Front and rear wheel bearings?

[Iceman8.6]

The car is a 1997 Thunderbird / 4.6l-4R70W/ all stock, no mods.

Bought the car with 60,000 miles and it now has 320,000 miles..

Knew the original owner so I'm 99% positive the front wheel bearings/ rear axle bearings are factory original. Should I swap them all out for preventative maintenance?

 

[theterminator93]

If the bearings aren't growling or showing other signs of wear (play/slop or hubs rusted over) I'd probably just leave them alone.

 

[KevinVarnes]

I agree with terminator. No point in fixing something that isn't broken. You can always jack each corner up and feel for play in the bearing, but in my experience the sealed bearings on cars of today start making noise well before you can feel any play in them.

The front wheel bearings are dead simple to replace if you have the right socket size and torque wrench. The rears are less fun without proper tools, but still completely doable.

 

[Kidd-7]

That mileage is crazy impressive for original bearings. I replaced mine near 100k.