Wheel Bearings?
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Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Iowa
Wheel Bearings?
I'm pretty sure one of my wheel bearings is going out in my 67 f-250, after a brief rain yesterday i couldnt resist the muddy road, this is the most ive ever gone mudding in it and surprisingly i didnt get stuck, well it got pretty muddy and i thought it was fine but i drove to school today and i heard this screeching sound and my friends told me it was the wheel bearings, i just noticed it today and it had to be from the mud so it is a new problem but how long will it hold up before the wheel locks up or something? is it a tough job to replace and should i replace all 4? any help would be greatly appreciated. and is it just me or does everybodys old ford break down every other week? 
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 13,873
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From: Atlanta GA
Not knowing what axles you have in the truck, but, that you might have four wheel drums, I would say you probably have mud/small stones in the drums. Especially if you did not put back the access plugs at the bottom and if your brakes are not adjusted correctly.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 230
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Bad bearings tend to grind and not screech. You can also tell what side of the pick up they are coming from by doing a bit of a slalom down the road, nothing radical, just weave in your lane. You'll hear the grinding noise subside when the weight of the truck is off the side with the bad bearing. If the noise doesn't change, then it's probably not a wheel bearing. Plus, I've never seen one go bad overnight like that unless you put hundreds of miles on it say on a long trip.
Screeching can be attributed to some of the spring/adjustment hardware getting loose in the drum. I've had this happen. If you let it go too long, you'll need to turn or even replace your drum. (And your self adjustment mechanism might not work.) You can get repair kits that have all the new springs at any good parts house.
There's no reason to replace bearings that aren't bad, but if you have to replace one in the front, then I would check the other side and replace the seal on the other side while I was at it. I admit that I haven't been in the full floating hub on a Ford, but I've dealt with a full ton axle on a Dodge, and you need some special tools to handle that.
I specifically bought an half ton truck partly because I didn't need the large payload capacity but mostly because I didn't want to have to be messin' with a full floating hub in back!
Screeching can be attributed to some of the spring/adjustment hardware getting loose in the drum. I've had this happen. If you let it go too long, you'll need to turn or even replace your drum. (And your self adjustment mechanism might not work.) You can get repair kits that have all the new springs at any good parts house.
There's no reason to replace bearings that aren't bad, but if you have to replace one in the front, then I would check the other side and replace the seal on the other side while I was at it. I admit that I haven't been in the full floating hub on a Ford, but I've dealt with a full ton axle on a Dodge, and you need some special tools to handle that.
I specifically bought an half ton truck partly because I didn't need the large payload capacity but mostly because I didn't want to have to be messin' with a full floating hub in back!
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,622
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From: nevada
mud fun
mudding is a lot of fun, but it can cause a lot of probs too. You most likely didn't get all of the dirt out of brake drum/wheel cyl area. If it was me I would pull them all and flush and relube backing plate contact points, and adjuster screws. Make sure you use high temp brake grease.
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Louie3
1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
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Jun 6, 2008 12:35 AM
