New guy to Ford Rangers...

[Littlerack453]

I have a 2011 Ford Ranger XLT model 2WD 4.0L V6 engine. I bought the truck with 40,000 miles on it two years ago and have not done anything to it. The guy before me put a 2 inc body lift, and bigger wheels and tires on it. I’ll put pictures with this to show. I was wondering how to keep from running through bearings all the time because of my tires and wheels.
And I would love suggestions on what I should do to her to improve the look and performance of her!

Thanks, Hunter from San Antonio, Texas!!!

 

[Craig0320]

Are you running through them now? The offset looks about like mine. I am running a 3.5" backspacing with -19mm offset. I have had no problems. I am running 30's and my tires only weigh 38 pounds apiece. Those look to be 33's on yours. All I can tell is get some good quality grease and pack the bearings. Spin the tire and check every 5k or so.

 

[Ranger850]

Or put the original sized tires back on it.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Craig mentioned wheel backspace and the weight of your wheel and tire... both huge factors on bearing wear. I will also add that wheel spacers are sometimes used to push the tire outboard... those will also put a lot of stress on your bearings. The factory backspace is 4.5 inches... once you start moving from that number you are taking a risk and adding stress to the bearings.

A quick check at a local auto parts website... it looks like the cheap bearings are $20 for a complete set for both sides... quality bearings are $50 for the same set of 4. Buy the good ones... Our parts system is flooded with cheap low quality parts now days and it is usually worth upgrading to the quality parts.

Avoid putting grease in the hub between the bearings... you may think that the extra grease couldn't hurt. In reality... that cooler grease in the center will pull the hotter grease you packed into your bearing to the center away from your bearings.... starving the bearings for lubrication.

Lastly... ensure you have the bearings adjusted properly. Install the hub and bearings then tighten the spindle nut down tight while rotating the rotor to fully seat the bearings on the races... then back the spindle nut off to the next grove in the castle nut before installing the cotter key.

And... welcome to TRS. Nice looking truck you have. I do recall seeing that adding a TRS sticker to your truck not only improves the look of the truck... but in some cases adds 20 hp.

 

[ZeroHour]

Avoid putting grease in the hub between the bearings... you may think that the extra grease couldn't hurt. In reality... that cooler grease in the center will pull the hotter grease you packed into your bearing to the center away from your bearings.... starving the bearings for lubrication.

When greasing them, isn't it just best to wipe out the hub, put fresh grease, and repack the bearings with a bearing packer thus no old grease present?

 

[Jim Oaks]

Welcome aboard Hunter!