Hi,

I'm getting through rear wheel bearings a bit quickly!! The last one has lasted just 3 months. I have replaced the drums as well as the bearing last time and was wondering if it is worth replacing the stub axel?

This time the bearing has gone it has no play in it but on closer inspection it has spat out all the grease! also it comes off the stub axel really easy!

Its driving me mad now!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks in advance,

Chad

Hey mate, mileage has your focus done?

I assume you are using the grease that came with the bearings and worked (rubbed) the grease in to the bearings befoer you fit them.

Also what brand of bearings are you using?

unless i'm mistaken i thought the wheel bearings were sealed units on the rear end, disc or hub. are your rear bearings sealed units ? if they are sealed units,then if you look at the bearing shields one will be metal, the other will have a very small 'o' ring built into the shield. now the shield with the rubber 'o' ring must be installed towards the inner arch of the car because it is sealed from water/dust etc. the purely metal shield should be fitted on the inside of your hub/disc because it is protected by the dust cover on the hub/disc. if you fit them the wrong way round then the bearing will be washed out by water.

with regards the axle you need a small amount of clearance between the axle o/d (outside diameter) and the bearing inner race i/d (internal diameter). as you cannot heat the bearing to fit it as it will boil the grease out then you must have a clearance fit, i would expect no more than 0.005", if you have a micrometer and bore gauge then measure it up. visually on the axle if you see no sign of the inner race spinning ie blueing of the axle metal or wear/scoring i would say its ok however it is imperative that you torque the hub/disc nut up correctly to keep the inner race secure. also if you rock the wheel and get play with a new bearing however small then the axle could be worn and need replacing.

I need to replace a rear wheel bearing again...I have always had this done in the local mot garage as I dont have any way of pressing in / out the bearings. So I dont know what brand has been used. I did get one replaced under warranty without an invoice so fair play....

Dose anyone have any thoughts reguarding which brand of wheel bearings to use and which not to use?

Are there such a thing as heavy duty wheel bearings available?

I tend to stick with brands like SKF, !Removed! and stay away from the unbranded (chinese probably)

When you replace the bearing you are replacing the inner race as well I take it don't take offence but I know plenty off people who have done this ie just put the bearing in the old race .

cheers Stef I remember that brand now. I tend never to use unbranded stuff and stick to brands I fitted when I worked in a garage and knowen to me when I worked in a commercial motor factors all thoes moons ago.....

No offence taken Steads, some people are just not in the know lol

Are the wheel bearings a weak point on the Mk1 focus?

Wonder If I bought new drums and bearing if somewhere like ATS would press them in for me for couple of crisp tenners?

Wouldn't say they are a weak point my son owns a mrk 1 we replaced almost everything 3 years ago when we bought it as a non runner and apart from the tps going and the odd tyre nothing has been replaced good solid car in my opinion is there an underlying problem like bushes that is putting to much strain on the bearings shouldn't be going through them at that rate on my own cars I,ve replaced less than a handfull over the years done plenty as foriegners and again non have gone so I would be looking for another cause for early failure .

I agree mine has done almost 179,000 miles and yes I have replaced a lot but only let me down twice batteling on through bad winters doing 80 miles a day..... replaced all the road springs, tie bars, all wheel bearings, ignition coil twice, leads, altonator, cat, front pipe, clutch master cylinder, speed sensor, front wish bones, front calipers, disks, drums, pads & shoes....

first time it broke down was an ignition coil failure (goosed the cat......didnt change it for years after tho)

second time was the alternator .....

only other thing I can think of would be worn rear wishbone bushes but I would have thought this would cause excessive wear on the rear tyeres as well. Not noticed anything so far...

cheers Stef I remember that brand now. I tend never to use unbranded stuff and stick to brands I fitted when I worked in a garage and knowen to me when I worked in a commercial motor factors all thoes moons ago.....

No offence taken Steads, some people are just not in the know lol

Are the wheel bearings a weak point on the Mk1 focus?

Wonder If I bought new drums and bearing if somewhere like ATS would press them in for me for couple of crisp tenners?

There was issues with the real wheel bearings due to water ingress. The later parts had a rubber seal fitted to the rear of the stub axle.

If you are struggling for access to a press and happen to be near fife, I will do them no problems on my 20 tonne press for the price of a pint. I have done many mk1 focus bearings now.

Cheers Stef :)

That's really good of you mate, will pm soon :D

Hello, 

did you find out what was the cause of this problem was ??? As I seem to have the same problem, but I have replaced the drums, bearings and stub axels.. All known and decent brands, any advice would be good :) 

 

scott