I have been doing some work on my ranger lately and it seems like its one thing after another. First I had to redo the rear breaks due to a failed break cylinder. Then I had to replace the rear differential gasket and oil. Then someone stole my lugs on one of my rear wheels, and that damaged the wheel and one of the wheel studs. Now, after all this the last few months, I'm pretty sure the wheel incident fucked up my rear wheel bearings. So I put it up on jacks and started to pull apart the diver side rear breaks and wheel assembly (it was the side that was making the most noise). When I rotate the rotor by hand it makes an obvious scraping noise, so I'm fairly certain this is the culprit. The problem is, my Haynes manual doesn't talk about the rear bearings or axle at all. Says if your going to do anything to it, you should have a dealer do it. Is this really the case? I am a fairly smart guy, and am a submarine mechanic, so I feel like I should be able to tackle this job with a little help. I browsed though some YouTube videos to try to get some info, but it appears as though my wheel assembly is different than the models shown. I have a 2004, 4.0, 4x4. Any help you guys can give would be great. I already pulled apart the rear driver side, but I am taking a break to get some homework done. Again, if anyone can shed some light on a good reference for the work or info that would be great.

 

Does it make the noise without the caliper in place or the Brake Pads removed ?

 

The noise is coming from the rear only, which has drum breaks. I have the rear divers side break assembly completely removed and the noise is still prevalent when I rotate the rear axle by hand. I also need to replace one of the wheel studs on that side as well, so any info on that would be great too.

 

B-R-A-K-E-S are how they are spelled

sounds like the wheel bearing is pooched , not a simple job to replace

you need a hydraulic press and some gauges to properly set the new bearing on the axle shaft ( end play )

 

Don't need a hydraulic press. On a Ranger the bearing is pressed into the axle housing, not on the axle shaft.

You will need a seal puller, a slide hammer and the proper tools for reinstalling the bearing and seal. Should take between 30 minutes and 2 hours to do the job depending on the person doing the job.

Here's a video on youtube on how to do the job.

 

I appreciate all the help, and I apologize for constantly saying breaks and not the proper brakes. So I found the above video on YouTube and I guess they changed the style of axle because I can't get access to the bearing from the outside as in the video. The outside of my axle inside the brake assembly is a solid piece. So I'm assuming this isn't a at home job. Any idea what it would cost at a shop? Is there anything I can do to reduce cost by doing part of it at home or is it just better to get it professionally done?

 

the part you were looking at is the bearing/drum brake retention plate

the inside the differential c-clip, is the retention clip to hold the spider gear in place

the wheel bearings are hydraulic pressed on