Anyone replaced their front hubs yet?

[SpazC]

Well, looks like the bearings in my front left hub are going bad.

Scraping sound on front left hub while turning left only. Applying brakes doesn't change anything.

Even with that I was hoping it was still brake related as I changed my pads out 6k miles ago and it started about 1k after that. But I've pulled, cleaned, checked all the clips and reinstalled twice ( including swapping left to right side once ) and it still is making the noise.

Anyone had to replace their front hubs yet? Didn't see much online or in this forum as far as the diy side goes. Part isn't obnoxiously priced and looks straight forward. Just curious if anyone has already done it and had some extra wisdom they could impart.

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[RangerBill]

Well, looks like the bearings in my front left hub are going bad.

Scraping sound on front left hub while turning left only. Applying brakes doesn't change anything.

Even with that I was hoping it was still brake related as I changed my pads out 6k miles ago and it started about 1k after that. But I've pulled, cleaned, checked all the clips and reinstalled twice ( including swapping left to right side once ) and it still is making the noise.

Anyone had to replace their front hubs yet? Didn't see much online or in this forum as far as the diy side goes. Part isn't obnoxiously priced and looks straight forward. Just curious if anyone has already done it and had some extra wisdom they could impart.

Is it possibly the shield rubbing on the brake rotor? Also check for something like wiring or brake line out of place and rubbing.

I am not sure that a hub bearing would make a scraping sound, but could be wrong.

 

[SpazC]

 

[RangerBill]

Brake shield bent and rubbing on rotor?

 

[SpazC]

Shield looked the same as on the right side and I didn't see any wear marks any of the times I've had the brake assembly off in the last 2 weeks troubleshooting.

I will take everything back apart again tonight in quadruple check ?

 

[airline tech]

As a test, just slightly bend them out away from the rotor and test again (for the noise), normally the Hub Bearing would be more of a deeper growl, but it could still be the source.
With this being high pitch, suspect the dust shield or pebble stuck in between the shield and rotor.

 

[SpazC]

Took the caliper and bracket off again when I got home to get a better view of the dust shield. No rocks or debris stuck in there. Took a punch and hammer to the shield and knocked it another 1/16-1/8” away from the rotor. Double checked all the clips had plenty of clearance from the rotor. Slapped everything together and went and did what must have looked like the slowest donuts known to man in our cul-de-sac.... Same noise all 6 laps.

Guess I'll hose it down with a can of brake cleaner one more time and then brake squeal as one last hail mary before ordering the hub.

Still would love to hear from anyone who's replaced theirs already if they exist.

 

[Dereku]

Should be like any other modern 4wd ford with IFS. 4 bolts from the inside hold it on and the big torque to yield nut on the axle. If yours is 2wd lucky you. Be prepared to smack it with a dead blow to get it out. Havent done the ranger but probably done 50 unit style bearings across various makes. Really all the same.

 

[RedlandRanger]

Took the caliper and bracket off again when I got home to get a better view of the dust shield. No rocks or debris stuck in there. Took a punch and hammer to the shield and knocked it another 1/16-1/8” away from the rotor. Double checked all the clips had plenty of clearance from the rotor. Slapped everything together and went and did what must have looked like the slowest donuts known to man in our cul-de-sac.... Same noise all 6 laps.

Guess I'll hose it down with a can of brake cleaner one more time and then brake squeal as one last hail mary before ordering the hub.

Still would love to hear from anyone who's replaced theirs already if they exist.

I'm no expert but that doesn't sound like a bearing to me.

I had the dust shield on one of my rear wheels get bend just enough to hit the rotor after I did a brake job on it. It sounded somewhat like what you posted in that video. Once I bent the dust shield away from the rotor in that one spot, the noise went away.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[gryder]

Hey Spazc, I’ve heard a bad hub bearing and the noise is continuous. It also gets louder with speed, I know you said it only makes noise when turning left but does it make noise on the street or highway? Also do you have 4wd? Could it be the left axle? Just trying to think of different causes.

 

[gryder]

Listening to the video again is your power steering fluid full? When the steering wheel moved a little you hear the noise and then turn tighter and it pauses for a split second and makes the sound again, almost likes it’s a steering related issue.

Almost sounds like a squealing belt but doesn’t makes sense when only going left but not right.

again just trying to give suggestions of what it could be before spending money on the hub.

 

[RangerBill]

Listening to the video again is your power steering fluid full? When the steering wheel moved a little you hear the noise and then turn tighter and it pauses for a split second and makes the sound again, almost likes it’s a steering related issue.

Almost sounds like a squealing belt but doesn’t makes sense when only going left but not right.

again just trying to give suggestions of what it could be before spending money on the hub.

Power steering is electrically powered, no hydraulic fluid or pump.

 

[gryder]

Thanks for that catch RangerBill. So power steering out.

 

[Jason B]

Bearing noise changes with speed, and in my experience was a low growling noise no matter which direction I turned. On older vehicles (my '99) a sure sign of a bad bearing was an ABS error on that wheel, because the tone ring was part of the bearing assembly.

 

[QuickSilver]

Well, looks like the bearings in my front left hub are going bad.

Scraping sound on front left hub while turning left only. Applying brakes doesn't change anything.

Even with that I was hoping it was still brake related as I changed my pads out 6k miles ago and it started about 1k after that. But I've pulled, cleaned, checked all the clips and reinstalled twice ( including swapping left to right side once ) and it still is making the noise.

Anyone had to replace their front hubs yet? Didn't see much online or in this forum as far as the diy side goes. Part isn't obnoxiously priced and looks straight forward. Just curious if anyone has already done it and had some extra wisdom they could impart.

I just replaced mine, luckily it was covered under warranty and right after I had an alignment done. That does mean I don’t have useful diy info to add. It was droning while driving most noticeable between 60 - 80 kph.

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