Front Wheel Bearing - CEG Archives

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Today I removed the front driver side knuckle assemble to have the bearing replaced. I picked up the new bearing from Ford (and axle nut) and tomorrow I will be pressing out and in the bearings myself at my friends machine shop. My question is which side of the knuckle do I press from and did I get the right bearing? The bearing in the picture has splines in the centre to engage the CV shaft, the new one doesn't.

Knuckle Back Side

Knuckle Front Side

New Bearing

Those splines are part of the hub assembly which slides into the bearing. There are no splines on the old bearing.

I changed mine by 1st pressing the hub off the bearing. Pressed it from the backside of the knuckle. After the hub is removed, pry off the front C-clip and press the bearing off the knuckle from the backside as well.

Reassemble in reverse order. Use antiseize compound on bearing OD, ID and the hub splines.

Thanks for the info, I see what you mean now about the two separate parts ie. hub and knuckle. First press out center part (hub with splines) then outer bearing.

That's my bearing (SKF)!

IF you don't install that new bearing properly you may as well not install one at all - installation method is CRITICAL for the longevity of the bearing - just ask Blu Fuz who went through 5 DEALER-INSTALLED bearings before getting one installed by me.

Originally posted by Stazi:
That's my bearing (SKF)!

IF you don't install that new bearing properly you may as well not install one at all - installation method is CRITICAL for the longevity of the bearing - just ask Blu Fuz who went through 5 DEALER-INSTALLED bearings before getting one installed by me.

What do you mean by installed correctly? We pressed the old one out and pressed the new one in without too much difficulty. Everything appears to be as it was with the old bearing minus the corrosion and pitting. I thought about contacting you directly like I did before about the sensor bearing I was replacing on a piece of machinery but it seemed pretty straight forward. Is there a procedure for doing this?

regardless of procedure, if you didn't ALSO torque the NEW, NEVER USED axle nut (aka locking spindle nut) to 208-214 FOOT lbs, then it will fail soon, too.

Originally posted by SVTCANUK:

Originally posted by Stazi:
That's my bearing (SKF)!

IF you don't install that new bearing properly you may as well not install one at all - installation method is CRITICAL for the longevity of the bearing - just ask Blu Fuz who went through 5 DEALER-INSTALLED bearings before getting one installed by me.

What do you mean by installed correctly? We pressed the old one out and pressed the new one in without too much difficulty. Everything appears to be as it was with the old bearing minus the corrosion and pitting. I thought about contacting you directly like I did before about the sensor bearing I was replacing on a piece of machinery but it seemed pretty straight forward. Is there a procedure for doing this?

If it isn't pressed in to the right position with the right load while pressing on the RIGHT place (and supporting the right areas) you brinelling the bearings and they fail in a few weeks. You don't just press on the nearest flat surface and hope for the best - that's why a lot of these el-cheapo repair shops and DIY'ers screw things up l;ike wheel bearing and other types of bearing because you can irreversibly damage them during installation.

Press the bearing in from the outer shell(race)only.

On wheel bearings inside of the rotor, I heat the rotor to 250-300 deg F and freeze the bearings. They pretty much drop right in

. But that's a bit off topic.

Originally posted by Ray:
regardless of procedure, if you didn't ALSO torque the NEW, NEVER USED axle nut (aka locking spindle nut) to 208-214 FOOT lbs, then it will fail soon, too.

This was done, I listened to all your warnings in other threads. I guess only time will tell if the rest was done correctly.

Originally posted by Mustang:
Press the bearing in from the outer shell(race)only.

On wheel bearings inside of the rotor, I heat the rotor to 250-300 deg F and freeze the bearings. They pretty much drop right in . But that's a bit off topic.

What about the hub? Yes you need to support the inner race when you press the hub into the bearing.

Originally posted by Ray:
regardless of procedure, if you didn't ALSO torque the NEW, NEVER USED axle nut (aka locking spindle nut) to 208-214 FOOT lbs, then it will fail soon, too.

So, what you're trying to say is that our engines can't put out enough torque to tighten this nut? Crazy!

Well.. I don't know about "our" engines.... but yeah.

That's what I am saying.

Originally posted by Ray:
Well.. I don't know about "our" engines.... but yeah.

That's what I am saying.

Stazi, you have a PM