rear wheel bearings?

[99cobra302]

i replaced the front hubs in my car a couple months ago, and i feel like the rear wheel bearings (at least on one side) are starting to go too cause it seems a bit noisy, even for my car.

i have a couple questions though, where do i find these bearings, they dont really show up on a parts search as easily as the front hubs. how difficult of a job is this? can i do this myself like i did the fronts?

my car is a 99 corba with the stock IRS

 

[VNEMUS]

The job is not too difficult. You'll need to have the rear IRS hub and bearing pressed out of the knuckle. If you don't have a press or experience using one for this type of job, you can probably bring the knuckle assembly and the new hub and bearing to a local repair shop to have them press the old ones out and the news ones in.

http://youtu.be/s1CqCFJVKNU

If the rear bearing is neglected long enough, the knuckle itself can become damaged, resulting in a more costly repair to replace.

Contact Tousley Ford for the parts you need. It might be a good idea to replace the rear axle nut at the same time, altough some will say its really not necessary so long as you periodically check it to make sure its alway torqued to 250 ft. lbs.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.:thumbsup:

 

[GreySVTSnake01]

It's a lot more difficult than the front wheel bearings and you will have to get the car aligned when you're done. I think Full Tilt Boogie Racing sells full rebuilt hubs, that might be the way to go. Road noise could be a lot of things I would make sure the bearing is the problem before I went through the trouble of changing them out, just my two cents. It's not an hour job like the front. I'm sure you can find a write up on it. FTBR's website is a great rescource for IRS issues.

 

[SonicBlueOval]

As mentioned by VNEMUS, definitely order from Tousley because you will get actual Ford roller bearings and not ball bearings that local parts stores carry. Its not a 30 minute job, but it certainly isnt difficult. Ive knocked mine out before in a couple hours and that includes taking the knuckle to local shop to have old bearing pressed out and new bearing pressed in.

I've never heard of an alignment being needed after changing rear bearings. If the position of the hub is in a different spot than before the install requiring an alignment then the install was not done correctly.

 

[GoatSlayer]

Make sure you change the bearing and the hub-assembly too. Buy them from jegs, much cheaper from them than dealership for the same parts

 

[GreySVTSnake01]

As mentioned by VNEMUS, definitely order from Tousley because you will get actual Ford roller bearings and not ball bearings that local parts stores carry. Its not a 30 minute job, but it certainly isnt difficult. Ive knocked mine out before in a couple hours and that includes taking the knuckle to local shop to have old bearing pressed out and new bearing pressed in.

I've never heard of an alignment being needed after changing rear bearings. If the position of the hub is in a different spot than before the install requiring an alignment then the install was not done correctly.

Yeah, I guess that's true about the alignment. If you mak the relationship of the bolt to the hub and put it back the same way you will be alright but if you mark it with a marker like a dummy (like I did) and the mark rubs off, you're out of luck. I wasn't trying to discourage the OP just let him know it's more of a job than the fronts. Getting the halfshafts out of and back into the hub was the PITA part for me.

 

[VNEMUS]

The following tools will make easy work of removing the tie rod and halfshaft from the knuckle:

First check that your 36mm axle nuts are torqued to 240 – 250 ft. lbs. Then safely jack up and support the rear of the car up and with the wheels on, see if you can feel any side to side and/or up and down play in the wheels. If there is up and down play and side to side play, more than likely it is the wheel bearing & hub assembly. If it is just side to side play, that could indicate worn inner and/or outer tie rod ends. If it is just up and down play, your cross axis joints in the mounts of the knuckle could be worn. If all of these areas have no play, but you still have a noise, chances are its something else loose or worn in the drivetrain and/or IRS.

IRS Hub (Ford Racing Part# M-1109-A) - various places carry these ranging in price from $138 - $195+.

IRS Knuckle Bearing (Ford Racing Part# M-1215-A) - various places carry these ranging in price from $38 - $72+.

(pictures of the hub & bearing were copied from FTBR's site)

 

[SonicBlueOval]

Yeah, I guess that's true about the alignment. If you mak the relationship of the bolt to the hub and put it back the same way you will be alright but if you mark it with a marker like a dummy (like I did) and the mark rubs off, you're out of luck.

Very true, it is absolutely critical to mark the camber bolt before you loosen the spindle, otherwise you would definitely need an alignment. :thumbsup:

 

[ac427cobra]

If the rear bearing is neglected long enough, the knuckle itself can become damaged, resulting in a more costly repair to replace.

Initially if a bad bearing is run too long it will first destroy the hub. Then if it's run way beyond that, the knuckle would be the next in the order of sacrifcial components.

Make sure you change the bearing and the hub-assembly too. Buy them from jegs, much cheaper from them than dealership for the same parts

Do NOT buy these bearings from aftermarket suppliers to save a few bucks. That's bad advice. :dw: Aftermarket bearings are cheap because they are ball bearings and will not give you the service life a Ford TAPERED ROLLER bearing is going to give you! :read: Once you see the investment in time this job takes, you're not going to want to cheap out on a bearing.

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[GoatSlayer]

Initially if a bad bearing is run too long it will first destroy the hub. Then if it's run way beyond that, the knuckle would be the next in the order of sacrifcial components.



Do NOT buy these bearings from aftermarket suppliers to save a few bucks. That's bad advice. :dw: Aftermarket bearings are cheap because they are ball bearings and will not give you the service life a Ford TAPERED ROLLER bearing is going to give you! :read: Once you see the investment in time this job takes, you're not going to want to cheap out on a bearing.

FWIW

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

The ones that Jegs have are ford racing, same or better than what the dealership is offering at a way better price. I have used them with no problems. But dont buy bearing from autozone, they wont last.
Ford Racing M-1109-A Ford Racing Kit Car IRS Hub and Knuckle
Ford Racing M-1215-A Ford Racing Kit Car IRS Hub and Knuckle

AMBASSADOR OF GOATS:lol:

 

[ac427cobra]

The ones that Jegs have are ford racing, same or better than what the dealership is offering at a way better price. I have used them with no problems. But dont buy bearing from autozone, they wont last.
Ford Racing M-1109-A Ford Racing Kit Car IRS Hub and Knuckle
Ford Racing M-1215-A Ford Racing Kit Car IRS Hub and Knuckle

AMBASSADOR OF GOATS:lol:

If they are in fact Ford Racing parts then they are fine. I just want to caution people about buying cheap aftermarket ball bearings because you don't want to use them!

:thumbsup::coolman::beer:

 

[no cigar]

The ones that Jegs have are ford racing, same or better than what the dealership is offering at a way better price. I have used them with no problems. But dont buy bearing from autozone, they wont last.
Ford Racing M-1109-A Ford Racing Kit Car IRS Hub and Knuckle
Ford Racing M-1215-A Ford Racing Kit Car IRS Hub and Knuckle

AMBASSADOR OF GOATS:lol:

Surely that is a misprint. Does it really include the knuckle also?

And are the hubs sold individually?

Furthermore, what's the correct procedure to check the hubs for damage?