Ellison Brown III
Full Access Members
I have an ‘04 Eddie Bauer and ‘16 ELT. Both trucks had the front left bearing fail. The Eddie Bauer was driven on for a LONG time with the noise (thought it was the tire) without issue. So your trip should be fine. I’d get it done as soon as you can after the trip. I happened to be swapping out the OEM wheels from the ‘16 to the ‘04 (got the F-150 20in OEM’s for the ‘16) when I noticed the front wheel play/ wobble after getting it off the ground. Picked up the part, and replaced it before mounting the new take-off’s.Our front left wheel bearing had been going out since this summer. At first I thought it was just tire noise, but it didn't go away when we swapped the snow tires on. Got it into the dealer after Christmas and they're replacing the bearing Tuesday.
Over Christmas we did a 600mile roadtrip, I was kind of nervous, but we made it. The noise at 80mph is barely noticeable, it was the noisiest around 40mph.
We have an extended warranty and 42k miles, but advisor said it will be covered under powertrain warranty.
I was tempted to just swap it out myself, but since it will still be covered and save me a few hundred bucks I guess we'll just waste yet another day going back and forth to the dealer.
good luck!