Wheel bearing?

merc123

Active Member

Jan 27, 2003

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Apr 3, 2013

#1

• Apr 3, 2013

• #1

So I've been hearing some roaring noise when turning to the right. Today I noticed there was a little bit of a grinding sensation. Jack up the car and the right, front wheel I can move completely up, down, left, right as if the lug nuts are loose. The problem is they aren't. The entire assembly, wheel and rotor is moving.

I'm guessing it is time for a new wheel bearing assembly or could it be something else?

 

94GTCoupe

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May 7, 2006

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Apr 3, 2013

#2

• Apr 3, 2013

• #2

Sounds like the front wheel hub/bearing to me.

 

trinity_gt

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Apr 3, 2013

#3

• Apr 3, 2013

• #3

Yup, wheel bearing. Don't drive the car anymore as it sounds like that wheel is in danger of separating if the bearing is that loose.

Changing the bearing is easy. Remove the wheel, remove the caliper and bracket, remove the giant wheel nut and slide the old hub off. Slide the new one on, tighten the new nut to 250 ft-lbs and reassemble everything.

You might want to do both sides.

 

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Noobz347

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Apr 3, 2013

#4

• Apr 3, 2013

• #4

trinity_gt said:

Yup, wheel bearing. Don't drive the car anymore as it sounds like that wheel is in danger of separating if the bearing is that loose.

Changing the bearing is easy. Remove the wheel, remove the caliper and bracket, remove the giant wheel nut and slide the old hub off. Slide the new one on, tighten the new nut to 250 ft-lbs and reassemble everything.

You might want to do both sides.

Click to expand...

Werd

 

merc123

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Jan 27, 2003

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Apr 3, 2013

#5

• Apr 3, 2013

• #5

I've had some vibration in that wheel for a while and it got worse recently. Today was definitely the worst and I figured I'd check it. Car is parked until I can get the parts. As soona as I saw that much movement I didn't want to be "that guy" on the side of the road with the nose buried in the dirt. I know my RF wheel is a little warped where it overheated from a sticking caliper so I'm guessing that probably accelerated the wear of it now.

Time to change the wheels out to another set for the time being I guess.

 

Noobz347

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#6

• Apr 3, 2013

• #6

merc123 said:

I've had some vibration in that wheel for a while and it got worse recently. Today was definitely the worst and I figured I'd check it. Car is parked until I can get the parts. As soona as I saw that much movement I didn't want to be "that guy" on the side of the road with the nose buried in the dirt. I know my RF wheel is a little warped where it overheated from a sticking caliper so I'm guessing that probably accelerated the wear of it now.

Time to change the wheels out to another set for the time being I guess.

Click to expand...

Huh? Why change the wheels? It's the hub you need to change. That hub could have been bad for some time before it got to this point. Unless you've had the wheel checked and KNOW that it's warped, I'd press on with pride. You can always check the wheel yourself to see if it's true or not. If not, most tire shops can check and rarely charge for that.

 

merc123

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Apr 3, 2013

#7

• Apr 3, 2013

• #7

When I got the tires put on and they had it on the balance machine you could see a little bit of a wobble to it.

I have an extra set of wheels/tires so it wouldn't be money out of pocket on that.

 

Noobz347

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#8

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merc123 said:

When I got the tires put on and they had it on the balance machine you could see a little bit of a wobble to it.

I have an extra set of wheels/tires so it wouldn't be money out of pocket on that.

Click to expand...

Ahhh... I get ya. Yeah, I would not mount a wheel that I knew what warped. That (as I'm sure you're aware) is probably what ultimately took the hub out (or vise-verse).

 

trinity_gt

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Apr 3, 2013

#9

• Apr 3, 2013

• #9

FWIW, a sticking brake caliper can cook the lubricant in a wheel bearing and even damage the seal. This probably accelerated the wheel bearing failure.

 

merc123

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Apr 3, 2013

#10

• Apr 3, 2013

• #10

Yep! Just glad it didn't break off on the interstate at 80 MPH.

 

merc123

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Apr 3, 2013

#11

• Apr 3, 2013

• #11

It was hot enough it melted the little plastic "Saleen" covers right out of the wheel center.

 

merc123

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Apr 4, 2013

#12

• Apr 4, 2013

• #12

Got them both pulled of so far. Now just waiting on parts. Very easy to do actually and since I got them off going to go ahead and do brakes since it'll need it in a few weeks probably. Hardest part was getting the nut off because of the 258# of torque it had on it!

The left side was good but going to replace it anyway on recommendation. The right has definitely been heated up. You can see the brown "burn" marks on the bearings and isn't evident in the left side. Bearing isn't seized up but certainly not free like the left side was. Also verified the spindle was good but putting the left side bearing on the right and seeing if there was any movement and there was none. Both nuts were very tight and had to use a 5' jack handle to get them off so I knew the RF wasn't just a loose spindle nut.

Thanks for helping out fellas!

Also for future reference, I used this guide:
http://mustangforums.com/forum/4-6l...replace-front-wheel-bearing-hub-assembly.html

 

K

Kilgore Trout

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Apr 5, 2013

#13

• Apr 5, 2013

• #13

Good time to coat the brake dust shields with POR-15, paint rotor hats, clean back side of rims.

 

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merc123

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Jan 27, 2003

420

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North GA

Apr 8, 2013

#14

• Apr 8, 2013

• #14

My problem now is finding a torque wrench big enough. All I can find is one that goes to 250# without buying one.

 

trinity_gt

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Apr 8, 2013

#15

• Apr 8, 2013

• #15

Just use that to 250 ftlbs and then a breaker bar to go "a little bit more." That's what I did on mine and it's fine.

 

merc123

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North GA

Apr 9, 2013

#16

• Apr 9, 2013

• #16

I just twisted it to 8# past the 250. So in theory it could go to about 262.