04 f150 eating wheel bearings

GotWood

GotWood

Sayer of Fact
Joined
Jan 12, 2007
Location
Maiden, NC
04 2wd F150

This thing is eating driver side wheel bearings in less than 2k miles. I've used cheap AutoZone bearings and now on the 2nd timken bearing and it's shot. This is my brother in law's truck and it's clogging up my driveway.
 
How are you tightening the spindle nuts. Is this one of the new style ones with the sealed bearings pressed into the rotor, or is it old school with separate bearings you have to pack?

If it's the newer style sealed bearings if you just hammer the nut back on with an impact it'll kill it. I've seen that a bunch. It torques to something like 175 or 190 ft-lb but it'll die if you just hammer on it with an impact.

If it's the old style bearings how are you packing them with grease, and how are you tightening the spindle nut. You have to get grease up inside the bearing not just outside it. The nut gets torqued to 50 ft-lb while turning the rotor, then back the nut off 1/4 turn and put a cotter pin in it. If you tighten it down and leave it the bearing preload is way too tight that'll kill them too

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
If you're using discrete bearings and it's not a bolt-in unit bearing assembly, I think the spindle or hub is worn/damaged. That is if you're torquing to spec, and not loading the bearing with any vehicle weight before/during torquing, etc.
 
Been through the this with a 99 dodge torque specs had to be dead on
 
They are sealed bearings. I replaced both sides about a year ago and have had no trouble from the passenger side but keep eating driver side.

I replaced the entire rotor/bearing assembly as one piece this time and torqued to the recommended 300 ft/lb!!

After I installed the new parts I decided to take the bearing out and try to get a refund from Napa. I removed the retention clip and the bearing fell out of the rotor! I think I found the problem.
 
New rotors for that include a new bearing installed. Learned that same way you did. Funny thing, it was the drivers side on all the ones I've done too.
 
Back
Top