wheel bearings failure?

[sethc24]

hey i got a 2000 f250 4x4 psd. And i am fairly certain the wheel bearings on the front are on there way out. Is there a way to know for sure.

I jacked up the front and spun the tire very fast. I can hear what sounds like gravel bouncing around inside a plastic container. I also get strange whirring and slight grinding noises in the floor board while driving. Also the truck vibrates at certain speeds although i think my tires are out of balance.

[dazdillenger]

jack it up, grab the top and bottom of the wheel, and push/pull. Any lateral movement means the unit bearings are bad. Make sure to get a high quality replacement, the cheapo ebay ones will fail within months.

[sethc24]

I though that was for testing if the ball joints were worn or not.

I am talking about the wheel bearing/hub assembly.

[tristanlee85]

Works for wheel bearings too. Does the noise happen with the front hubs locked? I had a similar noise that happens only when the hubs were unlocked. It was the needle bearings that support the stub axle.

[sethc24]

the noise is with the hubs unlocked. I will check with the hubs locked. I did the tire wiggle check. the driver side is fine no play. the passenger side has quite a bit of play when you wiggle it vertically. I am fairly certain my upper ball-joint is worn out. But i will double check to make sure. So if it is the needle bearings that support the stub shaft can they be replaced? or do you have to replace the whole assembly?

[tristanlee85]

You can replace them yourself. No special tools needed other than sockets and snap ring pliers if you have them. The snap ring itself gave me 40 minutes of trouble without the proper tool so it may be worth buying one if you have the cash to spare.

Welcome to guzzle's 4x4 Needle Bearing Maintenance Web Page

Those are the instructions. The bearing is pressed in there. To remove it, I found that sticking the hub in the freezer for about 3 hours contracted everything so it was much easier to pound the old bearing out. Once out, tap the new bearing in using a block of wood or the old bearing so you don't bend it... unless or course you have a press then by all means use that.

[tristanlee85]

The bearings you can get at either Advance Auto or Napa (probably other place too, but I only go here). Part number is B2110 at both stores:

Buy National Needle Bearing B-2110 at Advance Auto Parts

https://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/C...074113714&An=0