I just had my rear bearings replaced on my 03 ford focus se. I was driving it for the first time since i had them replaced and as i was driving my rear pass side wheel came off..hub and all. what could have caused this? my dad did the repair work and im not sure if something was left out or what..could there be something missing? what holds the hub together? i dont know anything really about cars so i need help!! [pray]

it is held on by a rather large (28mm if I remember correctly) nut if it's a drum brake. the bearing is pressed into the drum and the wheel-studs are part of the drum....so it's all held on by that ONE large nut.

the spindle in rotates on is bolted to the trailing arm with four bolts from the bach (shouldn't need removal for a bearing job) and the drum slides over that with the large nut to hold it on

right... and the torque on the nut is pretty high too so...

sorry to heat that though... certainly not fun.

Hub nut is torqued to 173 ft/lbs IIRC and they should have been replaced. Ford says they can be used a couple times but I'd replace anyways. Did the bearing stay on or come off? If the bearing is still on the spindle, he forgot to replace the 25 cent lock ring on that holds the bearing in place.

Sounds like your dad [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)] up

i nearly lost a rear wheel once due to catastrophic bearing failure. but since your dad just replaced it i would bank on him not getting the big center nut tight enough or forgetting the lock ring that goes on the bearing.

i nearly lost a rear wheel once due to catastrophic bearing failure. but since your dad just replaced it i would bank on him not getting the big center nut tight enough or forgetting the lock ring that goes on the bearing.

I almost lost a wheel to that too. Drove pretty far on it, noticed a crazy thumping noise, and took it in to the Les Schwab a mile from my house. They were shocked the wheel was holding its self on. My buddy didn't torque it down to the right spec!

Is there any obvious damage to your car?