Wheel bearings?

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RedExp

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2001 Eddie Bauer expedition
2WD

Long story short... Weekend trip to FL ended up with Expedition in shop and Taking a rental back to GA. So it's not getting looked at until tomorrow

Symptoms:
When driving we got a loud "whomp whomp whomp" sound coming from the right front wheel

We stopped to look, then tried it again. Pulled over and saw smoke and smelled metal on metal burning type smell

While waiting on tow truck we took the wheel off. Found that when i grabbed the lug nut stud, I could push and pull the whole assembly in and out about 1/4". Also right behind the rotor there was a gear/sprocket that the teeth were grinded down.


So my questions are:
Am I right to assume it is the wheel bearings?
If so, are these sealed where I have to replace the whole Hub assembly? Or not sealed and can replace just the bearings?

Also, could anything else have been ruined that would need to be replaced?

Thanks in advance
 
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thenaaks

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It's a whole assembly. Not too terrible (most of the time) to replace. Buy the most expensive part you can afford. You get what you pay for when it comes to bearings.
 
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RedExp

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Awesome, thanks.


So could anything else have been damaged also?


Just asking because I will be dealing over the phone with the shop

(I would be fixing it myself but gotta have the shop do it to drive it back)
 
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stamp11127

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2wd front wheel bearings are tapered rollers and are serviced individually. Hubs will come with just races installed. I'm pretty sure you can swap out the races if the hub doesn't have other problems. Sounds like somebody hasn't been checking them in the past...
If you can choose the bearing manufacturer I always prefer Timken. If your lucky the spindle hasn't been damaged and it is just new bearings & races.
 
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RedExp

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Thanks for the response.

Any idea what price I'm looking at from the shop(Goodyear)?

Was reading it is a 1 hour labor job... Sound right?
 

stamp11127

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Depends on how motivated and honest they are. Expect around 75-95 per hour plus markup on parts. If it is just swapping bearings & races any real mechanic can do them in under 90 minutes taking it easy. They will hit you for whatever the book minimum is though.
 
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RedExp

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.7-.8 hrs is what I have found for bearings/Hub assembly, so round up to an hour.

Ok, well thanks for the answers, now just to see what they say when they call tomorrow.
 

thenaaks

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Whoops, missed the 2wd part! :) everything I've worked on lately has been fwd or 4wd. I honestly can't see how a tapered bearing could get that bad without lots of prior warning. Unless the axles nut somehow loosened.
 
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