Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting BAD front bearings

Is this a common prob. I had my 96gl in for a recall last week and the dealership told me that they heard some humming comeing from the front end and I needed new bearings or replace the whole hub and bearing assembly. Any way I go it seems to be a very costly fix, est.upto $1000.00 mostly labor. Ford Dealerships Suck! Any ides for where I might look into for options in Ohio, by the way the car just hit 60,000mi. so it dosn't sound normal. I'm crossing my fingers that for will recall these dumb pressed bearings someday soon! Also I have all wheel ABS will that make matters worse?

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You just gotta hand it to a blind prostatute




1996 Contour GL
LightMet.Blue

Welcome onboard.

It's not uncommon for a wheel bearing to go at that mileage, one of mine did. They don't usually go in pairs however, nor do they have to be replaced that way. ABS makes no diff.
Cost to replace is normally about $200, 2hrs labor + parts.
Symptom is usually a low pitched growling noise from front, sometimes felt thru' steering wheel, that varies going around curves. If noise decreases on curve, it's the inner front wheel that's the problem.

It humms going straight and on right turns but is quiet when i turn left, I just have a bad feeling about the ford dealership garage in my town their est. was at $995. and about $140 more per bearing than buying it at autozone or advance auto parts, my prob. is finding someone that can even do this kinda job. I've loved this car up to now but I gave up a BMW so I would have a much more reasonable car to work on $$. Thanks for the help

So it sounds like you need new front left bearing. Don't know how dealer gets it up to a grand, bearing should only be about $50, even from Ford. You need puller and press to change properly but most shops will have, Master Mechanic franchise did mine (owner had done a timing chain for me 12+ years ago at another shop).

The bearing will probably last a few months yet, so you have some time to shop around for a good deal at an independant shop. Anything under $300/side is good deal IMO. Don't know what the ford people are smoking, but $1000 is total bs. I did both bearings and the left axle for about $300. A decent shop would have been about $800 for all this. ABS adds 2 minutes to the job. (no biggie...)

A Haynes manual can guide you through removing the steering knuckle. A 32mm axle socket and a large 3 prong puller are about the only special tools needed to pull the knuckle. Some Napa stores have complete machine shop services and will remove and press in a new bearing for about $85. Advance also carries the bearing for about $45 but you'll still need to find a machine shop.

I had a defective left wheel bearing (driver's side), and IIRC, the car was making a noise when I steered straight ahead, or when I turned left, but it was quiet when I steered to the right. Maybe I'm not remembering it correctly. There were some posts on this about a month ago. I bought the bearing for about $35 at O'Reilly's. It is possible to put the bearing in without a press, but a press is highly recommended.

Thanks for the quick and helpfull replys, now all I have to do is get the right shop for the job and figure out th extent of wear and tear I have, and someday I can stop fixing all these big things and get around to replacing the darn cup holder.lol

Originally posted by bentleywarren:

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I had a defective left wheel bearing (driver's side), and IIRC, the car was making a noise when I steered straight ahead, or when I turned left, but it was quiet when I steered to the right. Maybe I'm not remembering it correctly. ..

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Memory is the second thing to go, or at least so my wife tells me. Wheel on outside of curve is loaded more as car leans, therefore if bearing bad noise gets worse.

LOL...well, my wife (ex-wife) was the first thing to go, and now my memory is certainly going, and I can't remember if there was anything else in between worth remembering or not

You can usually find a small shop that will sell and press in/out bearings if you bring the wheels in. Good luck (I'll prob need it soon, too.)