This vehicle has around 200k kms up and goes well. But I'm pretty sure the front wheel bearings have never been checked/repacked since the vehicle was new. Early on I asked them to do it with a normal service but something about the way the service manager confirmed that it had been done caused me to suspect that it was b/s.
What is the norm for vehicles of this vintage? Are the 4wd front wheel bearings supposed to be checked and repacked periodically? What is is recommended? Or do you wait until something goes wrong?
They should have been cleaned, inspected, and repacked just as often as you would do the front of a rear wheel drive car. Surely at least once every 2 years on a vehicle such as this. If it was pushing snow, or doing a tremendous amount of driving in winter conditions, then I do them every year. The spindle bearings are surely wasted by now also, which means you'll most likely need new spindles and stub shafts. The u-joints can't hardly be any good after this time either.
I have to admit, I think they should be done every time you put brakes on at least. However, because of the time it takes, I never ever take mine apart. My truck is just like the OP's.. Never repacked in 18 years. That's not the right way to do it.
THose old hub designs where actually pretty sturdy. Becauce of the the large bearing diameter used to enable the axle stub shaft to pass through them they tend to have a very long life and fail only when grease is contaminated. Every two years is way overkill most of the time in normal treet usage. If you off road a lot and get in deep water or mud, you do want to check them more often. Given the age here the are overdue if not for grease but to replace the seals in it at very least. The problem is that when you do a repack, most neglect to pull spindle and check bearing inside spindle and the seal in there too. . Given age here I would suggest tearing down hub/spindle completely and replacing both seals and repacking it. DO this and maybe do it again in another 10 years or so if truck is still running and just driven on street. .
Joe said: However, because of the time it takes, I never ever take mine apart. My truck is just like the OP's.. Never repacked in 18 years. That's not the right way to do it.
SnoMan said: Every two years is way overkill most of the time in normal treet usage.
It is overkill big time. I still have two such front axle hub designs on the road now. One has redone about 8 years ago ( I have had it fro
22 years) and the other about 10 years ago (I have had it for 18 years). There is no need at all to tear it down every two years in street use if it is lubed properly with good grease and good seals. I check for end play in hubs and feel when I rotate tires and if it is a little loose I will pop the top and only tighen them a bit if grease looks clean. If they feel a bit ruff or grease look bad I do a full teardown with seal replacement too. I have been messing with those hub styles since about 1970 and I assure you that I know them better than most here. Bearing size is overkill for load for reasons mentioned earlier and thy will last a very long time as long as grease stays clean and is a high quality type that does not break down with time. I have only had one hub fail about 32 years ago on a used truck that I got that someone else have monkied with hubs and used wrong grease and set them too tight (it seized) No have failed on my watch that I have done and never had a bearing failure with them either.
Before I started this thread I had already decided to have the bearings checked. I was curious as to what the consensus was about this part of this particular vehicle. In fact I booked it in for the fix before Xmas when the hyd steering had to be rebuilt (with a steering specialist, not with a Ford agent). But they did not have the necessary tool so the job was not done.
So today's booking (with the Ford agent I bought it from ) is to have the bearings checked, repacked and the seals replaced (thanks group). And I asked the agent to confirm that they have the necessary tool to do the job. No reply yet!
I have both contributed to, and benefited from, this, and other, vehicle groups over the years. They are a great source of information and confidence.
In fact I would be in big trouble without the usenet. Us against the world!
Before I started this thread I had already decided to have the bearings checked. I was curious as to what the consensus was about this part of this particular vehicle. In fact I booked it in for the fix before Xmas when the hyd steering had to be rebuilt (with a steering specialist, not with a Ford agent). But they did not have the necessary tool so the bearing job was not done.
So today's booking (with the Ford agent I bought it from ) is to have the bearings checked, repacked and the seals replaced (thanks group). And I asked the agent to confirm that they have the necessary tool to do the job. No reply yet!
I have both contributed to, and benefited from, this, and other, vehicle groups over the years. They are a great source of information and confidence.
In fact I would be in big trouble without the usenet. Us against the world!
Before I started this thread I had already decided to have the bearings checked. I was curious as to what the consensus was about this part of this particular vehicle. In fact I booked it in for the fix before Xmas when the hyd steering had to be rebuilt (with a steering specialist, not with a Ford agent). But they did not have the necessary tool so the job was not done.
So today's booking (with the Ford agent I bought it from ) is to have the bearings checked, repacked and the seals replaced (thanks group). And I asked the agent to confirm that they have the necessary tool to do the job. No reply yet!
I have both contributed to, and benefited from, this, and other, vehicle groups over the years. They are a great source of information and confidence.
In fact I would be in big trouble without the usenet. Us against the world!
At 200K on the odometer, I'd be having them check everything in the front end with wheel bearings being the last thing to worry about unless you take long trips. The failure mode for a wheel bearing is noise, then lack of function. The failure mode for a ball joint is come apart and truck crashes.
A little overly dramatic but there are a few components in the front end of a 4wd that should get serviced somewhat regularly if you want to make sure the parts are ready to play the one time out of 10 you actually need them. I think of things like wear parts in the hub locks. U-joints in the axle shafts, grease seals and stuff like that.
you really repack the bearings that much, i got a 95 f150, and so far, never repacked the bearings, runs fine, i got no problems, i was thinking about doing them when the weather gets better, how difficult is it to pack those things? i have automatic locking hubs, so i think there are a lot of pieces that have to be removed just to get to the bearing, i just dont wanna open a can of worms, ha, i know you dont wait until something goes wrong, then you need to buy new bearings and probably other parts, that would suck.
Interesting point - whether to check things or wait until they fail. Because my '89 F150 is an auto, I decided at around 100k (kms) to have the starter motor replaced - it was acting up a bit (maybe). Well the replacement failed within a week! The old saying ''If it ain't broke..." comes to mind.
On the other hand, another group I am in, peugeot, had a report from someone whose cam belt failed (these are supposed to be replaced at around 120k (kms)). The result of the failure was major engine damage. Of course wheel bearing failure is unlikely to be so catastrophic. Not even dangerous. On the other hand people with vehicles with lots of miles (kms) up tend to be older and, maybe, like me, deaf as a post. So the aural warning indications of wheel bearing failure may go unnoticed.
I suppose you make a judgment like mine - the vehicle has served me well and looks like continuing to do so (they stopped selling F150s in Oz in '89 so that I cannot simply replace it). At around 100k (miles), if the bearings have never been checked, maybe it is time. I expect to have this vehicle for years - I see plenty of F150s and F100s much older still around. The bearing check is an expensive job. But amortized over 20. even 30 years it is no big deal.
its a lot cheaper than having to replace the spindles when the bearings fail and then weild themselves to it. and its really not that hard a job to do. yeah you need to buy the correct wheel bearing wrench, other than that its a nut an bolt job about 1.5 per side the first time you do one, including pulling the spindles off so you can get to the inner spindle bearing that supports the stub axle. Technically everytime you dunk the front end its supposed to be done, as well as every 12,000 miles, but what the heck does the manufacturer know?
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