2005 Ford Focus Rear Wheel Bearing replacement. The worst case scenario. 

Not to be a hater, a couple of points here: 1. there IS a ratchet type adjuster on the spreader bar (just under the wheel cylinder) 2.The park brake cable is likely seized in the apply position (notice how far forward the lever is and compressed the return spring is) 3. The innermost seal is shot, and should be replaced 4. The axle nut should be replaced with a new one. (I admit, I have reused them with locktite) 5. As you are torquing the nut in three steps, the drum should be turned CCW 10 times between each step to seat the bearings. 6. Final torque should be 173 ft/lbs. not 90.

Torque spec: 174 ft-lb while turning drum counterclockwise at least 10 turns while tightening. Also, on ABS equipped cars, the magnetic side of the bearing shield goes towards the speed sensor.

The spray paint idea is freaking genius.

Thumbs up for showing parts you even struggled with. These videos be making it look way to easy but when you attempt it yourself it’s a different story

Thanks man, I can't afford a mechanic and ur video saved the day... u r a super hero. God bless u 🙏 Peace.

Two notes: 1) that axle nut should be tourqued to 173 lbs 2) there IS an adjustment for the brake shoes, to let them contract, or push them out. I can even see it in your shot, it's on the right side of the upper sprinkler bracket, just underneath the spring bracket, you'll see two little notched "gears". Stick a flathead screwdriver in between them and ratchet to open them. To close them, put the flathead to the right of the right gear and pry back. :) Hope that helps, great video!

at 21:24 you said," there was no adjustment for these shoes ".....correction ....take a screw driver and re-adjust the self adjuster ( located at the 1oclock position ),(allowing the brake shoe to be squeezed in all the way before reinstalling the drum ,it will make the drum slide right on ...that being said... when your done putting tire back on and the vehicle is on the ground, place car in reverse and pull up on emergency brake handle a few times and it will automatically reset the shoes where they need to be .... no disrespect intended ...just a little info !! good video ,very helpful for those thats never completed this task !! thanks for the video !!

Thanks for this! A lot of these commercial videos from garages and stuff, the video is 8 minutes long and they make it seem like that's all it takes. I've done enough mechanical work to know it's never that easy! Nice to see a realistic video with realistic expectations! Good job buddy 👌🏻

TIP, put the brake drum in a hot oven for 15 minutes and you can even put the bearing in the freezer and in most cases the new bearing will drop straight in :+)

Thanks for your service. It's 3:18am and here I am.

If you want to attempt installing the bearing without a press, put the bearing in the freezer overnight and put the hub in a 250F oven for and hour or so. Makes a HUGE difference. Sometimes they almost slide right in with a block of wood.

I replaced a bearing a few months ago and had the same problem with the race not coming off. I'm an inexperienced wrencher but on my own I figured out to do basically what you suggested. I did end up grinding the old one off. Unfortunately I damaged the spindle with the grinder but was able to sand it smooth enough to get the bearing back over it (using some force). I suspect it might not last long though. It's great to see a video of the job not going as expected - because we all know no job ever gets done without something unexpected happening.

Very informative, however there's a few things as an ASE tech I'd like to add If your spindle looks like the one in the video it'd be a good idea to go ahead and change that out any gouging at all is grounds for replacement especially if you remove the inner seal that keeps the grease from washing out I do not advise spraying any paint into the drum itself If your removing the shoe assy go ahead and spray it all down with brake clean and put a temp grease on the shoe contact points on the back plate to keep everything from seizing, also if your in there anyway and you got an extra 35-45$ laying around might as well do the shoes as well as they look fairly worn in the video Torque everything to spec especially the spindle nut, if its not torqued properly the bearing will fail prematurely, also the Ford service manual states to replace the spindle nuts so don't reuse them they are to be tossed out after loosening if you reuse them they may back off and loosen or if your lucky enough to get it back on without them loosening there's a pretty good chance they won't seat properly so even if you do tighten everything and get it back together your likely gonna have to replace the bearing again in the near future

NOT TOO SHABBY!!!!TOTALLY HELPFUL. THE PAINTING OF THE SHOE PARTS IS INGENIOUS!!!!

I appreciate you taking time to make this sir. I'm having hub problems and this looks like just what I needed!

Thank you for sharing this! It was very easy to understand, here's hoping my hubby can get the bearing fixed in my '07 Focus now.

Thank you for your video. Its going to help me replace mine. Love my little ZX5. Very educational. Didn't miss a step. I highly appreciate the struggle when pulling the "racer" off. Many don't film their struggles. Now I know what the job really consists of when replacing mine. This helps many people. Thank you again.

I have a Mobile Small Engine Repair Service and I take pictures a lot and refer back to them a lot ! I like send them to my customers to show my progress and info about the problem. And you tube has bailed us out with tons of how to videos !

Glad you didn't have to replace the spindle. Recently replaced the rear shoes on mine and besides the drums sticking a little they came off relatively ok. Thanks

Also applies for 2008-2011 models as well. Mechanically they were almost identical to the First Gen Focus.

Great video. Good details. I enjoyed watching. I have a bearing in one of the back wheels in my focus are starting to get noicy

I can see what causes the bearings to fail, they're to close together. That's a design issue. I watched this because a friend has told me about a "squeaking" issue and thinks it's the bearings. Could be if he hadn't already replaced the bearing(s). Good helpful video.

The only helpful video on this I've found. Thanks a lot!

Great video. Excellent camera shots. I appreaciate you posting this.

nice video, i have decide to start doing repairs to my car now, i use to do it my self, now i will go back to it, last week i went to see how much it would cost me for a timing belt to be put on, they want £ 230 + v a t, mine car is a 1999 ford focus 1.8 l x. and i said to my self, their taken the piss, my car has 2 belts, so i will do them my self now, and i will be saving about £ 190. pounds, only have to buy some more tools, but it will be worth it. colin uk.

Good Video, this convinced me to buy a small press for my shop.

I've got the same problem on a 01 ford focus. Thanks for the video.

Thank you for the video bro. Very thorough and informative. I think that the dust covers I failed to put back when doing the rear brakes may have caused the bearings on my focus to get worse. Thank you for sharing!

Hi thanks I enjoyed your video , I have a 2005 fiesta mk6 , which is the same as your focus , I've never done a wheelbearing by myself , thanks again from Tony McCarthy from bedfordshire England 😊👍

Good video. I suggest if you do not have access to a press it is well with the extra money to buy a new drum with the bearing already pressed in. No frustration or chance of damaging bearing trying to pound it in.

Precise educational video. Cool antique floor jack.

thank you so much, this video saved me so much frustration!

Great video my whole wheel broke off from the car now time to have fun to try and get the rest off wish me luck

mine almost fell out by itself... time for replacement one think? and thanks for the vid. was actually bit hard to find this exact kind of change (got a ford KA) this vid is highly underrated

once again, I like your video!!! il tell ya, About 2 years ago, I bought a 03 focus se,dohc zetec vin 3. I think I paid to much but, in ways it has been the best & worse car ever! it has needed every single part replaced but, that is due to the previous owner not doing maintenance! now it has about 210k & I replaced the main & rod bearings due to the rod bearings having excessive wear. so, its needed every part replaced but, it keeps on going!!! I have done more work on this car then any other vehicle I have ever owned! plus I did a lot of upgrading!

This help a lot. Thanks for putting the video together.

Those hub/drum assemblies are pressed on to the spindle, and into the hub. the reason they sell that spindle is, because at factory the bearing is pressed on to the spindle. and the whole assembly is bolted on to the vehicle. and on the backside of the hub there's a tone ring for the ABS. and when the bearing fails it will sometimes damage the tone ring. and then you will have to replace it or your ABS light will come on.

Excellent video Nathan. Very informative and helpful

big copper hammer always works for me on brake drums

Fantastic video, very helpful as I’m about to tackle this very fix. Thank you so much

Great video! My car did the exact same thing! The race stuck to my spindle! But I wasn't as well spoken as you I swore a lot! Great video

Good job! Very well detailed right down to the rubber seal on the spindle.. Thumbs up!

Well, I’m going to try it.

You rock! Now I just need a press... Too many potholes up here in Michigan have destroyed my bearings..

@17:51 he shows the inner seal but his drum is missing the mating 'seal carrier' that mates and seals to this part. It is a small steel ring with a raised lip that would be pressed into the inner hub of the drum after the bearing and snap ring are installed

It's easy to take the spindle assembly off. 4x 13mm headed bolts using normal socket and 10" extension bar. Speed sensor needs to be removed 1x 8mm socket with small extension bar. Once the spindle assembly is off you can remove the old race much more easily by putting it in a vice. No need to take brake shoe assembly off.

90 ft-lb? Are you sure? Please double check your hub nut torque spec. Should it not be 173 ft-lb, while spinning the drum 10 times in the opposite direction as you tighten?

I am pretty sure there is an internal sleeve that is supposed to go in the hub from the back side after installing the retaining clip. It is what rides the the rubber dust seal you pointed out.

Very good video, I was going to just buy the whole assembly because it did not look like it would come out, but definitely going to try this first.

Good job for showing how to press bearing in and out. You need to keep stuff clean, grass and old grease is not good for bearing. I can not believe you didn't wipe snap ring down and not notice the grass and dirt on the nut. REPLACE NUT EVERY TIME IT'S REMOVED, it is a one time use nylock nut.

thank you I really appreciate the video

Those brake shoes are adjustable just have to release the ratchet wheel it’s on the bar that goes across the top under the wheel cylinder

I had the rear wheel bearing go out on my Focus while on vacation in California. I had a tow truck haul me up to the nearest motel. After the tow truck unloaded me I was backing the car into a parking space and the wheel literally fell off. Fortunately there was no damage as I was barely moving. If that wheel would have come off while going down the interstate that truly would have been worst case scenario. The next morning I called the auto parts store and ordered a new drum with the bearing already installed, and a breaker bar with a socket. They delivered it and within a couple hours I was back on the road.

Fist off, thanks for this great vid where you can actually See that damn bearing in hand! 3 vital points that have probably been mentioned to death... torquing that nut to 90ftlbs is bad news becuz its gonna come loose guarenteed, youve heard the procedure of slowly bringing it up to 173ftlbs while rotating the drum counterclockwise as you tighten...secondly, that bearing has a seal on One side and that side Should be on the Inside of the hub..purpose is to keep the bearing grease from leaking out into the brake drum area..Now really, these bearings should have a seal on Both sides becuz, I;ll tell ya this from having to fix these many times: its the Outside part of the race that goes bad and this is usually cuz it Doesnt have a rubber seal...the grease gets out and the outer part of the race runs dry... the inner side was ok on the bearings ive had to replace..this most recent time, ive added heavy duty grease to the outer bearing area and in the gap between the innet and outer races...it wont get into the brake area becuz the rubber seal is on the inner race on most hubs and keeps things safe...there is also a press in piece that goes on the inner part of hub over the race...not talking about the antilock magnetic ring..the peice im mean is a metal sleeve that matses against that rubber ring thats on the bottom end of the spindle..it keeps bearing grease from getting into shoe area

Wow, the number of things wrong here... and this is paid work?

Great video!!! So full of insights! Thanks!!!

Nice floor jack. It is your great-grandfather's? ;- I like that you painted one side like you did. This can definitely ease in reassembling it correctly.

90ft-lbs is not the correct torque spec for the spindle nuts. The bearings will wear out prematurely if not torqued correctly. The proper procedure is to tighten the hub nut to 60 ft-lbs while rotating the drum to ensure the bearing is seated all the way. Then loosen the nut 1/4 turn and then torque to 173ft-lbs or 235 Nm. Also, those spindle nuts are supposed to be replaced each time they are removed.

$35 for the bearings. I bought new drums for $35, new bearings come with them installed. Sorry man, hack job.

The spindle nut is supposed to be torqued in increments to 173 ft lbs while rotating the drum counterclockwise at least 10 revolutions at each step. If you don't do it that way the bearing will fail quickly...

Thank you, that was really helpful!

Ugggghhhh. This is gonna suck! Luckily I am a machinist and have access to all this stuff. Pro tip, next time let the hub sit out in the sun for an hour while the new bearing is in the freezer.

Nice Jack

Just did this last night, I took the spindle off and put it in a vice and used a cold chisel. Popped right off.

How to replace rear wheel bearing on Ford Focus... go to parts store, buy brake drum. Install. New drums for these cars come with new bearings. Cheaper, quicker, easier.

Thank you share clip

My 2005 Ford Focus was stolen Nov 2020 and not found. Miss that reliable vehicle :(

Ah, the old piece of grass on the wheel nut trick! Lol.

And the adjustement of the shoes is tight and the emergency brake cables are done. Springs are finished.

His China vise grips are priceless!!

Very helpful thank you for your help

8.24 Get a Dremel miniwheel :) After that just flathead screwdriwer and a snall hammer to gett it rollin

Very helpful

Excellent video, thank you.

Great video Nathan! Watched the entire video now I'm headed outside to get it done, I'll keep you posted lol.

Best video in this matter Ford Focus Rear brake. Like!

One side has a black “ring” the other side is all silver. Which way do you put the bearing in?

Great job!

Helped me out thank u !

the rubber on spindle is a water seal need new one pressed on

Awesome. Appreciate the video. Thanks!

Very comprehensive, thanks!

Thank u.for the video.big help

great video thankyou

bearing $35 dollars, or new drum for $65 which has new bearing already installed. brake adjustment is little on the tight side. should be able to turn by hand.

Nice job! It helped me.. Thanks..

Drum with bearing all installed 49.99 bearing race was spun and frozen new spindle 38.99 quick and easier

Thanks

This type of brake has a self adjust, via the hand brake and can be manually adjusted also but it looked like the handbrake cable was over adjusted that's why you had trouble getting the drum off. The drum should run a lot easier than it did also you damaged the seal face on the hub but we'll done for having a go

Also there is an adjustment for the shoes it's very important to lubricate it before putting everything back together.

Use pull bearing on shaft to easy pull bearing collar.

Just do one side at a time, no need to take pics when you have a mirrored brake on the other side.

torque spec for this nut is 173 ft lbs

I watched this in preparation for a rear bearing change on my brother's Focus. This was really useful - hopefully, the UK version of the Focus is the same. Thanks for the insight.

Can you share the size or dimension details of the bearing you changed please.?

Great videos. Subbed ! 👍🏻

Thought I had bas bearing but was this: Took my, 5spd manual, 2005 Ford Focus ST into the "shop" because my front passenger wheel was a lil shaky & was making a whirring noise. The shop mechanic came out about 20 mins into repair & told me that a bolt on hub was very loose but all was in good working condition & he tightened it & didn't charge me a dime:) Felt like I dodged a bullet! Now my car rides so firm & even shifts firmer, if that makes sense. That loose bolt made my car shake w/a loud whirring noise & cut out a bit when shifting, esp in 1st or 2nd gears. Just posting in case this helps anyone whom can work on cars & maybe check that before the bearing....Most shops would not have been so honest & took a profit.

Great video. Thanks.

Before you start, wrap the new bearing in paper, then into a zip lock bag and into the frezzer, longer the better over night if you can. Remove the hub bearing and clean the bearing hole and then put it in a bowl of boiling water for a few minutes, hotter the better, get the bearing out ready, get the hub out( bloody hot) dry the hole out lightly oil the hole and bearing outter and then quickly knock in thge bearing, and were done. You can do this the other way round hot bearing in a water proof bag and cool the shaft it is going on, bag of ice cubes, remember everything shinks in the cold lads,

Hello, great video! Couple questions. Is a 2005 and a 2007 the same procedure? Also, There is a semi-loud humming noise coming from my rear passenger side tire. Does that sound like a bearing? Thanks for your time.