How do I change front wheel bearings on a two wheel drive 82 F-100?

 

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Damn franklin, I coulda used that picture book explanation a month ago.

I can't add much to the slide show, just some notes:

1) Remember to use new cotter pins. Take an old one with you if you don't know the size. I had trouble getting my pins out and had to cut off the ends. If you do this try to avoid using a dremmel. It'll send metal particles all over the outer bearing and spindle. Use snips if you can. ( I only had a dremmel and used a cut piece of paper between the cotter pin and everythying else to minimize exposure)

2) You will probably want new grease retaining gaskets (the things being pried off in the last picture). I had to use a claw hammer to get them off of my F250 (bent the screw driver on it). If you do need "extra force", take care not to scratch the wheel rotor around the gasket surface or the bearing races.

I'm not sure "grease retaining gaskets" are the official name.

3) Keep the inside of the rotor and the bearings free of dust, leaves, etc. if you do this outside. It really, really sucks to have the rotor built up (rear bearing,grease, and seal) only to have a bunch of crap fall in so that you have to clean out all that gooey grease and the bearing and redo it (and buy another $10 gasket if you damage the new one pulling it out again). I put some sailors to shame with the river of profanity I created after that happened to me....

 

Wow! Is there a picture book like that for a 4x4??

BigBadWally
'82 F-150 4x4
4.9L Big Six, 144K
totally stock (for now)

 

 

 

This is the second time front brakes on a Ford vehicle has lead to it going to the junk yard. The last time, many years ago, an 83 Lincoln LSC. Front brake mount broke while driving - had to wire it up just to finish the trip (dangerous) and for $ of estimate to repair just had it hauled to junk yard.
Now, to simply replace front breke pads on my old F150, I have to buy a torch, cut the calipers in half on both sides, buy new/rebuilt ones and put it all back together - at least 2 days for me and by the time I'm done probably $750 - all for a 15 minute, $10 repair on any other vehicle?
This is a rusty old truck and just not worth it. Since I know tote-the-note lots would kust rig it up dangerously, for my conscious will just scrap it. I liked the LSC and the F150, but will go back to GM. I buy American and GMs are at least repairable (often, but repairable). Having to total out a truck because the cost of replacing front brake pads is just too extreme a bad design.Having replaced brake pads in my life more times than I can remember, this really caught me by surprise (as in shocked).
Thank you for your advice and if the truck was newer it'd be worth it - though still outrageous a design by Ford as brake pads are a routine maintenance item and a safety item. It is predictable that a truck will rust and this should not lead to a $1,000+ repair shop bill for a routine replacement item on other vehicles.
Thanks.
Mark

 

I think one thing all carmakers have in common is they design their vehicles for a certain life span. If they made vehicles that would last forever, it would not make good business sense. Now it's guys like us on here, who try to go against this business practice and keep our vehicles going no matter what. The parts stores love us. Sometimes it takes alot of determination, and sometimes like in your case, we do have to give up. It's good that you have figured the pain and expense before tackling the job, and everybody has their limitations, but if the frame is in good shape, and the body will pass inspection, and it runs too, your truck is probably worth saving to some people.

 

Thank you for your comments. My uncle a couple decades ago was a design engineer for GM/Pontiac and, briefly, Ford. His job specifically was to calculate life spans of components - for which great bonuses were paid to him for designing or modifying parts to last at least 100K and not more than 150k miles. For example, he received a massive bonus for designing an A/C compressor bracket that would break at 125K to 150K = thereby taking out the fan and radiator... with his biggest participation in the nylong timing gear.
For us older folks, we remember that cars had a 100-125K life span. Now cars are sold with average miles at 100K.
As prices have necessitated longer finance periods, the life spans have increased to equate this increase.
I drive cars/trucks until the drop. Whether new (sometimes) or used, I drive them hard and until they are no longer time/economical to repair. This evolves from repairing it right at first, then at the tail end just tinkering them along until just too dangerous, too unreliable or to costly to keep going - and then send them to the salvage yard rather than selling what I know is a wreck to some young couple hoping somehow it'd last when I know it won't - or letting the tote-the-note lots doing it.
As I have gotten older, I have gotten more realistic of time and $ involved (used to replace drivetrains and basically everything - but not anymore.)
The body is badly rusted (everything is) and while not wrecked, it is junk in terms of usability (on it's second motor - an earlier 351W thereby not having the "I know nothing about it" computers or hose networks for EPA regs.
20 years ago, I'd be renting a torch to cut out the calibers... but not now. I also know that what I really would do is just block off the brake completely - which is dangerous to others and myself...

Ford really is not unique in this regards, that aspect is more just an emotional response... I do form some emotional bond with my vehicle almost as if they are living things, though also fairly abuse them as just a machine of limited life span... (I also went through a restoration period - most notable redoing a Boss 351 with 13,000 that had been rear ended at about 40mph and left in a shed for nearly 2 decades...)

Anyway... I put 150K-200K miles a year on vehicles so am used to them suddenly "dying", it is just frustrating this is over brake pads. Usually it is the motor, trans, just too many things now broken or major steering/suspension problems (or smashed up in accident), not brake pads. Sometimes, the junk yard I give my vehicles too will offer to fix it for me cheaply (in this case to maybe just replace the whole front axle assembles) and if so I'll keep it going. Otherwise, it's time to say "goodbye" to this one too, and grab another. It served me well and at 376K miles, I got my money's worth.

Mark