I finally got around to starting the brake job I've been meaning to do on my '97 F-250 crew cab. I've had old rusty brake lines fail on 3 older vehicles and I don't intend to let it happen a 4th time. So in addition to checking out the brakes of unknown age I'm also going to be replacing all of the steel hydraulic lines and the sticking e.brake cable.

But I also have a squeaking from the rear end that was getting worse, so I pulled the rear hubs off to look at the rear wheel bearings. They look good, but with over 180K miles on them do people think it would be worth replacing them? Or should I just repack them and put it back together?

 

http://www.timken.com/en-us/products...ments/6347.pdf

Bearings running in oil usually don't fail and if they do, you'll know it pretty easy! Check this document out. It gives some good info on failures, how they happen and signs of imminent failure.

The squeak was probably either a u-joint or brake related.

 

http://www.timken.com/EN-US/Knowledg...ence-Guide.pdf

The long version.

 

I haven't had time to check out the link yet, but yeah, I was thinking/hoping it was brakes. The left rear brake looked really good, but the right rear had one shoe with the lining broken into several pieces. All but one were still attached to the shoe, so that could be my issue, but I'm not sure. If the squeak is still there I'll go through the U-joints (I'll also check them over and see if it looks/feels like anything needs replacing).

I'm more wondering if the bearings should be replaced as a preventative measure with 180K on them. Bearings do fatigue even with good lubrication and I'm not sure how obvious that sort of wear is. But I'm thinking I probably will put the original bearings back in unless someone recommends differently (and I will look over the link you posted when I get a chance)

 

The big taper rollers (this is the full floater, right?) should be a lifetime unit. Treat them the same as any other TR brg. If they're blue or scored, then replace them and the races. If they show signs of wear (which they will @180K) but look fairly decent, then it seems a waste to replace them. Be careful with the seals. They're mighty expensive. Buy the tool and adjust your bearings by the book. Also torque the axle hub correctly too.

 

Agreed. Not need to replace them unless they have something visibly wrong with them

 

My Ford service manual says to always replace the seals any time the hub is removed, so I was planning to do that.

And yes, I bought the correct tool for the spindle nut and plan to follow the adjustment procedure from the service manual.

You mention the axle hub (I assume you're talking about the 8 bolts that hold the axle flange to the hub). I remember reading once that those bolts should be replaced any time they are removed. I think that was on a Dana 60. I haven't seen that advice in the Ford service manual for the 10.25" full-float. Is it OK to reuse those bolts?

 

just went through this on my own 10.25" full-float ... following the haynes manual. they don't say anything about replacing the axle flange bolts, but they do state that threadlocker should be used.

 

No need to replace axle bolts. That was a D60/70 thing.
But if you are making enough power with a locker of some sort, I recommend doing away with the bolts and going with Studs

Just a FYI, the FORD seals are about $140 EACh

If not using the Ford seal, use the Scotseal. These axle are know to eat up seals. I am going thru my axle a second time in 10k because of an axle seal

 

Scotseal ran me about $70 from NAPA (ea). Not sure how a stud is better than a bolt if they're the same grade. The book says to torque the wheel bolts first and then the axle ones. Don't know how this affects things, but that's what they say.

 

Thanks. I've got a stock 460 and the pretty worn out factory limited slip. I don't use the big block power very much, so I think I'll stick with the bolts

I ordered the Scotseals from NAPA yesterday. I'm thinking they were around $60, but I don't recall exactly. I'll be picking them up tonight.

I'm assuming that when the axle seal goes you know because it leaks gear lube into the brake drum which then runs out the back of the drum. Is that what I ought to be looking for over the next several months/years?

I could possibly imagine that the hub could distort under the loading of torquing down the wheel and/or the axle bolts and that they could be concerned about that. Doesn't seem real likely given how beefy the hub is, but you never know. Or maybe it's just that it's easier to torque the axle bolts if you've got a big tire to grab to keep the hub from turning instead of having to hold the much smaller hub. That's maybe more likely. Either way, I haven't got to the reassembly part of the Ford service manual yet. I'll follow what it says when I get to that point.

 

What axle seal is that expensive? They are about $6 on Rockauto.

 

Not for a REAR scotseal design

 

...not for a full-floating rear end. their cheap one is 34.00 ... motorcraft is 66.00.

when my seal started leaking i only discovered it during a routine brake check. it was just starting at that point.

6 months later when i finally got around to doing it, there was lube all over the place but none ever showed out the backside of the drum.

 

So it sounds like I'll need to take the drum off to know if/when it's leaking.