The front bearings are SKF. Are you guys gunna make me pull those and put in Timkens?

 

Craigslist ad coming soon:

"2002 Ford F250 Lariat - Parting out my 2002 F-250 with the legendary 7.3L diesel engine, many parts are in like new condition......"

 

I should have worded this better "front differential housing outer bearing" because the way I worded it could be construed as a hub bearing. I say that because if it were to have a vibration by the time that vibration made it way all the way to the hub and then wheel it would be a true resonating vibration from the front diff housing all the way to the wheel.

I would hold off on replacing hub bearings for now. And on the subject of Timken I have had one of them go bad after only 30-35k before too. So Timken is no guarantee but in most cases better than most. Have you ever changed the left front u joint ? If not inspect it very closely and maybe try a pry bar on it with the wheel off the ground and the front diff locked. Because what I think is a so so u joint and a front differential housing outer bearing with a growl might cause a resonating vibration. But if you dig into that deep I would say install a Timkens hub bearing.

 

Is this the large seal that goes on the back side of the stub axle, that also requires a special installation tool?

 

I do not think that is safe...especially on Superduties. Remember the whole under inflation situation between Firestone and Ford with the Explorer? It is even more applicable in this case due to increased weight/forces. You would take your truck, X or F2-350, in for service and get it back with the tires inflated to about 40-45 PSI. Even empty we weigh a lot more than them and exert exponentially more force on the sidewalls of any tire, especially when cornering due to extra weight and height creating more lateral force. Tires will roll off a rim when under inflated....especially when taking evasive action. Being loaded only makes that worse. I know we have more plies, etc.

Like Tugly said, that level of inflation puts the load rating of the tire too low for safety even when unloaded....the load rating has a PSI attached to it for a reason.

I found out the hard way when going by Ford/Firestone specs on the 99 X 7.3. We scrambled to find a replacement tire for the fleet. We found that the same thing happens to all brands when under inflated....Goodyear, Pirelli, BFG..... Michelin was the only brand that stood a chance and it would still happen to them, just 20k later....still not safe.

The Steeltex was not a bad tire. The sidewalls just could not dissipate the additional heat generated due to friction from sidewall flex from being under inflated and thus failed.

The reason Ford/Firestone issued the lower inflation suggestion: to enhance the comfort level of the ride... I would love to have a SD that rides like a Mercedes...I don't think it is going to happen.

Mid 70's psi in the front and low 60's in the rear, DRW, except when towing/loaded does jar your teeth. However, it does stay within the load rating/requirements of the tire/vehicle.

Tire wear also suffers greatly on the edges up front when under inflated..

Once tires are inflated properly, a small amount of negative camber can help with this if the alignment tech knows his stuff...

 

Hey, you're not calling me on anything, it's my tire guy you're calling.

Besides, maybe you're right, I've only been getting about 60,000 miles out of a set of tires.

 

Rich, your ball joint testing procedure is the only one I know, and I'm not sure I'd trust it on joints made for an 8000lb truck. It may be that the joints are OK, but the camber was inadvertently adjusted out of spec by the guy who did the work.

NP on the title. I'm not a big fan of alliteration, but I do love me the occasional arcane reference. :-)

Mark

 

New intel!

Cracker 73 and I had a long chat about Stinky's nose and what's in it. Exciting, no? From this conversation, my immediate plan is to puff up the tires like I mentioned before, then go to the locations where the vibrations on my daily drive took place.

Why do I say this? While driving in Stingy, the wonderbrid (Prius - I have my flak jacket on, so fire away), I noticed the parts of the road where I felt vibration in the front have "truck ruts" in the asphalt. The light was right today, so I spotted many of these for the first time - what can I say? For the uninitiated, this is when semis beat the road down from weight and actual ruts form in the pavement. Vibration/noise in a rut backs up my theory of under-inflation, because the outer edges of the tires ride harder on the pavement at this point. If more PSI clears Stinky's sinuses, then I can revisit my shocks - I've been told by many that I really should have gone Bielstene (or however you spell it - too lazy to look it up right now). This may rid me of the cupping that takes place over time.

Once this phase of misery is resolved, I'll start a new thread on engine vibration (nothing to do with tires). I just need to come up with a title that doesn't show how inept I am at Shakespeare.

 

You missed part of it: "Will trade for stock L'99-E'03 F450 with the legendary..." yadda yadda yadda.

 

FWIW when empty I run 55 all around and I do get some cupping at the front on Bridgestone Revo IIs. Benefit is when you hit the brakes and plant the nose for a hard turn it grips like your gonna break a balljoint. Any load and it's back up to 70 front and 80 rear. About 25k on the tires now and prolly 60% done.

But to address cupping (I don't care I just rotate) start with the chalk test, then go from there.

 

I see that's with a 4X4. My front tires get hips at anything less than 65 PSI, and I never really liked the looks of them at 65. Maybe I need to put my *** on a diet.

 

Rich,

Just bring your truck to Cary's (OBSWiz) and you two put on a 2012 suspension on your rig.......

 

But my option is cheaper. I know this answer doesn't fall in line with my usual Buck$Zooka blasting bravado, but I gotta ween myself sooner or later.

 

I would love to put that setup on my Excusrion, unfortunately it costs about the same as a used car or a college semester😎

 

I've already put Clay's son through college, and I think he's too young to be potty trained.