although he didn't pull the box for this one to find out. Those of you who have done this before and purchased the part, did it come with a replacement nut? Did you have to buy one separately? Did you re-use your existing nut? I'm not sure what to do with this part of the equation!

Thanks for all your help!

 

Doing the repair is an excellent idea!
Regarding the wheel nut....no, it didn't come with the new hub. Advice here was to refit with the old one - given that it had no apparent corrosion damage. You may have to go Ford genuine as an alternative.
Checking these things is as simple as jacking up a wheel on a regular basis and checking for movement.
Nil problems or loosening on mine for the past 20K miles.
The most difficult part of the replacement was removing the wheel! Makes you a tad annoyed given the price of the hub. Also, I attempted a 'repack' of the old unit. Standard wheel bearing grease is nowhere near the heaviness of the fitted stuff.
Grinding was immediate - and sounded bloody awful!

Regards,

Paul

 

r3830,

Where did you get those prices? Ford quoted $1116.00 per side for hubs and Repco was $1045.00.

 

I was also having a hard time finding the hub nut.I just reused the old ones.They were in good shape.It seems to have worked.

 

Anybody happen to remember/know the size of the hub nuts? It looks like it is in the area of 1.25 inches, or 30/32 mm, but if anybody knows/remembers then I can save myself the trouble of buying several different sockets.

It looks like I will be working on this tomorrow...

 

I think I used my 36mm socket on my Mountaineer when I did the lower ball joints. (I say think cuz I can't really remember)

 

Flash635,

The US price that r3830 quoted is from AutoZone's website (www.autozone.com). Click on the Shopping link, then click on Part Number Search and search for this part number: SP450200. The exact price is $175.99. I'm not sure where the AU price is from.