Hello folks,

I recently started hearing a humming (slight rumbling) noise when driving, which partially goes away when making a left turn. Jacked up the truck and inspected the wheel bearings and sure enough, the right one doesn't turn as smooth as the left one.

Additionally, my ESOF is not working properly - 4x4 does not engage and air blows through the defrosters, which seems to indicate a vacuum leak. My guess is somewhere at the hub.

Now the problematic part:
We are driving from the USA to Argentina, currently in Colombia. Hauling a truck camper on our 2001, F350 7.3 diesel, DRW dual rear wheel. Sure enough, Ford Colombia doesn't sell F350s here, neither do they carry parts. Situation is the same going south - Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, etc... And, I don't want to postpone the inevitable, while driving my family...

I have a friend visiting us from the USA in 10 days and he will bring us spare parts. But I have one shot at getting this right.

I will order a new hub -- thinking of this one -- http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sk.../TM515025.html

My question(s) is do I need any other spare parts, just as a precaution, as I this is my only foreseeable chance of getting them? O-rings? Any other seals or washers? Needle bearing? Or is everything included in the wheel hub assembly I will be buying? May be the studs that fasten the sealed hub unit to the knuckle frame? Any advice on the brand of wheel hub I've chosen?

Also, do Guzzle's instructions here Welcome to guzzle's 4x4 Needle Bearing Maintenance Web Page apply when changing the entire hub:

Thanks so much for your advice, really will appreciate any and all help!
Peter

 

Completely missed this one, holiday weekend i guess. Needle bearing will be part of the hub. Are you still waiting for friend to come your way or is it too late. Timkin is a good choice. The large yellow oring that seals the hub should come with new hub but may want to check with supplier to be sure. This post will bump you to the top so others can chime in

 

My question(s) is do I need any other spare parts

How about a spare hub for the other side, if it has the same # of miles on it?

 

+1 I lost the driver side hub driving home this past new years. I decided to have both sides replaced.

 

Thank you all for the feedback, I am getting the parts next week. Keeping fingers crossed!

 

Front hubs come in both fine and coarse thread lugs. I don't see the thread pitch listed on the link you provided. With one shot at it 2 sets of lug nuts, one of each pitch, would be nice to have. You could very gently beat the old ones out with a sledge and re-use them I suppose.

Also cannot see if those hubs come with the big yellow O ring. When that fails it kills the ESOF. Kinda fragile so hard to re-use. LINK

If you need ball joints, now might be a good time to do them. Ups the complexity/tool requirements tho.

I thought they made Superdutys in Brazil with 7.3s until like 2005?

 

Thanks, I think mine are coarse, but will get both just in case. Does the hub come with an axle vacuum seal or should I get it separately?

As far as F350s being made in Brazil - not sure, but we're still a year and many thousands of miles away from Brazil...

Cheers,
Peter

 

I had to buy the vacuum hub knuckle seal for ESOF. Unless you have a creative tool to press this hub seal in, you will need the OTC seal presser as well. This is damaged easily if not pressed in straight. It has been a while but I do not think you need to replace this knuckle seal to only replace the hub assembly. Can someone else confirm this?***edit***nevermind. I finally noticed the reference to a possibl vacuum leak at the hub.

--There is the yellow o ring I would replace. Someone else mentioned that I believe, as well as Guzzle's website.
--Also what is coming to mind since you have 4WD is the orange retaining clip. This was only available at the ford dealer and is expensive (20 bucks i remember). One can reuse this retaining clip but I wouldn't recommend it.***edit*** If it is not obvious, one would need snap ring pliers to install and remove this clip.
--I'm looking at rockauto's description of the timken hub you referenced. It matches the description on the MOOG part I bought.

 

Thanks @donnybrasco. Do you mean this

 

This is really should be the kind of repair that you do by taking everything apart and determining what needs to be replaced. When I did my hubs and vacuum seals last winter, I needed a stub axle shaft replaced on the passenger's side. The driver's side was fine. Are you going to buy two stub shafts? I guess you'll have to, although it will add to the expense. Are you going to use the seal installer tool or make your own? I recommend the tool if you've never done it before, and might even recommend it just based on the fact that you can't afford to screw it up.

The Timken hubs (I do not recommend Moog) that I bought came with a new yellow o-ring but the vacuum seals were separate.

I don't know what this orange retaining clip that Donnybrasco is talking about. I don't remember seeing one when I did this.

Are your ball joints and tie rod ends all tight?

 

This is what happens when I'm operating off memory with little sleep!! I'm confident now the orange retainer is for my ranger.... See Guzzle's writeup for what your truck should have. PICTURE

Vacuum Axle seal that you referenced HERE will need a tool to install as anydm stated. THIS is what I used.

Unfortunately, I bought MOOG. We will see how long this part lasts. I had to buy the yellow oring aawlberninf350 referenced.

What andym mentions good advice considering your situation (if you are touching the ujoints at all). When I removed my ujoints from the stub shaft, No amount of heat or PB blaster helped. It was probably partially my fault due to lack of tools.... I ended up using a ball joint press kit to remove the ujoints, which tweaked the stub shaft... I'm sure the right vise and BFH would have increased chances of success without damage.


If you are removing the inner axle shaft you can replace this as well. this is the dust seal. PICTURE

Hopefully that helps you more than confuses you! I'm still relatively new forums in general. The intent is the help, but sometimes my brain wonders off in left field somewhere.

I'm still trying to figure out how to quote multiple posts...

 

Thanks a lot, DonnyBrasco and everyone, every bit of advice helps! I am still pondering whether to touch the ujoints at all... I have another day or two to decide what to order and then ship overnight to my friend.

I will be doing this with the help of a local mechanic, as I don't have all the tools, nor the skillset... Learning as I go along. Luckily, labor is cheap down here, as opposed to parts. BTW, after a lot of back and forth with Ford Bogota, they could custom order a (one) hub assembly from Ford USA at the modest price of 3 million and change Colombian Pesos - $1,017 USD at the current exchange rate. Of course, it would take "2-3 weeks" to arrive. At this point, I find this whole thing amusing.

 

Did the driver's side last year on my truck. The vacuum seal... I actually used a piece of 3" Sch40 PVC pipe, with a 2x4 on top, to hammer the seal in. Wasn't to hard at all, for my first time replacing a hub assembly, etc.

Figure I must have done it all right....the wheel hasn't fallen off yet....

 

Operation was a success, thank you everyone for your help! Colombian mechanic replaced the hub for 20 dollars - Viva Colombia!

 

Great news! Thanks for letting us know how it worked out.

Hope the rest of your trip goes well and is filled with FUN adventures