On the 14th-gen F-150 the front bearing is a sealed hub cartridge bolted to the knuckle with three bolts from the back side, with the ABS wheel speed sensor built in. That makes it a straightforward job on paper: wheel off, caliper and rotor off, sensor and vacuum line unplugged, three bolts out, hub out. The real work is almost always breaking a rust-bonded hub out of the knuckle bore, which is why a bolt-on slide hammer puller earns its place in the list.
What varies is drivetrain, not engine. 4x4 trucks add a 36 mm axle nut and the IWE vacuum actuator line at the hub; 2WD trucks have neither and the job takes about half the time. The thing people get wrong is not cleaning the knuckle bore. Leave rust scale in there and the new hub sits cocked, which gives you a wheel-speed signal fault or a bearing that howls again within a year.
| Item | Type | |
|---|---|---|
| Floor jack 2.5 ton or larger, lifting front crossmember/frame rail Raises the front of the truck to remove the wheel. | Required | shop |
| Jack stands 3 ton pair, under frame rails Supports the truck while you work under the wheel arch. | Safety | shop |
| Wheel chocks Keeps the truck from rolling with one axle off the ground. | Safety | shop |
| Impact wrench or breaker bar 1/2 in drive Loosens lug nuts, axle nut and the hub retainer bolts. | Required | shop |
| Lug nut socket 21 mm, 1/2 in drive, thin-wall or protective sleeve for alloy wheels All 14th-gen F-150 lug nuts are 21 mm (13/16 in also fits). | Required | shop |
| Axle nut socket 36 mm, 1/2 in drive, 6-point (4x4 only) Removes the front CV axle retaining nut on 4WD trucks. | Required | shop |
| Socket set Metric 10-21 mm, 3/8 and 1/2 in drive Caliper bolts, caliper bracket bolts and brake hose/ABS harness brackets. | Required | shop |
| Hub bolt socket 18 mm 6-point, 1/2 in drive (verify on your truck; some are 21 mm) The three hub retainer bolts thread in from behind the knuckle. | Required | shop |
| Extensions and wobble/swivel adapter 1/2 in drive, 6 in and 10 in plus universal joint Reaches the rear hub bolts past the axle shaft and dust shield. | Required | shop |
| Torque wrench 1/2 in drive, 50-250 ft-lb range Hub bolts, axle nut and lug nuts are all high-torque fasteners. | Required | shop |
| Torque wrench (small) 3/8 in drive, 10-80 ft-lb Caliper guide pin bolts and sensor/bracket hardware. | Recommended | shop |
| Slide hammer with hub puller adapter 5-lug bolt-on hub puller, 1/2-20 studs Pulls a corroded hub flange out of the knuckle without hammer damage. | Recommended | shop |
| Dead blow or brass hammer 2-3 lb Taps the axle shaft back through the hub and frees the rotor. | Recommended | shop |
| Pry bar 12-18 in Separates the hub from the knuckle and holds the rotor while loosening. | Recommended | shop |
| Bungee cord or mechanic's wire Hangs the caliper so the brake hose is not stressed. | Required | shop |
| Trim/hose pick tool Small hook pick set Releases the IWE vacuum line clip and the wheel speed sensor connector tab on 4x4 hubs. | Recommended | shop |
| Wire brush / die grinder with wire wheel Cleans rust from the knuckle bore so the new hub seats flat. | Required | shop |
| Penetrating oil Soak the hub bolts and axle nut the night before; they seize badly with road salt. | Consumables | shop |
| Brake cleaner Non-chlorinated, 2 cans Cleans the rotor, knuckle bore and any grease off the pads. | Consumables | shop |
| Anti-seize compound Nickel or copper based Thin film on the knuckle bore and rotor hub face only — never on bolt threads that have a torque spec. | Consumables | shop |
| Front hub and bearing assembly With integrated ABS sensor; 4WD and 2WD part numbers differ, heavy-payload/Raptor use their own The bearing is not serviceable; the whole cartridge is replaced. | Parts | shop |
| Hub retainer bolts Three per side Ford recommends new bolts; old ones are often rusted and stretched. | Parts | shop |
| Front axle nut New self-locking nut, 4x4 only The staked/locking axle nut should not be reused. | Parts | shop |
| Safety glasses and gloves Rust and wire wheel debris come straight down at your face. | Safety | shop |
| Scan tool Ford-capable, ABS module codes Clears the stored ABS/wheel speed sensor DTC after the repair. | Recommended | shop |
Tool sizes do not change with the 2.7 or 3.5 EcoBoost, 5.0 V8 or PowerBoost. Drivetrain matters instead: 4x4 trucks need a 36 mm axle nut socket and care with the IWE vacuum line, while 2WD trucks have no axle nut at all. Raptor and heavy-payload trucks use a different hub part number and larger brakes, so confirm caliper bracket bolt size on those before starting.
| Wheel lug nuts | 150 ft-lb (204 Nm) |
| Front hub retainer bolts (3) | verify in the service manual |
| Front axle nut (4x4) | verify in the service manual |
| Brake caliper guide pin bolts | verify in the service manual |
| Caliper anchor bracket to knuckle bolts | verify in the service manual |
The 21 mm lug nuts at 150 ft-lb and the 36 mm front axle nut on 4x4 trucks are solid for this generation; the hub retainer bolt head size can be 18 mm or 21 mm depending on build, so check yours before buying a socket and look up the hub bolt, axle nut and caliper torque values in the Ford workshop manual for your exact VIN.
36 mm, 6-point, on 1/2 inch drive for 4x4 trucks. Use a 6-point socket — the nut is soft and rounds off easily with a 12-point.
No. The hub and bearing is a bolt-on cartridge held by three bolts through the back of the knuckle, so no press and no knuckle removal is needed. You only need a puller if corrosion has locked the hub into the knuckle bore.
You probably left the IWE vacuum line off, kinked it, or did not seat the actuator on the back of the hub. The vacuum system pulls the wheel-end clutch apart; a leak leaves the front end grinding or in permanent 2WD.
There's no relearn, but the ABS module usually stores a wheel speed sensor code from being unplugged, so clear it with a scan tool. Then test drive and confirm the ABS, traction control and trailer sway lights are out.