Replacing LF wheel bearing on 2009 Ford Flex FWD

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Hi,

I've not done a wheel bearing in years! and not the type with the hub integrated. It seems pretty straightforward. I ordered a MOOG wheel hub unit from Rock Auto (Moog # 513275). I will pre-soak the old one with PB Blaster night before.

The original lasted 170,000 km and now makes a whirring noise, but strangely it doesn't seem loose - yet. My wife is anxious that her baby is going to have the wheel come off at speed, despite my assurances that it's not going to do that in the next 2 weeks.

Any tips for re & re from the experts?
 
It looks like the easy bolt on type that bolts to the steering knuckle. What I do is unbolt the steering knuckle from both the strut above and the lower ball joint below, then I slide the steering knuckle with the hub off the end of the drive axle. There's other ways of doing it, but that's the way I like to do it.
 
It might help reassure your wife to know that I took my Forester into a tire shop about 6 weeks ago with a persistent drone at >40mph and they told me that it was a bad bearing that wasn't loud enough to isolate to a specific location. Recommended that I come back when it was much louder!
Brought it in yesterday and they took care of it. This wasn't a job I wanted to handle on my own unless I absolutely had to.
 
I had the RF done on the Matrix in April. Dealer wanted $600 to replace but when they saw my expression quickly said if it doesn't need a new hub it won't be that much and you can use a coupon as well for 10% off or so. Shopped around and had an indy do it for $220 cash with a BCA bearing. Between that and new tires much quieter. It was making the drone awhile, maybe even a year.

Does the hub you ordered come with a bearing in it? If not an SKF bearing would be great.
 
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I did our FWD Lexus ES last month. Should be near identical to your arrangement. One side was very difficult to get the axle splines to release from the hub assemply - I had to use a 3-jaw puller and a long pry arm on it to force them out. Soaking them with kroil/etc. ahead of time would have been a good idea. Had not encountered that before.

Since you got the hub assembly vs. just bearing, you don't have to worry about pressing the hub and bearing out, etc. - that's the only really hard part.
 
Originally Posted By: Oro_O
I did our FWD Lexus ES last month. Should be near identical to your arrangement. One side was very difficult to get the axle splines to release from the hub assemply - I had to use a 3-jaw puller and a long pry arm on it to force them out. Soaking them with kroil/etc. ahead of time would have been a good idea. Had not encountered that before.

Since you got the hub assembly vs. just bearing, you don't have to worry about pressing the hub and bearing out, etc. - that's the only really hard part.


Exactly!
Made the mistake of buying just bearings one time to save money and it was a PITA!
Plus getting dirty like a grease monkey, never again.
Had to use a dang heavy hammer and get creative just to get the old bearing out.
All to save I want to say 30-40 bucks. Had to break my back for that, literally.
 
Update: I did the repair without incident. The original hub was tight, required lots of whacks with the 3 pound mini-sledge, but with patience, aim & PB Blaster it came out.

Wife is happy now, her Flex is quiet again and I keep reminding her of how much I saved by DIY.
 
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