I need to replace the hub assy on my 2003 7.3 PS and need to know what the best one is. Also may need to replace the short shaft and need to know the Motorcraft part number.

 

The best bang for the buck is the Timken assembly. Weather you have ABS or not, get the ABS hub. Just cut off the wire if you don't need it. Do both wheels at the same time, it'll save you a headache later.

As for the half shaft, are you sure you need it? If so, you can get both the Timken hub and the motorcraft shaft at Rock auto.

 

When I bought hubs for my truck, I noticed that 3of the 5 Timken assemblies I looked at had been pressed together at the factory improperly. You can twist the assembly with your hands to feel approximately how hard it is to turn. Look at the stub needle bearings for being crushed at the factory. I found both those conditions.

 

Sparky, do you have any pics of that? Or at least pics of what to look for?

 

Doing my 03 hubs right now, went with Moog because of the seal.

Also might want to replace the esof seal and outer axle tube seal while you are in there.

Additionally check the ujoints and replace them as well.. Believe me you don't want to take it apart again.

rockauto had the moogs for 150 each, deisel oring supplied the seals and orings. Moogs also cam with studs.

Sucky job.

 

I did not think to take pictures, since I was in an auto parts store. I could not believe how many I had to go through to get 2 good ones.

The first thing that I did was twist the hub with my hands to feel the torque needed to turn the bearing. It should resist turning, but there should not be any "shuddering" which would indicate too much hydraulic force applied by the automatic press in the factory.
The other problem with the stub shaft needle bearings was obvious from looking at the bearings. You should be able to push the bearings with your finger around the race. I found one hub that the factory had crushed the needle bearings by applying too much force during assembly. The needles were laying over at an angle from being crushed.
The equipment used at the factory is automatic, but does require periodic calibration.
Larry

 

Ok, thanks for the help. I've done the ball joints before and replaced the hub assy on the left side about 6 years ago. That's the one that is bad, so I know how to do it, but just needed to know what name to get.

 

Timken is the way to go......

 

OK that's what I'll do!

 

I'm running a noisy Timken that was that way out of the box. I replaced both front's 1 year apart having purchased them at the same time so I can't return it now. I would go OEM for "best".

 

I don't think that Ford is making their own bearings. My experience is that there are only a few bearing manufacturers out there and Timken is one of the big boys. SKF is another. I highly recommend steering clear of any Chi Nee made bearings, which are readily available for your trailers at places like TSC and auto parts houses.

 

I took my first bad hub apart and found the races were machined into the hub. The roller bearings were simply pre-loaded with the large nut/threads torqued to some spec. I have some pics in one of my photo albums. The damage to the needle bearings sounds weird - why would a press fit use the needle bearings for that process. It almost sounds like the after market guys use a different procedure for assembling these hubs or they are fabricated differently from the one OEM unit I took apart. Just curious regarding some of these observations.

 

I installed Timken. Didn't want to take a chance with China products already had a wheel fall off 3 years ago with China products.

 

How do you know that the Timken unit bearing you installed wasn't made in China?

Timken currently operates over 26 corporate facilities in China, including 2 distribution centers and 6 manufacturing plants.

I noticed that the cardboard box the Timken unit bearings for Ford Super Duties are shipped in says "Printed in the USA".

Who are these companies fooling? "Designed in the USA." "Packaged in the USA." "Printed in the USA." Oh great, it says USA on it. Must be good.

Timken has operations and markets all over the world, but I would not be so quick to assume that any given part from Timken that is sold in the USA is actually made in the USA. With these unit bearings in particular, it could be Mexico or China... where many other OEM parts are made that eventually find their way into vehicles whose "final assembly" is in the USA.

 

Alot of companies are definitely doing this, and I will say I have used Timken for years with no failure.