I have a 1997 F250, 4x4, Dana 50 front end, 7.5L Gas. Great truck... but now it seems to hate me.

I decided to change the front brakes; rotors and pads. While I had the whole thing apart, I decided why not change the bearings too.

Took the thing apart, everything went nicely. Changed the rotors, no problems. Bought new bearings (Timken 387A Inner & Timken LM104949 Outer), packed them with super duper grease, inserted the inner bearing in the hub and closed the whole thing up with a brand new grease seal.

Tried installing the hub on the shaft, and it won't slide in completely... it stops about 1.4 inch short. It's REALLY tight after that... I tried coaxing it in with a few taps here & there.... disaster it got so tight, wouldn't go in, and wouldn't come back out!!! I had to pull & yank, finally the grease seal came off, and I was able to pull the hub off... with the bearing still tightly attached to the shaft. I finally got it off with a lot of brutal persuasion, and well... destroyed the bearing in the process... No big deal they are not too expensive.

Pretty much the same deal on the other side. The bearings are identical to the old ones. Even the old ones can barely go on... When I took the whole thing apart, the hubs just slid right off, perfectly smoothly as I expected. Those original bearings that came off nicely, now barely fit, and when I get them on, they are hard to get off...

Whats going on? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. According to Autozone website, they are the right bearings for my truck. AND that's what was there before.

Am I doing anything wrong?

If I decide to buy a bearing from another manufacturer... Which I would gladly do if it save me time & effort... Will I need to change the bearing races in the hubs? That sounds like a major PITA...

HELP Please!!! Anyone figures out my problem, I'll mail you a case of beer!

Thanks,

Martin

 

I'm not familiar with the exact bearing set up but if the bearings are similar in size could it be possible that they are on the wrong ends of the hub.

 

Unfortunately not. They are in the exact same place as the originals, right direction, etc... They just don't fit.

I was thinking since I wrote this post. Was I suppose to heat them up before slipping them on? Doesn't sound like a good idea though, wouldn't that mess the grease up?

Or how about a rapid freeze spray to cool the shaft and make it contract? Sounds like I'm grabbing at straws... I am ;-)