1999 F150 4x4 with 172,000 miles

I used a coupon the other day at my local dealership for an oil change and mulit-point inspection. My ABS light has beeen intermittently on since an accident just over a year ago. The body shop and my mechanic went through the entire ABS system and found nothing. The service manager said he was told my light was coming on because the front wheel bearings are bad. I'm not sure how that was checked while on the drive-on style lift, which I was able to see the entire time it was worked on.

The light seems to come on in dry conditions. If it is raining or wet roads, it does not come on and the pedal occasionally pulsates like the ABS is kicking on under normal braking. The wheel bearings have never been replaced and I'm guessing it's not a simple DIY fix with the 4x4 components.

The service manager said there are sensors for the bearings to trip that light, but it doesn't make sense to me. Does anyone know if this is even possible?

Thanks in advance!

 

yep the dealership is right...the way it was explained to me... front ABS sensor is in between or near the bearings and after time the grease from the bearings & the seals fails and allows grease/grime to get to the abs sensor...hence, not letting it sense correctly, which trips the lite.

usually if the seals are weak enough to let ...what-ever... pass to the sensor...odds are very good the bearing it self has been compromised & should be replaced. Jump on You Tube...there is couple of nice videos of the process.

 

i just did it on my 02, i went with some i got on ebay, $100.00 for both compaired to 130.00 a piece for autozone ones. they was called callahan. they seem to be pretty good quality, as good as auto zone i am sure. they may not be as good as timkin but they also are not 200.00 A piece either. there are differentlug stud sizes for these trucks. I think for 01-03 they are m14 studs,

 

Thanks, I'll check all that out.

 

I think I've seen on 2wd trucks where guys just clean the sensors. Not sure how bearings on a 4wd system works, but is there a way to check the bearings progressively like on a 2wd since a 4wd system is all one piece?

 

Both the body shop and mechanic shop have cleaned the sensors so imagine the bearings are bad. I found the videos on YouTube and looks very doable for me (other than the fact I will be using a breaker bar since I have no impact wrench). It seems the big hub nut is 36mm. Does that sound correct?

I found pairs of the Timken brand on eBay for $315 with free shipping, but I also found these that seem more desirable on the wallet...anyone have experience with this brand and parts store???

http://www.1aauto.com/1A/wheel-beari...72/433573/1999

I don't want to put poor quality parts on but this place says they warranty them for 2 years.

Thanks again!

 

Don't know if i'm misunderstanding you but on a 4x4 the front bearings are in a pak housing.
Take off the wheel, the disc, the calipers and their mounts.
The pak is held in with 4 bolts from the 'back' side.
Replace the pak.
They usually comes with new sensors.
Good luck.

 

The videos I've seen on YouTube are of a 2000 & 2003 4x4. Both had three bolts on the back and one large nut on the outside in the center that both video posters removed. I haven't torn mine down yet, so I can't say for certain. I'll double check so thanks for pointing that out.

 

So, on my '99 there were 3 bolts on the back and the large hub nut on the outside. I was told 1 3/8" or 35mm socket to remove the large nut. My local shop only had the 35mm socket and it worked great. I went with the made in China stuff from 1A Auto since they offer a 2 yr warranty and it was about $130 for both. Wow, my old bearings must've been pretty bad. Feels like I'm driving a new truck! Only bad news is the ABS light is still on. I guess I'll be tracing the harnesses after making sure all the connection are clean...

 

As my last follow up on this issue...I took my truck to my local mechanic and he found a cut in the rear speed sensor wire that was nearly all the way through. It looks like it began almost 5 years ago when I had an ARE fiberglass top installed. He said it looked like it started from someone probing around to find the wires for the high mount brake light and interior dome light on the cap.