Front wheel bearing?

[JJMaine]

Not sure where to post this question. My 2011 4x4 Ranger needs a driver's front wheel bearing. I'm wondering if it's possible to just replace the bearings or do I need to buy the whole hub assembly? I have a hydraulic press that I could use to change the bearings.
If I do need the hub assembly, has anyone had any luck with the cheaper options from Rock Auto? I'm sure OEM is the best bet but those are more than double the price. Thanks!

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I replaced the hub on my 2011 escape. Next time I'll just do bearings. Your experience may differ...

 

[JJMaine]

Yeah, I can get a set of Timkin bearings on RockAuto for $10 but most of the front bearings say RWD only and none of them say 4x4 front? I'm not sure how this works is the abs magnet in the front bearings on the 4x4?

 

[JJMaine]

I replaced the hub on my 2011 escape. Next time I'll just do bearings. Your experience may differ...

Is your escape 4x4?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

All wheel drive

 

[scotts90ranger]

I would probably grab the whole assembly, just watched an old video of a guy doing the hubs on a '97 Explorer and it looked simple enough to do that way, the assembly didn't look fun to get apart even with a press without making jigs...

The bearings for the "RWD" versions are just standard tapered roller bearings, the 4x4 hubs of that era ('83-97 have bigger tapered roller bearings on 4x4) have two row ball bearings most likely.

 

[JJMaine]

Yeah I think I will just get new hubs for both fronts. I'm thinking I'll try one of the cheaper options ($50-60) as Motorcraft are $175 each. They are easy to change, I done them before on my buddies 4x4 F150 I was just trying to save a few bucks and at the same time get quality bearings.

 

[gw33gp]

I replaced the right front bearing hub on my 02 FX4 at around 250K miles. Bearings by themselves were not available as far as I know. I bought two hubs but have not installed the left one yet at 311K miles.

I don't know if the 2011 is the same as 2002, but I also has to replace the dust seal on the inner side of the hub. You should also get the hub nut. It is supposed to be one time use.

The $175 for the Motorcraft hub sounds like a good price. I think I paid considerably more, and I searched the web to find the best price. Maybe the 2011 is a different hub.


I just checked Rock Auto, and they list my Motorcraft hub for $152, so I must have been wrong about of my cost back when I bought mine. They also list your Motorcraft hub for $178 with a different part number. That must mean 2002 and 2011 have different bearing hubs.

 

[JJMaine]

Thanks, I'll have to check into that. I've replaced a few hubs on different vehicles and have never replaced any seals or the nuts but I'll look through the manual and see what it says. I'm going to order Mevotech hubs as they are $50 vs $175. Time will tell if it bites me in the ass lol but money is tight at the moment.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Just found out the front passenger side on my '00 explorer has a bad bearing... gotta think long and hard to just ignore it or steal the hub from the parts rig... it'll likely get a whole 1000 miles in the next year... we'll see how dumb this summer ends up being...