96 front wheel bearing
kevink1955
11-02-2010, 10:30 PM
My 96 was making a creaking noise from the right front wheel. A few weeks ago I looked at it and removed the tire, put the lugs back on and ran it in low. What I found was the rotor was wobleing and moving the capiler back and forth in the slides. That was the noise.
I thought I had a warped rotor, I pulled the rotor and ran it again and the hub was wobleing so it looked like a bad wheel bearing. It had no play in it at all but looking at it runing from the back side the CV joint also had a wobble.
Fast foward to today (150 miles later) I started to pull it apart to replace the bearing and the wiggle test now has about 1/2" of play.
Pulled the knuckle (had to cut the ABS wire as the sensor was frozen) and the bearing has major rust dust around it. Pressed it apart and found 1 side of the bearing almost frozen solid, it had just started to spin on the hub.
Pressed the new bearing into the knuckle and then the hub into the bearing, put the knuckle back on the van and the noise is gone. Still need a new ABS sensor as I had to mangle the old one to get it out.
The question is, at 127,000 miles should I just do the other side now??
How many miles do you expect a sealed bearing to last??
I think in 2001 ford went to a cartrige type bearing, only a few bolts to change. No press required, sure wish I had that type. Pulling the knuckle and finding a way to press the parts was a pain.
I thought I had a warped rotor, I pulled the rotor and ran it again and the hub was wobleing so it looked like a bad wheel bearing. It had no play in it at all but looking at it runing from the back side the CV joint also had a wobble.
Fast foward to today (150 miles later) I started to pull it apart to replace the bearing and the wiggle test now has about 1/2" of play.
Pulled the knuckle (had to cut the ABS wire as the sensor was frozen) and the bearing has major rust dust around it. Pressed it apart and found 1 side of the bearing almost frozen solid, it had just started to spin on the hub.
Pressed the new bearing into the knuckle and then the hub into the bearing, put the knuckle back on the van and the noise is gone. Still need a new ABS sensor as I had to mangle the old one to get it out.
The question is, at 127,000 miles should I just do the other side now??
How many miles do you expect a sealed bearing to last??
I think in 2001 ford went to a cartrige type bearing, only a few bolts to change. No press required, sure wish I had that type. Pulling the knuckle and finding a way to press the parts was a pain.
rhandwor
11-03-2010, 06:17 AM
My 96 was making a creaking noise from the right front wheel. A few weeks ago I looked at it and removed the tire, put the lugs back on and ran it in low. What I found was the rotor was wobleing and moving the capiler back and forth in the slides. That was the noise.
I thought I had a warped rotor, I pulled the rotor and ran it again and the hub was wobleing so it looked like a bad wheel bearing. It had no play in it at all but looking at it runing from the back side the CV joint also had a wobble.
Fast foward to today (150 miles later) I started to pull it apart to replace the bearing and the wiggle test now has about 1/2" of play.
Pulled the knuckle (had to cut the ABS wire as the sensor was frozen) and the bearing has major rust dust around it. Pressed it apart and found 1 side of the bearing almost frozen solid, it had just started to spin on the hub.
Pressed the new bearing into the knuckle and then the hub into the bearing, put the knuckle back on the van and the noise is gone. Still need a new ABS sensor as I had to mangle the old one to get it out.
The question is, at 127,000 miles should I just do the other side now??
How many miles do you expect a sealed bearing to last??
I think in 2001 ford went to a cartrige type bearing, only a few bolts to change. No press required, sure wish I had that type. Pulling the knuckle and finding a way to press the parts was a pain.
If you have a heated area to work I would wait until it goes bad otherwise do the job on a warm day.
I thought I had a warped rotor, I pulled the rotor and ran it again and the hub was wobleing so it looked like a bad wheel bearing. It had no play in it at all but looking at it runing from the back side the CV joint also had a wobble.
Fast foward to today (150 miles later) I started to pull it apart to replace the bearing and the wiggle test now has about 1/2" of play.
Pulled the knuckle (had to cut the ABS wire as the sensor was frozen) and the bearing has major rust dust around it. Pressed it apart and found 1 side of the bearing almost frozen solid, it had just started to spin on the hub.
Pressed the new bearing into the knuckle and then the hub into the bearing, put the knuckle back on the van and the noise is gone. Still need a new ABS sensor as I had to mangle the old one to get it out.
The question is, at 127,000 miles should I just do the other side now??
How many miles do you expect a sealed bearing to last??
I think in 2001 ford went to a cartrige type bearing, only a few bolts to change. No press required, sure wish I had that type. Pulling the knuckle and finding a way to press the parts was a pain.
If you have a heated area to work I would wait until it goes bad otherwise do the job on a warm day.
wiswind
11-03-2010, 07:10 PM
The answer that I have gotten on this, front sealed wheel bearings, on several vehicles over many years is to replace when they fail.
A alignment job, when done properly, includes checking for play in the suspension/wheels.
I had the passenger side wheel bearing replaced on my '96 at about 183K miles.
The driver side was still original when I sold it at over 229K miles.
Also, there really is nothing you can do to extend the life of the front wheel bearings.......you cannot add lubrication.
So, the advice that I get from people who know what they are doing is to just check for play, binding, etc from time to time.
It is a REALLY good idea to have a trusted, competent, mechanic do a "safety check" once a year.
This is a general going over the vehicle to check for problems......so that they can be corrected in the infancy stage.
A alignment job, when done properly, includes checking for play in the suspension/wheels.
I had the passenger side wheel bearing replaced on my '96 at about 183K miles.
The driver side was still original when I sold it at over 229K miles.
Also, there really is nothing you can do to extend the life of the front wheel bearings.......you cannot add lubrication.
So, the advice that I get from people who know what they are doing is to just check for play, binding, etc from time to time.
It is a REALLY good idea to have a trusted, competent, mechanic do a "safety check" once a year.
This is a general going over the vehicle to check for problems......so that they can be corrected in the infancy stage.
kevink1955
11-03-2010, 08:49 PM
It's strange that 150 miles ago it had no play but did have runout. If the capiler slides did not make noise I would not have heard anything at all.
Guess I will let the left one go for a few more miles.
Guess I will let the left one go for a few more miles.
Lbert
12-18-2010, 07:05 PM
My '96 driver-side wheel bearing needed replacement at !30k miles. The rotor rubbed the side of the caliper bracket.
12Ounce
12-18-2010, 08:44 PM
The newer cartridge bearings make a lot of sense. I think my '99 has them and it has over 300K on it now ... no bearing issues.
An auto assembly line is not the best place to assemble bearings. Too much chance for contamination and too much variability. Best they are assembled in a specialized factory
An auto assembly line is not the best place to assemble bearings. Too much chance for contamination and too much variability. Best they are assembled in a specialized factory
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