Is there a difference between the "needle bearings" for a 4X4 (as mentioned in my service manual and the normal front "bearings" in the front hub assembly?

I am confused???

Are the hub bearings in my 2003 4X4 Excursion sealed or do they need to be re-packed? What are the "needle bearings" my manual states need to be done every 30,000 miles (which I have not done).

I now have 101,000 miles and what do I need to do (if anything) for the front hubs, bearings or needle bearings???

Thanks...

Jeff,

The OEM bearings are sealed needle bearing units that according to FMC are greased for the life of the unit and designed to be replaced when they fail. That being said there is a write up on how to re-grease the OEM needle bearings.
http://guzzle.rbmicro.com/nblube.html

Also another option is to replace the OEM sealed units with the Dynatrac "Free Spin" kit that use re-greaseable "Timken" bearings.
www.dynatrac.com/products_freespin_ford.html

The lube procedure seems directed at vehicles with ESOF. Would manual hub trucks need/use the same procedure? Do the dreaded unit bearing failures happen mainly to ESOF equipped trucks?

Kepler4 said:

The lube procedure seems directed at vehicles with ESOF. Would manual hub trucks need/use the same procedure? Do the dreaded unit bearing failures happen mainly to ESOF equipped trucks?

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The sealed needle bearings and axle assembly are the same on Manual and Automatic hubs. It is also a good idea to periodically remove, clean, inspect the seals and re-grease the Automatic hubs as they are more prone to problems from dirt contamination than the manual hubs are.

Thank you!

I've heard of this issue and Dynatrac makes it seem like it happens with regularity. I've not seen one post on any board which I've frequented in the past 2 1/2 years where this has happened to a Super Duty. Is their kit a high-dollar cure for a rare issue?

Kepler4 said:

Thank you!

I've heard of this issue and Dynatrac makes it seem like it happens with regularity. I've not seen one post on any board which I've frequented in the past 2 1/2 years where this has happened to a Super Duty. Is their kit a high-dollar cure for a rare issue?

Click to expand...

Actually front wheel bearing failure is not that rarre, there are several posts in the SD forum over at the other site on this alone. When they go out, anywhere from 50K-150K miles they have to be replaced as an assembly, its about $550 per side for parts plus labor. Last time i looked the Dynatrac kit was $1400 IIRC.

The factory front wheel bearings tend to fail quicker if you are in bad weather alot, off road alot or have a lot of weight on your truck all the time. The Dynatrac kits are bullet proof, as Dynatrac has always specialized in building extremely heavy duty axles and components for the off road crowd.