Bearings failed before 30k Miles

[CDNRabbit]

Just replaced my front bearings and did an alignment. I owe an apology to the general grabbers. Turns out it wasn't their fault it was Ford's. The truck was delivered pigeon toed and the bearings went bad in under 30k miles.

Has anyone else had bearings fail prematurely on the +22 MY. Seems like bearing issues aren't uncommon on the earlier gen 4.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Just replaced my front bearings as and did an alignment. I owe an apology to the general grabbers. Turns out it wasn't their fault it was Ford's. The truck was delivered pigeon toed and the bearings went bad in under 30k miles.

Has anyone else had bearings fail prematurely on the +22 MY. Seems like bearing issues aren't uncommon on the earlier gen 4.

Front wheel bearing failures seem to be rarely reported on this forum.

Since the vehicle had under 30k miles - were the bearings replaced under the new car warranty? You didn’t list your model year but referenced +22 MY?

 

[Deadman]

25K miles mine was replaced on my 2018.

 

[Deadman]

The ones on my wife's junk 2018 Navigator were both done at 19,000 miles.

 

[29twonine]

Had front left replaced on our '18 around 20k miles I believe.

 

[RacerBX1]

My 2023 front passenger side went bad with 20K miles. Dealership replaced under warranty. Now waiting for the drivers side to go out. So far have 25.5K miles and seems ok.

 

[TheDoug]

Mine also went out before 30k

Quality is job 1 (roll eyes)

 

[CDNRabbit]

@99WhiteC5Coupe work was done under warranty. I have a mid pandemic my22 so glad to report my dealer has been awesome for warranty work.

 

[jasonrgreen]

Last Friday I drove down from the Seattle area to Oregon to pick up my son from college. Noticed a growling noise that got worse and worse the farther I went. Was pretty sure it was the front left bearing. The sound would get louder on right turns on the highway and get much quieter on the left turns. Ended up staying the night in Oregon and was able to get into a small ford dealer on Saturday morning. Sure enough, it was the left front wheel bearing. I have a 2018 Exp Max with only 33,500 miles. Been driving for over 30 years, and never had to replace a bearing before (mostly had Toyotas before). The good news is that my "Transmission not in Park" message that popped up every I shifted into gear or slowed down went away.

 

[CDNRabbit]

I suspect the bearing failure was at in part due to factory alignment issues. I guess I'll know of 30k if they fail again.

 

[BlackBetty]

Mine went out on my 2016 at approximately 36k miles. It was the front driver side.

Ironically, that same one went bad on my 2004 Eddie Bauer Expedition as well about 4 years ago. Guess that lasted much longer obviously. That truck has over 300k miles on it.

 

[Moeman]

Most vehicles are supposed to be slighted toe-in, half degree or so. This is also a standard process in an assembly plant (does not change much with model refreshes, new products, etc). I think chances that toe was so far off that it created a bearing failure are low. I would sooner guess poor part quality.

 

[spmarrow]

Ok y'all, it seems easy enough to change the entire hub assembly however, mine wasn't making any noise. What I do have though is a completely mangled outer bearing. I pulled the wheel off to get a flat tire fixed and several small ball bearings fell out. You could imagine my surprise as I have never seen this before. The inner bearing seems fine but the outer bearing is non-existent. It looks like it is held in with a snap ring that can be easily removed. Has anyone ever actually just removed the outer bearing and replaced it? I know this seems like a shortcut but I am wanting to do this as a temporary fix so I can drive it to the dealership and have it replaced under warranty. I noticed the dust cover was missing too. After looking at the other side (driver's side) the outer bearing looks exactly like a skateboard wheel bearing. I can't imagine Ford using something as cheap as that but I guess I have seen stranger things. I mean, I have never seen ball bearings bouncing out after taking off a wheel either so....

Thanks y'all.

2018 Expedition Limited Max 4WD.