Hey guys i need some guidance on trouble shooting and replacing what i think would be my rear wheel bearings.

I have a 2000 F250 SRW. So i had been getting a bit of vibration lately along with a little hop going about 45-50 mph. I had thought it could be drivel line related so i checked the U-Joints ,carrier etc and everything felt super tight.

I for some odd reason decided to grab the rear driver side wheel at the top of it and shake it back and fourth. The truck was on the ground not suspended. I grabbed the top of the wheel and pulled out and pushed in shaking it real hard.
It sounded like the hub was making contact with the lug nut cover and i could deffently feel a good amount of play when doing this. So i went to the other side (passenger rear) and did the same and got the same results.

My buddy has an 02 with 170k on his so i grabbed his wheels rear wheels and did the same and they had no movement period.

So i know very little about rear ends. I do know they are floater axels in which the axel shaft on the outer end is supported via bearing. This being said i believe that would be ruled out but i could be wrong. Im thinking its the actual hub bearing that is shot.

Any ways to check both the hub bearings and axle shaft bearings would be a blessing. Hate to replace stuff if not needed. Truck has 250k on it I've done 2 or 3 sets of front hubs but never anything with the rear. I tow a lot 15k and up at least once a week for work. Truck is also my dd too. Gets a lot of use and would hate to have something major happen due to my lack of not fixing it the FTE WAY !!!!!

 

Pull the rear drums off and check the bearing. You should jack it up and spin the tire to see if you can here anything. SRW aren't as bad to do as the DRW trucks. Don't mess around, at least check it.

 

If memory serves me right, chet..if he goes that far, might as well replace the bearings and the seal.
OP, maybe that crazy nut needs tightening/replaced. Gotta get special tool for it

 

I'd pull the wheel off, make sure it's on jack stands, and then grab and yank the disc/drum depending on what you have. Watch to see where the movement is.

The bearing shouldn't affect the in and out play since the axle is bolted in. If the axle is moving, I would expect there to be evidence of a leak.

 

I had exactly the same symptoms that you describe. With the rear wheels off I could feel slight movement from the rotor. I replaced the bearings and seals and I can still hear a clunk when I wiggle the tire. The clunk sound comes from the diff. I would suggest getting a proper diagnoses from a driveline and gear shop. (That's what I should've done)
Anyway.....
Their is a great thread on bearing and seal replacement in the superduty forum.

 

Like i mentioned truck was on the ground when i shook it.

Im gonna head to my shop in the morning and get it in the air (on jack stands) and give it another go. I just had the rear in the air 2kmi ago for greasing my ujoints and i checked the wheels then and they felt tight. But i will check for sure tomorrow.


Chris....... Why would taking the wheel off matter ? Just out of curiosity. I was going the check it with the wheel on. Grabbing it while its jacked up and see if it moves. Getting a little more leverage with the tire on. Is the reason for removing the tire so i can see the if its the wheel or axel bearing ?

Timmyboy..... Special nut needs tightening ? Never messed with anything in the rear. Whats the issue here with the crazy nut and special tool ? Enlighten me please sir.

 

The axle nut holds the hub on. If it gets loose it would cause movement. I don't really see how it would get loose though.

OTC 6601 Rear Axle Nut Wrench for Ford:Amazon:Automotive

Their is a procedure to follow when tightening the axle nuts.

 

In most cases the reason it gets looser is due to race or bearing wear. It could also be a bad a locking hub nut but I have never heard of one going bad. I am with Chris as far as removing the wheel. I myself remove the wheel , pull axle and set up a dail indicator and check end play. I don't know specs for thr swr but a drw Dana 80.
Spicer specs are 0.00 to 0.005 rear hub end play.

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ut-socket.html

post #4..click the link

 

Thanks for the feed back y'all.

So today i attempted to lift the trucks rear up off the ground and remove the rear wheels and inspect.

With rain on and off all day and work i was able to get a short window to check it out. So short by time i jacked up the rear and threw jack stands under it it started sprinkling. So i just grabbed the tire and with all 180lb of me i wiggled and shook with all my might. It felt nice and tight on both sides. one side had or what felt like a small very small amount of play. But honestly i couldn't really tell. They both seemed fine but i am going to find some time to pull the wheels off this week once the weather clears up.

So i have a challenge for y'all. If your up for it try the same thing i originally did and see what y'all find. Walk out to your truck while its parked (not on a jack or jack stands. Tires on the ground) grab the top inside of the rear tire and give it a few good pulls as hard as you can to you. Listen to the center cap area of the wheel and also feel for movement.
Then put it on jack stands and do the same thing and see what you find.

Just curious what others might feel. Give it a shot if you have a bit of time and post back with your results.
I will post back once i inspect the rear when i get decent weather to get the tire off.

 

Thanks for posting this... I did the exact test last year with the wheels on the ground and get the same movement and noise/clunking. I also have what I call wheel hop at 45 and 55mph. I"ll try with the wheels off and report back.

Do you have any howling from the rear around the 1800rpm range by chance?

 

Thats exactly what i hear. Clunking in my center cap area and movement along with the hop at the same speeds.

Howling ...... not real sure haven't really noticed but will listen in the morning.

 

Baker, have you found your problem? I took my truck to the shop that did my trans. yesterday. They are a transmission and gear shop. The guy drove it and felt the 'wheel hop' and heard the clunk when shaking the tires and said not to be concerned. Says that some movement is normal. HUH? In all the reading I've done their should be zero movement. I'll find a different shop.

 

Them tapered cup & cone bearings are going to hold them wheels rock solid from bearing movement if in good shape & adjusted properly,if you suspect problem then further disassembly is required.I would look in to the drive line assembly as in slip yoke spline which can cause the Superduty clunk,remember even ujoints with no movement can be dry of grease & close to failure,carrier bearing needs checked,pinion bearing checked for movement.

 

Thank you for that reminder about dry u-joints. Years ago some dry u-joints failed on my '78 F-150. Pole vaulting on the driveline was an unsettling experience on a dirt road. I had "checked" them several months earlier because of some vibration, but did not figure out the problem in time.