1996 f150 4x4 front wheel bearing replacement
If you have manual locking hubs- automatic locking is a little different and I have never done it. My front axle is a Dana 44 with a 19 spline axle. Read all of this before proceding. Jack the front end up, remove wheel, place securely on jack stand(s). Remove 4x4 locking hub cover Remove locking ring that fits in a groove along the inner circumference of the wheel hub housing. Its there to hold the hub lock in. Its shaped like a giant snap ring. It may not be obvious, but believe me it is there (or should be). There should be a small hole through the hub housing that you can use a very small punch, nail, or screwdriver to push it out enough that you can grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers. It helps to have good light and lots of brake cleaner so that you can spray the grease off and see what you are doing. Once you have this removed, there should be snap ring holding the locking hub mechanism to the end of the axle via a groove in the end of the axle maybe a quarter of an inch from the end (if that). Remove snap ring. Reinsert some of the screws that held the cover of the hub lock on directly into the locking mechanism just enough so that you can use this pull the assembly out. Now look into the hub and you should see the outer locking ring. It has 4 notches equally spaced around it for the socket to fit into. This requires a special 4 prong wheel nut socket, I don't have the package it came in, but it has GreatNeck 33625072 stenciled on it. Using a large ratchet or torque wrench, remove the outer locking ring from the spindle. From this point on , if you plan on cleaning and repacking the bearings, keep everthing clean, tools, etc... However , I Just use new bearings and races. Don't unpack until ready to use. Once the outer ring is off, you will see the locking ring and behind that the inner bearing adjustment nut. The locking ring has a keyway (notch) that fits into the spindle and holes around the middle of the ring. One of these holes fits on a raised pin on the inner nut. Pull the locking ring off with a pair of need nose pliers or something that will fit into one of the holes. It should slide right off. Now remove the adjustment nut. Once you have this off, just pull on the hub and it should slide off, it may require some coaxing however. A dead blow hammer (plastic shot filled) may come in handy. Watch out its heavy. The outer bearing will come off as you do this, make note of how they were installed and located. The inner bearing and seal will usually stay in the hub as you pull it off. You will see a ring pressed into the inside of the hub (the side towards the vehicle) this is the inner seal and beneath it the inner bearing. You can pull the seal off with a pair off pliers or pry off with a screwdriver being carefull not to damage it if you plan on reusing. There should also be a rubber boot that fits onto the spindle. This rides up against the inner seal. Make sure it is not damaged or cracked. If it is, you'll have to replace it. This can be hard to find, but I found kit at Oreilly's. The kit contains the inner seal and the rubber boot.
At this point, it is a good idea to replace the needle bearings inside the spindle if you they have never been changed on a high mileage vehicle. I would also suggest you inspect the cv joint just inside the hub. This would be a great opportunity to grease it if it has fittings to do so or replace if necessary.
Now clean all parts removed thoroughly. Including the spindle shaft. Inspect the spindle shaft for excessive wear or pitting. This a good opportunity to replace this also if needed.
Clean and inspect the hub. All parts should be free of any foreign material at all before reinstallation. Dirt is your biggest enemy at this point beside incorrect installation. I highly suggest you replace the bearing races. If you do, make sure you handle the bearings and races with clean dry hands, and keep the bearings clean and covered with something nonfibrous. The bearings are press fitted into the hub. They can be banged out with a hammer and large file or bar from behind. If you do not feel comfortable with replacing these, you can usually find a machine shop or tire place that will do it for you. The new bearings will come with races included. I personally use a combination of a dead blow hammer, old bearing races and pvc pipe to intall mine. This is not the preffered method, and all I can say is don't damage or score the races and make sure they are all the way in (and clean).
Now that your bearing races are in and the hub is completely cleaned of grease, dirt and anything else, you are ready to pack your bearings. A bearing packer is nice at this point, but I usually just do mine by hand. Prepare to get greasy and have rags available. Make sure your hands are free from dirt. Don't unwrap your bearings till ready to pack to protect from moisture and dirt. Do not get paper or cotton fibers into your bearing as you pack it. You will need to use moly grease. This is high temperature molybdenum fortified grease, available at any auto parts store. Place the hub on a clean surface with the inner bearing surface facing up. Start with the inner bearing (the bigger of the two) Work the grease into the rollers thoroughly and then rotate back and forth while working more in. I don't think anyone has ever overgreased a wheel bearing. When finished, carefully place the bearing cone (so that it mates with the bearing race) into the hub. Wipe off excess grease in the center of the bearing hole. You can now press the inner seal over it and into the hub. It can be tapped into place using a hammer, etc.. Just make sure no dirt falls into the hub and onto the bearing. You might place a piece of cloth or plastic over the seal as you tap it into the hub. Make sure it is flush with the hub when complete. You are now ready to reinstall your hub. Make sure you grease the boot on the spindle to keep it from squeaking
With the inner adjustment nut cleaned and within easy reach, place the hub onto the spindle and push it toward the vehicle so that it will hang on the spindle on its own. Now take the inner nut and hand tighten onto the spindle while keeping the hub centered. Make sure the raised locking pin faces outward. The following are the torque specs I could find, I encourage you to double check them. With a torque wrench , tighten the nut to approximately 50-60lb/ft while rocking back and forth to properly seat the bearing. Do not overtighten as this will damage the bearing. Now back off the adjustment nut to around 20lb/ft or just a little more that finger tightened. Once this is done, place the locking ring onto the spindle with the keyway lining up. You will probably have to adjust the nut a little to make the pin on the nut match the nearest hole on the locking ring. Make sure the pin and hole are aligned before proceding. Now grease your outer bearing. Grasping it from the center,slide it onto the the spindle and match it with the bearing race in the hub. Try not to rub it against the inside of the hub so you don't rub grease off or get any dirt on it, but it should be clean. Take the locking nut and carefully thread onto the spindle. Tighten it to 150-200 lb/ft. 150 being a bare minimum. Good luck!
If you have manual locking hubs- automatic locking is a little different and I have never done it. My front axle is a Dana 44 with a 19 spline axle. Read all of this before proceding. Jack the front end up, remove wheel, place securely on jack stand(s). Remove 4x4 locking hub cover Remove locking ring that fits in a groove along the inner circumference of the wheel hub housing. Its there to hold the hub lock in. Its shaped like a giant snap ring. It may not be obvious, but believe me it is there (or should be). There should be a small hole through the hub housing that you can use a very small punch, nail, or screwdriver to push it out enough that you can grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers. It helps to have good light and lots of brake cleaner so that you can spray the grease off and see what you are doing. Once you have this removed, there should be snap ring holding the locking hub mechanism to the end of the axle via a groove in the end of the axle maybe a quarter of an inch from the end (if that). Remove snap ring. Reinsert some of the screws that held the cover of the hub lock on directly into the locking mechanism just enough so that you can use this pull the assembly out. Now look into the hub and you should see the outer locking ring. It has 4 notches equally spaced around it for the socket to fit into. This requires a special 4 prong wheel nut socket, I don't have the package it came in, but it has GreatNeck 33625072 stenciled on it. Using a large ratchet or torque wrench, remove the outer locking ring from the spindle. From this point on , if you plan on cleaning and repacking the bearings, keep everthing clean, tools, etc... However , I Just use new bearings and races. Don't unpack until ready to use. Once the outer ring is off, you will see the locking ring and behind that the inner bearing adjustment nut. The locking ring has a keyway (notch) that fits into the spindle and holes around the middle of the ring. One of these holes fits on a raised pin on the inner nut. Pull the locking ring off with a pair of need nose pliers or something that will fit into one of the holes. It should slide right off. Now remove the adjustment nut. Once you have this off, just pull on the hub and it should slide off, it may require some coaxing however. A dead blow hammer (plastic shot filled) may come in handy. Watch out its heavy. The outer bearing will come off as you do this, make note of how they were installed and located. The inner bearing and seal will usually stay in the hub as you pull it off. You will see a ring pressed into the inside of the hub (the side towards the vehicle) this is the inner seal and beneath it the inner bearing. You can pull the seal off with a pair off pliers or pry off with a screwdriver being carefull not to damage it if you plan on reusing. There should also be a rubber boot that fits onto the spindle. This rides up against the inner seal. Make sure it is not damaged or cracked. If it is, you'll have to replace it. This can be hard to find, but I found kit at Oreilly's. The kit contains the inner seal and the rubber boot.
At this point, it is a good idea to replace the needle bearings inside the spindle if you they have never been changed on a high mileage vehicle. I would also suggest you inspect the cv joint just inside the hub. This would be a great opportunity to grease it if it has fittings to do so or replace if necessary.
Now clean all parts removed thoroughly. Including the spindle shaft. Inspect the spindle shaft for excessive wear or pitting. This a good opportunity to replace this also if needed.
Clean and inspect the hub. All parts should be free of any foreign material at all before reinstallation. Dirt is your biggest enemy at this point beside incorrect installation. I highly suggest you replace the bearing races. If you do, make sure you handle the bearings and races with clean dry hands, and keep the bearings clean and covered with something nonfibrous. The bearings are press fitted into the hub. They can be banged out with a hammer and large file or bar from behind. If you do not feel comfortable with replacing these, you can usually find a machine shop or tire place that will do it for you. The new bearings will come with races included. I personally use a combination of a dead blow hammer, old bearing races and pvc pipe to intall mine. This is not the preffered method, and all I can say is don't damage or score the races and make sure they are all the way in (and clean).
Now that your bearing races are in and the hub is completely cleaned of grease, dirt and anything else, you are ready to pack your bearings. A bearing packer is nice at this point, but I usually just do mine by hand. Prepare to get greasy and have rags available. Make sure your hands are free from dirt. Don't unwrap your bearings till ready to pack to protect from moisture and dirt. Do not get paper or cotton fibers into your bearing as you pack it. You will need to use moly grease. This is high temperature molybdenum fortified grease, available at any auto parts store. Place the hub on a clean surface with the inner bearing surface facing up. Start with the inner bearing (the bigger of the two) Work the grease into the rollers thoroughly and then rotate back and forth while working more in. I don't think anyone has ever overgreased a wheel bearing. When finished, carefully place the bearing cone (so that it mates with the bearing race) into the hub. Wipe off excess grease in the center of the bearing hole. You can now press the inner seal over it and into the hub. It can be tapped into place using a hammer, etc.. Just make sure no dirt falls into the hub and onto the bearing. You might place a piece of cloth or plastic over the seal as you tap it into the hub. Make sure it is flush with the hub when complete. You are now ready to reinstall your hub. Make sure you grease the boot on the spindle to keep it from squeaking
With the inner adjustment nut cleaned and within easy reach, place the hub onto the spindle and push it toward the vehicle so that it will hang on the spindle on its own. Now take the inner nut and hand tighten onto the spindle while keeping the hub centered. Make sure the raised locking pin faces outward. The following are the torque specs I could find, I encourage you to double check them. With a torque wrench , tighten the nut to approximately 50-60lb/ft while rocking back and forth to properly seat the bearing. Do not overtighten as this will damage the bearing. Now back off the adjustment nut to around 20lb/ft or just a little more that finger tightened. Once this is done, place the locking ring onto the spindle with the keyway lining up. You will probably have to adjust the nut a little to make the pin on the nut match the nearest hole on the locking ring. Make sure the pin and hole are aligned before proceding. Now grease your outer bearing. Grasping it from the center,slide it onto the the spindle and match it with the bearing race in the hub. Try not to rub it against the inside of the hub so you don't rub grease off or get any dirt on it, but it should be clean. Take the locking nut and carefully thread onto the spindle. Tighten it to 150-200 lb/ft. 150 being a bare minimum. Good luck!
