Thanks Orich! does anyone have the specs on torque? I have an old manual and will see if I can find any details. appreciate the chime in! =Shawn

 

Found this on King 4x4 site... Good info? Other tips?

 

Best info I have ever seen, and I have been into mine lots of times over the years. Thanks very much amigo, I will move this to my Ford 4x4 file for future reference. Just had my truck's 3500 lb Dana 44 HD front apart at the hub/spindle, and found that the wheel bearing lock nuts had backed off a wee bit. Once apart, found that the spindle locking washer (the one with all the little holes all the way around), had the locking 'tit' rounded off. Of course, no new ones in my parts boxes, so had to weld up the 'tit' and than grind/file it square edged again. Its only a temp fix, until my new ones arrive from King 4x4 in Montana. Bought 4, so will have plenty of spares. With all the other hoarding going on these days, I figure I'd better start 'Hoarding' some old Ford 4x4 parts..

Baja

 

Right on Baja! I think his step #3 needs to be looked at for a lower torque. I have a note that says torque to the inner nut to 25 to 35 ft-lbs but his other instructions really help. I might send Dan a note and ask him. The other tips/ steps are solid. but maybe I didn't torque that inner nut enough before and maybe that is why it spun the tit off. I'm going to dig deep and see what I find...

 

Yes, great write up. But I wonder about that second inner adjusting nut torque without backing off some. How do you achieve a free-play of .001" to .010" (standard in the industry for almost any tapered roller bearing setup) by torquing to 80lbs?
The first torquing then backing off is to set the races and squeeze out excess grease in order to get a correct torque and final free-play reading, but the second one usually ends with backing off some set amount. Most books specify backing off 1/4 turn before doing the lockdown. But I'm more familiar with the fronts of 4wd than I am of the rears. Even though I did the rears on my F350's D60, it was many years ago and I don't remember the procedure unless I re-read the book.

Anyway, this guy knows a lot more than me. But I'd still get a second opinion on that final adjustment before the final torque and lock-down.
I'll look too, just to refresh my memory and see if I'm blowing smoke. Will report back if I find anything to correct in what I said.

Paul

 

Paul thanks for the chime in. You and I are thinking on the same page. Glad you posted. I ordered some aftermarket spindle nut washers. I will look in my book as well. If you find something post it and i'll do the same. Appreciated, Shawn

 

I'll go out on a limb and recommend you DO NOT follow the printed instructions above from king4x4. The missing step is obvious and doing it this way would lead to overheated bearings at the least.
According to the Hayne's book (don't have the factory book handy), the text indicates the existence of that missing step we mentioned.
These are:

1.Tighten initially 50-80lbs while turning the wheel.
2. Back off 3/8 turn. (no mention of the full turn the first time, then the second time full torque without loosening)
3. Lube up the lock washer with gear oil and install smooth side out.
4. Install lock nut and tighten to 90-110 lbs.
5. Final end-play is the standard .001" to .010" mentioned in almost all bearings. Even the "hand tightened" front two-wheel drive bearings are specified at .001-.010 inch.

Maybe the use of gear oil instead of dry, or bearing grease, is how the book method avoids trashing the locking rings/washers. But probably nothing wrong with using less torque as long as the final free-play falls within the desired range.
As the guy at king4x4 stated I think, he adds a step due to his own experience. Unfortunately they left out that key part about backing off the adjusting nut 3/8 turn prior to locking down.
I bet if we look in four books we'll get three and a half variations on the adjusting procedure. But one thing that does not change as much is the .001-.010 inch of free play in the end. I have run across Ford books that specify .000 to .010 inch, but as I've said before, I don't know how you differentiate .000" free-play from an unknown amount of preload. However, following the adjustment procedures mine have almost always fallen into the .005 to .006 inch free-play range. Good enough for me.

Paul

 

Thanks Paul. I'm not sure on how the .001-.010 free play works. I know how I did the front end and maybe I use the same tool but I could use some help on step 5. I bet when you post I will get it but right now not so much. Thanks, Shawn

 

To actually check and verify the final free-play setting you would need to set up a dial indicator to measure the in-and-out movement of the hub on the bearings and spindle.
If you don't have one, or can't easily borrow or rent one, then you just have to trust the method described in the book and hope that all the parts cooperate. The idea of the final measuring is to verify that all the parts are still within parameters and that when adjusted to spec, fall into the correct range of movement.

However, you can still do a casual check by hand. While I don't know that you can feel a .001-.003 inch amount of movement, I know for a fact you can feel .005-.006 inch freeplay, if you're careful and sensitive to the movement.
With the bearings adjusted and locked down, you can grab the hub/drum/rotor/wheel (whatever is still bolted to the hub, if anything) and try to move it in and out, or top and bottom, or front to back. As you rock it with your hands, if you can just barely feel/hear/sense the tiniest amount of movement in the hub, perhaps even accompanied by a faint "tick tick" as you move it back and forth, you're probably within spec.

If you ever have the chance to compare your personal "feel" for stuff, vs what it says on an instrument like a dial indicator, I'm sure you would be able to tell the difference between, for example, .0005" and something over .010" such as .015" or so. You'd know from experience that this larger amount of play is notably more than your correct experience of five-thousandths. But that's all moot if you can't get your hands on some measuring tools.
If that's the case, then you just have to trust that the tiny amount of play you feel is going to work out for you. And always make sure to keep the gear lube topped up because on a full-floater rear end the grease you put in the bearings is just to keep them safe for the first few minutes of use. After that the gear lube is what keeps the bearings rolling freely and cooled when worked hard. With luck, for the next 40 years or 100,000 miles. Whichever comes first.

Hope that wasn't too much info. Just wanted you to know what you're looking for and that you can indeed feel 5 thousandths of an inch of movement. But only just barely. If you're ham-handed (not an insult, just an acknowledgment of a fact of life) and in a hurry, you might not even feel it. Especially with new grease in there. But then that's the whole reason for the initial 50lb squeeze job anyway. To make it easier to measure the movement without excess grease skewing the results.

Good luck! When you're ready to do it just come back here and we'll shout out words of encouragement (as we sit in our lawn chairs drinking cool and frosty beverages and pointing and laughing in your general direction of course) and wisdom.

Paul

 

Paul, that's what I needed. I have a dial indicator but really like how you explained both ways. I understand now :-) Thanks again! Shawn

 

Guys, this is next on the list. I will post pics of the seat. I cleaned on it for hours and it looks pretty good. What would you guys do? Repair the seat? Recover the seat? This is a item on my check list that I will put some more money in or time. I'm ok with doing it myself if they make a high quality kit. But I think a good seat repair and keep original would be best.

Thoughts?

 

 

My 71 f250 4wd seat had been repaired and a new cover vinyl pleated cover matching head liner before, I got the truck.
I did use the truck on an off road no hard rough off roading plus a lot of street hwy miles going camping etc. then put a 8.5' cab over camper.
My seat springs broke and got so bad poking through the stuffed rags, I kept stuffing in for padding. I scrounged for a number of yrs looking for a suitably replacement seat,
with not much luck for correct yrs. Then one day came across a nice 75 f100 with one of the beat seats in the number of yrs going to the pick n pulls junk yards.
I was driver in my car that day, so came back with my truck at which time had the camper on it. I went back into PnP got the seat got a guy to help me put it in the camper floor.
That was one of those days of feeling a happy score day... A number of yrs pasted and started replacing window seals etc. that's when, I ordered a oem seat cover from LMC (which is the only thing that did not need replacing with in 5yrs.) Beware of any rubber products as they are short lived from the ozone. I sure hated having to do all the rubber over even cab cushion's failed.
So good luck finding a replacement seat. Or have a guy rebuilt it who knows what he's doing.
Orich

 

I have to weigh in on Orich's side, have it recovered by a pro, and the foam replaced, as well as new, or better springs, as the old ones have probably lost some of their support. Materials can be better now days, but you must be selective to get good quality. So much cheap Chinese crap these days, that look good, but do not last. Since my truck is retired in Baja, with me, I had a local upholstery lady refinish my bucket seats, and while not original, they let me put a cooler between them, which I find very handy.

I like your idea of keeping it original, I vote for that, with new material, done in the same pattern..

Baja

 

Baja, I'm in agreement with both you and Orich. Great tip on the springs as well. It's good that you give your cooler a good place to ride LOL. Keep on rockin