Unit Bearings

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Dec 17, 2012 | 05:24 PM

motor-man

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From: Ontario

Unit Bearings

Hey yalll,

2007 f-250 PSD, 4x4.

I have done lots of searching but i need a little conformation here. So when grabbing my front u-joints, there is up and down play that seems a little excessive. Aside from the u-joint itself, what is the culprit of this play? I see what looks to be a bearing on the non-axle side of the u-joint (so going outwards towards the wheel). Is this the wheel bearing? AKA unit bearing?
I just need to confirm this as ford wants a rediculous price for those!

ps i am running 37'' tires and am making some deecent power so i would not be surprised.

Thanks

Dec 17, 2012 | 06:19 PM

EXv10

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From: Mt. Shasta California

They do have some play and probably nothing. I would take the locking hub (not to be confused with the sealed wheel hub bearing) apart and clean it up and lube it and remove the unit so you can check your needle bearings on the stub axle (going into the wheel area). You can lube the big wheel bearing rollers (sealed) throught the abs hole (if you have one) also.

Dec 17, 2012 | 06:37 PM

dualwheels66

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My first guess would be the u joint but since your running 37 inch tires, wheel bearings would wear out faster. When I have the time, I am going to convert to manual hubs with the kit from Dynatrac. I hate these unit bearings!

Dec 17, 2012 | 10:39 PM

EXv10

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From: Mt. Shasta California

U-joint movement up and down would be obvious. He needs to take the locking hubs out to service them, inspect the needle bearings, stub shaft, and go from there.

Dec 18, 2012 | 07:18 PM

motor-man

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From: Ontario

Yah maybe i should take apart one side and have a look. I was just wondering if the bearing i see is in fact the unit bearing. Because upon wiggling the u-joint you can clearly see the sloppy bearing. Idealy i dont want the truck down therefore i would have to order the bearings before i dig into to, reason why i ask.

Where is the cheapest place to purchase a quality unit?

Dec 18, 2012 | 10:39 PM

EXv10

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From: Mt. Shasta California

Does the wheel wiggle at 6 and 12 o'clock? You need to take a look, etc.

Dec 19, 2012 | 05:25 PM

dualwheels66

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Check out this videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMmn6fL3fto
Turn up the volume and you can hear how bad that unit bearing is. Also if you put your hands at 12 and 6 o'clock, try to wiggle the tire in and out. This test is done for ball joints also but you can feel if it has a bad unit bearing, it feels crunchy. If it is the ball joints it will just feel loose and you can usually see them move.