2002 f-350 dually 4x4 7.3. replaced hub bearing Assemblies, tight fit.

910 Views 14 Replies 4 Participants Last post by ZMANN, 9 d ago

Nieminen

Discussion Starter · 14 d ago

Title summarizes, I'll provide more details now.

02 Ford f-350, front started making awful clicking noise could feel through the footwell.

On investigation, it was either the hub bearing assembly, or the auto locking 4x4 hub. Decided to replace everything.

Got new hub seals, had them placed by machine shop. To do it they had to undo and replace my u joints. Annoyingly they were replaced with serviceable joints, instead of sealed, but that's beside the point.

The trouble I'm having, is my shafts seem like it might be a smidgen longer than before. When everything is assembled up to the hub bearing assembly, I can no longer turn the output shaft by hand, and the outer hub is tighter, and harder to turn. This is not just a problem with the new assembly, I also put the original assembly on, and it felt exactly the same.

Is it possible that new u-joints caused my shafts to get longer? Are they supposed to be directional or something?

I think if those plastic deals between the output shaft and the hub assembly to keep from metal-on-metal contact were a little thinner it would be fine, but they're the same ones I pulled out originally.

After finally assembling everything, we took it for a spin, the upside is everything sounds and feels much better. The downside is I felt the output shafts and they were very very warm. (Aka hot)

Anywho, what do you guys recommend?

Thanks!

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Hydro

· #2 · 14 d ago

The joints should have nothing todo with changing the shaft length
I would be curious if the seal was pressed in to the correct depth -- may be that is the source of the heat

Why were the axles removed from the truck for a hub bearing ?

Hydro

· #3 · 14 d ago

Here is a vid showing the hub assemble and thrust washers

Nieminen

Discussion Starter · #4 · 14 d ago

Hydro said:
The joints should have nothing todo with changing the shaft length
I would be curious if the seal was pressed in to the correct depth -- may be that is the source of the heat

Why were the axles removed from the truck for a hub bearing ?

Okay that's what I thought.

I pulled the axles out because the hub seals were bad. Made all sorts of noise when turning the axle, and it wiggled a ton.

The seals look like they were placed correctly, but I was dumb and didn't take a before pic.

As I recall, the face of the hub seal was raised above the center of the spindle shaft face by about 1mm. It is the same after the replacement.

I am certain I have the axle shafts fully recessed into the axle, they don't even wiggle backwards.

While I won't discount anything you suggest, I find it hard to believe it's the seal placement, as the bearing hub assembly only contacts semi-directly with the shaft itself, just with that plastic spacer between. the seal should not be capable of touching anything, even if it's not fully set.

That said, when I tried putting the old hub assembly back on, I got the same result, and only the u-joint and the seal had changed... And I've never heard of an offset u-joint. I'll contact the machine shop, after reviewing the video you posted, maybe I can determine if mine is pressed far enough from the video.

Thanks for your help.

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Hydro

· #5 · 14 d ago

Here is another talking about the importance of the seal placement
this may not be your problem at all

Nieminen

Discussion Starter · #6 · 14 d ago

Hydro said:
Here is another talking about the importance of the seal placement
this may not be your problem at all

Well this seems very promising... Gosh I think this tool might be required, but I can't get it for like 2 weeks. But we kinda need the truck for the weekend. This seems all too likely what It is... I bet it's just barely not in all the way, and installing the bearing assembly has pushed it to bind with the backside of that seal like he described.

I guess I'll pull it apart again tonight 😭😭 and see if I can drive the seal back inside the knuckle any further....

Thanks again.

Hydro

· #7 · 14 d ago

Some have used PVC pipe to make a tool -- but you have to know the depth for the seal
the tool has the correct depth stops as part of the machining
there are some on amazon -- but time may work against you

Nieminen

Discussion Starter · #8 · 13 d ago

Hydro said:
Some have used PVC pipe to make a tool -- but you have to know the depth for the seal
the tool has the correct depth stops as part of the machining
there are some on amazon -- but time may work against you

I feel so dumb for not having considered Amazon. They've just never been super helpful for my auto stuff in the past.

Ordered the 6695 tool from there. It was 1/3 the cost of the O'Reilly's tool, and 1/4 the price of the bumper to bumper tool. And 2 day shipping as apposed to 2 weeks or 5 days.

Will try it tomorrow and really really really hope it's because my seal isn't all the way in the knuckle.

Thanks again for the help.

Hydro

· #9 · 13 d ago

The tool is dual purpose -- places the seal on the axle to the correct spot, then pushes the seal into the steering knuckle , also the the correct spot
No matter if you use a bought tool or make one -- the seal must be centered, side to side

JGK

· #10 · 12 d ago

Also, get a BIG hammer. I used my 8 lb. splitting maul, and not gingerly. Maybe it was because I used Dorman seals… they measured to around.030 of interference, which was a bit more than I expected. But that was a few years ago, and ESOF hubs still working flawlessly. But I dread the day I have to R&R them.

Hydro

· #11 · 12 d ago

Coat the inside of the knuckle bore and the outside of the seal with denatured alcohol -- the lube action does not last very long, but the rubber coated seal will slide right in place

use a soaked rag to wipe the surfaces -- then install without delay

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ZMANN

· #12 · 12 d ago

I would not be annoyed at serviceable joints in that location ,, unlike the rest of the truck greaseble is what OEM uses for most of the production years

I think the pre coil dana 60 was more tolerant of the seal install and the DIY tools than the 05 up but regardless if that unitized seal is damaged or pushing on itself in any way it will not spin very easily ( they always feel like there is a little resistance tough anyway) and they don't last long ,,

even with the proper tool I have had to pull them down again and really hit the proper tool harder than I thought I had to get the whole show to spin better
a dead blow or brass hammer is best IMO

Reactions: 1

JGK

· #13 · 12 d ago

Hydro,

In my defense, I was unsupervised…. There are so many little tricks to learn. Thanks

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Nieminen

Discussion Starter · #14 · 10 d ago

Thanks everyone for your help. Ended up ordering this part from Amazon

Bentolin 6695 Axle Shaft Seal Installer Compatible for 1998-2004 F250 F350 F450 F550 Excursion 4X4 Wheel Knuckle Vacuum Oil Seal Tool https://a.co/d/dDUAfIC

And with it's help I was able to whack the seal in just barely further. The outer lip of the tool never did get quite flush with the knuckle unfortunately. But was an even 1mm all the way around. I was doing full swings with a 5 lb sledge and it just wasn't going in any more.

Reassembled everything and was still able to turn the axle freely by hand after assembly, and after the same test drive, the outer shaft was still just as cool as the primary shaft. 4x4 seems to engage and disengage smoothly without issue. There's a tiny squeak when engaged and moving slowly, but I'm 99% sure that's one of the dust seals on the other side of the u-joint. I expect it'll go away in time, but we rarely use 4x4.

I'm sad I had to totally tear it down and reassemble yet again, but glad I'm able to feel confident that we're not going to fry or warp bearings or u-joints on a longer drive. Luckily we were able to do it pretty quickly. The wife and I tacked both sides in about 2 hours total. At the same time I'm still a little concerned about that last 1mm gap from the tool, but it doesn't seem to be an issue... So I'll just keep an eye on it for now.

Thanks again, wouldn't have made it this far without you guys?

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ZMANN

· #15 · 9 d ago

the gap is interesting .. I would have bought the OTC brand tool over that no name .. but like mentioned the pre 05 seem to set itself in the housing with even the diy tools and not be depth dependent like the later years

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