Wheel bearing vs wheel hub

[Pew]

Hi folks,

I think it's time to replace my wheel bearings at 199K miles (2015 ford focus SE 1.0L.) I've been getting a pretty loud humming noise from the front since the 6th of this month that I thought was my worn tires (about 4/32) and a broken belt in the tire so I switched to my winter tires and the humming noise is still there if not louder. I'm about to embark on a ~4000 mile roadtrip next Friday too so I did the "shake test" with the two front wheels and spun them in the air and I didn't see or hear anything bad. No noticeable increase in vibration either.

Rockauto has the front bearings but no hub and they have the entire rear hub for sale including the bearings. OEM ford parts website is the same; only front wheel bearing for sale but not the entire hub. I've never done wheel bearings before but is it common practice for only the front bearings to be on sale and not the entire hub? I'm assuming I'll need a shop to press out the old bearings and put the new ones in as well.

 

[ccs368]

Your Ford Focus probably has the same wheel bearing design as my old Corolla. The fronts typically have the bearing pressed into the knuckle. I detached tie rod and shock and dislodged completely to give more access. I used those bearing cup style press kit with an impact to remove and install the bearing. The toughest job was the clip used to retain the bearing as it was frozen with corrosion but after working with the pneumatic tool to break the ring free from the groove, everything went well. The biggest chance to mess up was installing the bearing making sure it’s square to the bore before impacting it in. The bearing with the magnet side is obvious so make sure you don’t press that in backwards. Removing the race from the hub was easy with a dremel grind wheel but be careful. A cold chisel right before cutting through will dislodge race from the hub. Then the hub can be cleaned and reused.

yes the rears typically is the hub and bearing sold together.

 

[bdcardinal]

The front uses a cartridge style bearing. You press it out of the knuckle and then press the hub out of the bearing. While the rear uses a unit type hub/bearing assembly.

 

[Trav]

This is the hub for the front.

2015 FORD FOCUS 999cc L3 Turbocharged Wheel Hub | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

These are two different setups, the rears are a unit and the front uses a separate hub and sealed bearing that requires a press or a tool commonly known as a grappler to remove/install it on the car.
At $45 ea for the hubs I would swap them out with the bearings especially in a winter/salt area.

 

[bdcardinal]

Also consider the snap ring, CV6Z-7059-A. They tend to go flying to wherever the 10mm sockets go.

 

[atikovi]

The front bearing costs more than the hub and offers many more choices. I'd be online and the phone figuring which are not made in China. It may not be the ones you think.

 

[LeakySeals]

I went with SKF loaded knuckles for my latest fixer upper. Made things so much easier. Maybe you can find something like that for yours.

 

[ctechbob]

Fronts go something like this:



Might not be the exact procedure, but it will be very similar.

Edit: Most people use a slide hammer to pull the hub out instead of that grappler thing. Either way works, and there's a few tricks you can use to get the race off the hub. The coolest one is sitting the hub back on a socket and heating/spinning it until the race falls off.

 

[LeakySeals]

Fronts go something like this:



Might not be the exact procedure, but it will be very similar.

Grappler Ave. Where DIY street turns into callamechanic drive.

 

[spasm3]

Fronts go something like this:



Might not be the exact procedure, but it will be very similar.

That seemed to work. I find it easier and faster to take the whole knuckle off and use a press. Freeze the bearing in the bottom of the freezer overnight and it seems to go in easier.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I’d get the bearings and do it that way.

 

[Pew]

Thanks for the help. Tomorrow morning I'm going to put my normal set of wheels back on and go for a test drive to make sure it's not the snow tires. If the humming is still present then I'll take the wheels off and start the process of replacing the bearings. I figure if the entire knuckle is easy to take off - which it does thanks to the picture, I'll take off the entire assembly, have my local shop put an OEM + hub to put in, and put the knuckle back on.

@LeakySeals initially rockauto didn't show any knuckle assembly but after some research it looks like all the knuckle parts between the 2.0L N/A are the same as my 1.0L. I wasn't sure at first since I have a 6spd manual but in that case, SKF is the only one that makes the assembly. Any word on their quality? I was initially looking at OEM/Motorcraft, Timken, and Moog for the bearings but since they're all pretty cheap I figure I might as well go OEM.

 

[spasm3]

SKF would probably be top notch as well.

 

[LeakySeals]

When I researched hubs and bearings for different vehicles reviews put Timken and SKF at the top. I put Timken hubs on the Escalade a few years ago. Still quiet and smooth. Too early to tell with the SKF complete knuckles. I put super cheap "Detroit Axle" hubs on the Malibu 6 months ago . I wouldn't put them on a vehicle I planned on keeping long term. Was more of an experiment. But so far, maybe 12k miles, still good.

 

[Pew]

So now it looks like it's down to $40/bearing plus a shop to press the bearings into the knuckle or $140 for a complete SKF knuckle.

It looks like FAG is the manufacture of the OEM one via the OEM Ford Parts picture:

 

[Trav]

Thanks for the help. Tomorrow morning I'm going to put my normal set of wheels back on and go for a test drive to make sure it's not the snow tires. If the humming is still present then I'll take the wheels off and start the process of replacing the bearings. I figure if the entire knuckle is easy to take off - which it does thanks to the picture, I'll take off the entire assembly, have my local shop put an OEM + hub to put in, and put the knuckle back on.

@LeakySeals initially rockauto didn't show any knuckle assembly but after some research it looks like all the knuckle parts between the 2.0L N/A are the same as my 1.0L. I wasn't sure at first since I have a 6spd manual but in that case, SKF is the only one that makes the assembly. Any word on their quality? I was initially looking at OEM/Motorcraft, Timken, and Moog for the bearings but since they're all pretty cheap I figure I might as well go OEM.

SKF and FAG are some of the best in the business, top shelf.

 

[LeakySeals]

I went with the loaded SKF knuckle because of rust. It was so bad I'm not sure the bearing would come off without damage. Or seat probably after. New splash shield new steel. No labor costs. Hopefully your strut bolts will come off

 

[Pew]

So I'm in the process of replacing the knuckle, hub, and bearing with a SFK assembled one but I'm having troubles getting the knuckle off the strut tower. I was able to use a mallet to get the knuckle almost off but there's about an inch left where I just can't get the knuckle any further. Would anybody have any tips or tricks to get enough clearance for the knuckle to slide off? The strut goes in 3K185 of the picture that bdcadinal shared.

 

[KrisZ]

I used a 2lb hammer and it came off no problem. A mallet absorbs too much energy to be effective.
You don't need to even hit hard, just medium taps should be enough.

My Mazda 3 has a very similar looking knuckle and here is where I hit it with a hammer.

 

[LeakySeals]

I ran into something similar. Loosen the strut tower bolts a lot but not completely. That will relieve pressure on the knuckle bolts. Or pull the lower control arm from the knuckle. One or both should work.