Been working on my brothers 09 2.3 4x2, and have as of today went through two sets of wheel bearings in a few months. It started when we did front brakes and had to replace them for the first time, which was my first experience working with a bearing in rotor set up. I believe we tightened them too much that time around because a few weeks later it failed and welded itself to the spindle. new bearings, knuckle, and roughly a month and a half later we're in the same boat minus the fried spindle.

I'm trying to see where we going wrong in the process; We have been using duralast bearings & seals, packing the bearings by hand with nlgi2 grease, and the second time around (if i recall correctly) I torqued them to 25-30 ft/lbs, backed off a half turn, then retorqued to the same spec.

The duralast bearings we have been using come with races, but all my youtube university research told me that those are not to be used with the ranger, and there are already races in the rotor for the bearing to rest in. Is this where I messed up?
I'm now finding contradicting information stating I need to use a press to shove those races into the rotor.

Also I only recently found a post stating that the correct torque spec & sequence is: Torque to 18 ft/lbs, spin the rotor some to set bearing in place, back off the nut a half turn, then torque to 22-25 in/lbs. can anyone confirm this statements accuracy?

Any advice or tips are appreciated, thank you.

 

When replacing bearing, you need to replace the race as well. Pack the bearing with quality bearing grease. I use the Red bearing grease. Tighten the nut to seat the bearing, give the rotor a few turns.
Than Back if the nut a quarter turn. DON'T RETORQUE THE NUT......It were your going wrong. Spin the rotor again, should spin easier with just a bit of resistance.

 

The inch pounds spec is correct. You are not the first person to mistakenly use foot pounds which will kill the bearings. You can leave the races in the hub/rotor. They should be the same as the ones that came with your bearings. An experienced mechanic can tap the races out of the hub and tap the new ones in. It is generally difficult for DIYers which is why they are already in your hub. Pack the bearings well with wheel bearing grease and add extra in the space between the bearings in the hub. I would also add enough to the dust cap to about half fill it. This will feed the outer bearing over time.

 

Thank you to both of you, I'll be applying this tomorrow when I go in for round three with this truck.