front wheel bearings ("hub assembly")

[03ranger4x4]

hey, so back in december before i brought my truck down to florida i drove it around back home for the week i was back. During this time, the front driverside hub assembly died. As in the bearings got so bad by the time i investigated it some had already fallen out. lmao. It also starting making a sound of what i think would be similar to and iceberg scraping the hull of a ship when you were going like 2-3mph. But anyway, replaced it (150 bucks. So CHEAP!!! ) that was at 79,000 miles. Now as of today i replaced the passenger side assembly becuase i started to hear the sqeeking noise and addressed it early. Not nearly as bad as the i let the driverside one get. And this one went at 84,000 miles.

Anyway, piont of this is i do mild off roading, and i go through mud here and there. Is it normal for bearings like this to fail at around 80,000? Is that normal? Or is crossing water and mud cuasing a shortened life span on the bearings. cuase they arent cheap...at all. so far i spend 300 combined replacing both the front bearings.

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

That means they cost you 300 every 80K miles, not too horrible, but yes they seem to fail around this mark.

 

[-Nathan-]

If water is being introduced to your bearings frequently, adjust your maintenance needs to suit it, i.e. disassemble and repack your bearings more often. It will prolong their life significantly.

Cheers

 

[feellnfroggy]

Learn how to do them properly otherwise youll be doing htem every three months like i was for almost a year. What the hell are you paying 150 for? the hub? Mine are 35 bux apiece with the bearing seats already installed from the parts store and 6 bux a piece for the bearings, 2-3 bux for the backside seals. SHould not be that expensive even on the new ones I would htink.

 

[adsm08]

If water is being introduced to your bearings frequently, adjust your maintenance needs to suit it, i.e. disassemble and repack your bearings more often. It will prolong their life significantly.

Cheers

He has sealed-for-life non-serviceable bearings.



Yeah, 80-ish is around where they start to go bad. I've seen few that last longer than 125 and none longer than 150 (my personal experience, not a representative sample).

The fact that these are sealed and non-serviceable definitely had a negative impact on service life. But still, $300 in 80K isn't that bad.

 

[feellnfroggy]

NON servicable, that shyt sux, ford did all that non servicable shyt on all the fords after 98 didnt they? I know my expedition had those maintenance free bushings and ball joints and all that stuff, no grease fittings anywhere except tie rod and drive shaft. You have to completely replace them all the time.

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, its not a great design, because the grease wears out and breaks down after a while and then they go bad. The problem is that I'm not sure how to do the IFS live-axle wheel ends.

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

It's called planned obsolescence, "I would gladly give away every Model T I made if I could have a monopoly one the replacement parts." Henry Ford

 

[03ranger4x4]

Yeah, you need to buy the "hub assembly", which is just that. I know, the first time, i was thinking "ok, 20$ bearings, and some ford bearing grease and ill be set" Nope, even if i wanted to keep the hub, and try and replaced just the bearing, you would never be able to do it without a press. And i have no idea how you would remove the old one. in the first place.

Though, i dont mind that the whole hub gets replaced, the old one was rusty as hell. It like rusted into the part its attached to (forgot its name) it took me 30 minutes of whacking it with a hammer and spraying pb blaster to break it free. also the abs sensor gets replaced with it, since the new one comes with the sensor, so thats another thing to not worry about. just wish it was a bit cheaper

 

[03ranger4x4]

NON servicable, that shyt sux, ford did all that non servicable shyt on all the fords after 98 didnt they? I know my expedition had those maintenance free bushings and ball joints and all that stuff, no grease fittings anywhere except tie rod and drive shaft. You have to completely replace them all the time.

yep, nothing on my truck has a grease fitting. NOTHING. None of the u-joints, or bushings, and even the tie rod ends dont have them. There isnt a single grease fitting to be found on my truck. I was dissapionted when i bought a grease gun for my truck to then find this out. I did use the grease gun to re-fill one of the front cv axles with grease and patch the small hole in the boot which was caused by replacing the first hub assembly. (this little trick is easy to do with a tire patch cord and black rubber sealant good to know) Since then i havent be able to use it for anything else. The brightside it, aftermarket parts have the option of getting the grease fitting on the ball joints and u-joints, so if you ever replace them be sure to get the ones with the grease fittings

 

[-Nathan-]

He has sealed-for-life non-serviceable bearings.



Yeah, 80-ish is around where they start to go bad. I've seen few that last longer than 125 and none longer than 150 (my personal experience, not a representative sample).

The fact that these are sealed and non-serviceable definitely had a negative impact on service life. But still, $300 in 80K isn't that bad.

your right. Im having a major brain fart today.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

non serviceable?

like this tie-rod end?

this literally fell apart when i removed it

 

[milje]

NON servicable, that shyt sux, ford did all that non servicable shyt on all the fords after 98 didnt they? I know my expedition had those maintenance free bushings and ball joints and all that stuff, no grease fittings anywhere except tie rod and drive shaft. You have to completely replace them all the time.

Doing a hub on my 04 F150 tomorrow, same deal. $180 for a hub. Chevy's are the same thing, I think $160 a piece for my buddies 01.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Guys i said ford designed it non serviceable I didnt say it couldnt be serviced. I believe the size is 1/8 drill bit and some threaded zirk fittings You can ad them to certain parts, its just a pain. Drill and tap the holes, put in the fittings and grease away.

 

[adsm08]

Well the whole thing is still better than Chrysler and their "adjustable ball joints". On our solid front ends and TTBs we have that sleeve that goes over the joint and spins. On MOPARs you have to take the joint out and spin it.