Anybody else replaced wheel bearings 5 times?

[Shane Ellis]

I have an '02 Sport Trac (2WD) and at 20,000 miles both front wheel bearings burned up. Dealer replaced, they went out again a month later. Dealer replaced again, lasted a couple of years. I have replaced 5 times in 5 years. I don't mean that they made a little bit of noise, I mean the wheels almost came off a couple of times. I keep good tires, balanced and aligned, so I have no idea why I have had so many problems. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had problems with wheel bearings.

 

[Todd Z]

I bet the races in the front rotors are bad and the dealer is just replacing the bearing...



Could be a spindle or rotor issue too..



Lemon law ?????



Todd Z

 

[Fudged Undies]

This is a first. A few obvious things that come to mind would be....

1. Are they the correct parts for the truck. Autozone was (maybe still are) notorious for having incorrect part numbers for Trac parts. They (seemingly) assumed the explorer and trac used the same parts.

2. Are they being greased properly?

3. Are the locknuts/washer being tightened properly, meaning not over/under tightened?

4. Are you lifted/lowered? Many of us are and bearing problems have been minimal but could have an impact.

 

[EddieS'04]

All the above. Plus are you running larger tires on a wheel with alot of negative offset?

 

[Scott Tanner]

also, are your brakes dragging or do you rest your foot on your brake pedal? the excess heat would tend to damage the bearings... did they put new seals in?

 

[kevin wright]

the front hub on sport trac comes as an assem(hub&bearing abs sensor also). there is no need to brake it down to replace bearing. 1 nut on axle, 3 bolts that hold hub assem to knukle.someone is doing it wrong.

 

[Tom Schindler]

eric,



4x2 Sport Trac, not a 4x4 Sport Trac.



4x2 Sport Trac's has a spindle, not a hub.





Tom

 

[Dreman]

I changed the right side bearing on my Sport Trac at about 75,000 miles because it wouldn't stay tightened. It really didn't need it, but I couldn't figure out why it was always getting slightly loose. I finally figured out it was the axle nut lock needed to be crushed to fit the nut better.



The other side has been fine for 130,000 miles with occasional re-packing.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Clearly, something is wrong...



Being that you have a 2 wheel drive you do have spindles. As Todd pointed out, it could be one of a few things. One suggestion, go buy new bearings, remove your wheels and rotors, clean the spindle off and see how the race of the new bearings feel when you slide them onto the spindle.



They should slide on and have no play when in place and yet be able to remove them with the use of no tools.



If you can get the race to wobble or you have to use a hammer to tap them in to place or remove them from the spindle, then either the bearing races are wrong, (maybe there is a difference between Job 1 and Job 2 for example) and or the spindles are damaged, worn or were built defective...

 

[Dreman]

It sounds like whoever replaced the bearings did not replace the bearing races that are pressed into the rotor. Unless the rotor is new with new bearing races, the bearing races in the rotor should always be replaced when you replace the bearings. They have to be tapped out with a hammer and punch through the rotor, and then the new one is tapped back into place.



A mechanic that wants to do a good job always replaces the bearing and the race together. A mechanic that wants to charge you again for shoddy work will only replace the bearing.



Also, the bearings are supposed to be re-packed (regreased) every 30,000 mile or so (if I remember right). I know they have to be re-packed. I don't remember how often exactly.

 

[Mark Stadnicki]

I went thru 4 on my '02. First set w/30k on factory set. Of course it happens on NJ turnpike 4hrs from home (MD). Hobbled it to a rest area, ended up fusing bearing to spindle. Called friends back home to raid my garage for tools and pick up new bearings and greese. had mostly apart prior to the getting there. Had to loosely attach wheel back on and jerk on it to get the bearing to finally break off. Luckly a trucker had a dremel and I had a power inverter. I ground down the fused bearing chunks, smoothed out spindle best I could. Friends arrived, put new bearing in, and gingerly drove it home. Next day- spindle change and another set of bearings.

3rd set one was the pass side again on the highway- I had it replaced at my hometown ((MA)Firesstone store. That set only made it back to MD! Too make a long story shorter... I got rid of the truck and bought a new one. (it had more issues than just the bearings)

 

[kevin wright]

oops. i'll get new glasses. the only other thing i can think of, is are they packing the bearings enough.

 

[blksn8k]

The only time I ever had recurring problems with wheel bearings was on a full size Bronco. The real culprit turned out to be a sticking piston in the brake caliper. Would work fine until the caliper got wet as in running through a mud puddle, etc. First time you used the brakes after running through water the piston would hang up and eventually overheat the rotor and the wheel bearings would fail. Replaced the caliper and never had another bearing problem...

 

[Shane Ellis]

I will add to my original message that the dealer replaced the spindle, rotors, bearings and everything 3 times. So far set #5 is holding, but I have the feeling that mechanics aren't doing the job right if they used all new parts from the spindle out. Thanks everyone for the replies.