Wesley Boyd

Ok so recently I've had to replace the rear passenger side wheel bearing in my truck twice. Both times it has completely failed and I'm not sure why. I was driving my 97 f-150 and I heard a loud poping sound coming from the rear end. Then lots of smoke and diff oil started falling out of the rear passenger side axel. Upon inspection the bearing was destroyed. I didn't think anything of it replaced it. Well while pulling out of the garage it made the same loud poping and grinding sound as it did before. I'm at a comple loss as to what to do now.



This was the bearing after I pulled it out.

02_Black_On_White

Did the axle shaft splines look okay? Is the shaft grooved from a bad bearing not sure just throwing out suggestions in the mean time

Wesley Boyd

I did do a inspection of the axel. The splines and everything looked like it was in good shape. I even inspected the gears in the differential and they all looked good. I didn't see any grooves or damage from the bearing. I'm almost considering doing a whole rear end swap. This has been an ongoing issue and I can't seem to figure it out.

02_Black_On_White

That's very odd. Do you have off set wheels? I know my wheels eat bearings and seals but nothing like that...

River1

Thinking the same with off set of wheels. Side swipe a curb in a turn or maybe somebody hit a wheel in a parking lot or something. The obvious problems are usually just that, obvious.

Is the truck 4 wheel or have a LS? Stock tires? Is it lifted

charliedyal

What brand bearings did you use? I run only Timken or Motorcraft. There is room in the housing to move the bearings in/out a little to hit a fresh patch of bearing surface on the axle shaft. It doesn't take much wear on the shaft to destroy bearings. I recently rebuilt my rear end & decided to replace both axle shafts as well as the bearings. Any pitting or grooves will cause premature failure. Also, are you using the appropriate bearing/seal driver to install the new bearings? It has to hit the outer edge of the bearing as to not damage the rollers.

Wesley Boyd

The truck is stock ride height. 4x4 and I'm not sure if the tires are offset. I used dura last from autozone. I've just about thrown in the towel and I'm getting it towed to a shop.

Wesley Boyd

And yes I actually picked up a bearing puller and seater kit that I assume was right for it. I'm no expert but I know my way around the truck. But I'm about 90 percent sure I seat the bearing right. I've done bearings before but never had this problem before