My truck now has 204,000 miles and runs like a champ. I took it on my first 400 mile round trip at speeds of ~ 70 - 75 MPH and noticed a vibration going down hill on sweeping left turns. Sort of feels like a tire out of balance. I'm thinking its probably front wheel bearings. I've had the front end rebuilt and everything is pretty tight up front.

Two questions -
1) How big a job is replacing the bearings?
2) Any other ideas on the cause of that vibration?

Thanks in advance -
Todd

 

It's an easy job since the bearings are unitized. You pull the old hub off and put the new one on. The down side is you'll spend close to $300 on the new bearing hub.

 

Cookie -
Thanks. Any idea what kind of mileage people are getting out of the bearings? Mine is a 2WD that was used for pulling a fifth wheel for the first 60 - 100K miles.
Thanks,
Todd

 

Both of mine front bearings were replaced in the 80-100k mile range.

mike in montana

 

Todd230,
The 4wd trucks have the "unitized" front hub bearing ***'y that is technically a sealed unit and can not be maintained until it fails. These hub assy's do run around $300 +/-.
However, the 2wd trucks have the "traditional" style inner/outer bearings with races/seals and can be removed for cleaning and repacking.
The 4wd units can be helped with extending their life by removing the ABS sensor when doing a brake job and routine maintenance and pumping a shot of bearing grease into the hub, rotate the bearing couple of times and repeat this process until the rotation becomes "stiff" - i.e. you feel more of a resistance to the rotation than when you started.
Then, just put the goodies back together and you can sleep a lil' bit better.

Good luck,

 

How hard are the races to remove if I wanted to replace the seals, bearings, and races?
Thanks,
Todd

 

Ihud,

What kind of grease do you use?

How did you determine the base stock thickener was compatible with the OEM-packed grease?

Do you temporarily screw a zerk into the ABS sensor hole?

How many miles do you have on your hubs?

Pop

 

Todd230,

There's nothing difficult about doing this job.

HOWEVER, the tricky part is getting the bearing pre-loads correct upon re-assembly. Too loose, you have a loose wheel. Too tight, you burn up the bearings. It's OK only if it's "just right", which is somewhat of an "experience" thing.

If you've never done this job before, there are pitfalls that can be overcome by seeking professional help. I'd just hate to talk you through something like this, only to have you end up with a failed bearing.

Pop

 

Pop -
I've done a few bearing jobs on trailers, old mustangs, 2 stroke motors, etc.. I know what you are talking about in terms of the correct top to bottom play. I'm just trying to decide if I want to do the job myself or take it in to have it done. It's been 115 here in AZ the past week!
Thanks,
Todd

 

I was thinking I'd cook the race off with a torch, but haven't looked at a schematic to see what everything looks like. Any suggestions on grease?

 

If you've done trailers and other cars, then the truck will be "old news" for you.

There's no real difference in your truck's front end.

Go for it. ;-))

Pop

 

Pop,

1. What kind of grease do you use?

2. How did you determine the base stock thickener was compatible with the OEM-
packed grease?

3. Do you temporarily screw a zerk into the ABS sensor hole?

4. How many miles do you have on your hubs?

1. I use Amsoil Synthetic Water Resistant Lithium Complex grease for the wheel
bearings and pretty much all other grease jobs on the front end.
2. I do not think Ford has a "secret potion" grease they use for their wheel bearings.
3. I use a rubber adapter I found with one end fitting snug on the end of my grease
gun nozzle and the other end fits snug in the ABS sensor hole. Simply insert the
small end into ABS hole and hold with one hand to assure it does not pop out
when you pump a shot or two of grease; then rotate bearings to distribute the
grease and repeat the process. I used the NEW hub bearing ***'y as a reference
guide for the rotation resistance.
4. The driver's side front bearing failed first - I think it resulted from water ingestion
that came from driving through some axle deep water during a previous flood. I
saw a lot of rust when I tore the bearing ***'y apart. This failure happened at
70k, so I went and replaced the passenger side also. I currently have 225k+ and
have been greasing the front bearings like that once or twice a year since.

As mentioned earlier, typically the inner/outer races are housed in the hub/rotor ***'y. You simply remove the tapered bearings and you then have to use a drift punch and knock out the races and reverse the process for installation.

Good luck guys,

 

Mine's a 2wd and I've got 223,000 on the factory bearings.

 

Mines a 4X4 and the drivers side went out at 200K. the pax side is still going good at 240K.

 

Is there a special tool to remove the dust cap from that deep well??? I