So before snow flies up here in wisconsin, I planned on taking care of a few things on my 1996 Xplorer 400. Most of it is normal yearly maintenance such as tranny fluid change along with the counter balance oil and throwing in rear brake pads. My machine is used mostly for plowing snow, making wood and the occasional trail rides in the summer. I noticed this summer that the front wheels are starting to show signs of play so I have to replace the wheel bearings. I change the hub oil every year but this year I really noticed the play in the front hub. Are most of the sets for sale online pretty decent? They all range pretty close in price and I see companies like caltric and all ***** offer sets for roughly the same price. I'm sure the oem ones are spendy, but are the aftermarket ones fine? The hubs themselves have no issue because the AWD works flawlessly on my machine, just that the hub bearings have some play. I would rather take care of it now instead when I'm looking at 10 inches of snow out my front window.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Always had good luck with all *****.

 

A lot of bearings to replace if you replace all 8 of them. Here's another place that's fairly cheap on the bearings and races.https://www.hyperparts.com/wc.dll?ct...olaris~3554506

 

OPT, do you recommend changing all the bearings? The left front bearings are still very tight but the outer hub bearings in the ride side does have some play so I planned on replacing the hub bearings on both sides.

Thanks,
Mike

 

The two hub bearings are the ones that have the most strain on them and wear. The two in the strut if kept lubed last a long time.

 

It's not my intent to hijack this thread, but...
This is just great that this came up. I'm replacing the front CV boots on my 2000 xplorer 400 and was wondering just what the lube is that you're referring to for the inner bearings. I don't believe that I missed the lube callout in the manual; unless of course the type F tranny fluid that lubes the hilliard clutch and the hub bearings lubes the strut bearings as well? Also while I'm on the subject, is it necessary to use OEM clamps on the boots for clearance in the strut housing?

 

Type F was called for in the manuals in the 80's and early 90's until they came out with Demand Drive hub fluid that's actually better.Later it was called Demand Drive Plus. Some people still use type F because of the cheap cost. Actually not that expensive when you figure a quart Of Demand Drive can last for several seasons of hub fluid changes. This fluid lubricates both the hub and strut bearings along with the hilliard. Oem pinch type clamps work the best with oem boots but you can use the slide type clamps usually with no clearance problems. Saw a lot of these come into the shop that people used.If the old clamps are still ok and not damaged you can reuse them as many have done. If you order oem boot kits(which are still the best) they come with grease packets and new clamps.

 

Thanks friend!