I have been having problems with the right front wheel bearings spinning on the spindle shaft (steering knuckle). I am going to post pics so you all can have a better idea of what might be going on.

Old spindle


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So I found what was supposed to be a NOS spindle


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It looked unused and came with the king pin bushings pre-isntalled and they looked new. BUT there was some slight damage on the inner bearing race area which I used some jewelers rouge and a buffer to smooth them out just a little.


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I have only put 45k on the van since i have owned it and have changed the front wheel bearings 3 times now all together. This last time after installing the NOS spindle I followed the Ford service manual in torquing/pre-loading them. Here is it about 5k miles later and I am getting an occasional high pitched whistling sound from the right side again, much like before. Also before swapping the steering knuckle, if I was in a slow sharp turn in a parking lot, I would get a high pitched sequel like perhaps the bearing spinning slowly in a bind on the spindle or the rotor rubbing something that would make a metal squeal sound. I noticed my van do this again a couple of days ago again when making a slo0w sharp turn in a parking space.
Now every time I leave my driveway I have to do a sharp turn into the turn around and another sharp turn back on the driveway to head out. I know that can put a lot of pressure on the bearings but this is all supposed to be new.

So I am thinking,, maybe the NOS steering knuckle was a take-off due to some defect? I dont know. I just know I am having the same problem again.
I think it is lakeland ford that says they have one in storck for around $300... Well I have my 1985 E150 and was thinking I could just swap the spindles with it.

 

Part 2
My 85 and 88 are both E150s with a 5.0 and AOD. They are both Mark III conversion vans so basically they look the same... From everything i can tell they both use the same I-beams. They both use the same wheel bearings and rotors. What is different is the brake calipers. The 85 caliper uses a spring like keeper to hold it in place while the 88 uses those slide pins.

1985 caliper.


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1988 caliper


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So there is a slight difference in the shape of the steering knuckles in how they hold the caliper. Both steering knuckles use the same king pin bushing kit. I haven't found a reason why I cant swap the 85 spindles onto the 88.. The 85 has new rotors, bearings, pads, and calipers on it. Even the flexible hose lines are new and they are the same for the 85 or 88. They have just been sitting for 5 or 6 years now.

If I am reading this correctly the I beams on the 85 and 88 are the same...

Any other suggestions? Can a machine shop repair the spindle?

Notice below the axle/I-beams say from 4/84 and I believe that runs all the way to 1991, the last year Ford made this style van.

The red and blue show when the spindle changed. I don't see why they wont fit...

Thanks for your thoughts and opinions in advance!
Anna

 

Anytime you "buff" something you're losing material even if a minute amount---its an abrasive action no matter how fine a grit is used. From whom or what brand bearings are you using? Have you bought from the same source each time? I would assuming you're packing the new bearings with the proper grease?

Needless to say Annleigh this is an odd situation.

 

Sorry it took a while to get back to you JWA but have been having wifi problems.. I only buffed the beveled edge where the damage was, not up on the flat shoulder where the inner race rides. The bearings came from different stores and were national, skf, and timkin,, in sets.. I use the red high temp wheel bearing grease.

Yes the first time I thought could have been my fault for not using a torque wrench to preload the bearing. I never have and have never had this problem. So the last time i did follow the manual directions!

I was tossing around the idea of trying a loctite product #608 bearing retaining compound. It is supposed to hold tight on rotational forces but still be able to be pulled off the shaft.

There are a couple of other ones that will bond the bearing to this shaft which would be all well and good until you had to service the bearings or rotor again.

One issue I see is having time to preload the bearing before the loctite sets up. The spindle does not have any deep groves or burnt spots on it ant the bearing fits fairly normal feeling.

 

Typically Loctite such as the #680 will not set up so quickly you'd not have a minute or so to quickly install the rotor and assemble it all including preloading the bearing. Loctite also tends to crystallize at about 450* F which is a small torch or good quality heat gun at most. The video you attached shows if removal were necessary a bearing puller or slide hammer along with a bit of heat will allow disassembly without much force or potential damage to the spindle or bearing.

BTW even the #271 or "red" thread locker also crystallizes at 450* F so its not permanent as welding would be. Same for JB Weld and other automotive epoxy formulas.

 

I had issues with one of my wheel bearings going out after about a year and I'm starting to wonder if the "Red N Tacky" I used had anything to do with it.
The last time I did my e150 bearings I got some of the Valvoline with the Ford spec M1C75B and haven't had issues since.
Has anyone else used the red grease out there and been OK?

 

I use the red tacky on my wheel hub assemblies for my 03 F350 4x4 and I haven't had a problem in the two years since I replaced the hubs.

 

well an update here. I took the rotor off and inspected the bearings and found the grease to be burnt on the inner bearing. I mentioned i used the red high temp grease, it was black. That would indicate that the wheel bearings might have been too tight but there were still signs of the bearing spinning on the spindle. I had a old (good) bearing laying around so I used it and put everything back together. I took the original spindle up to a machine shop and am waiting to hear from him tomorrow. The spindle is pressed into the knuckle and it is my understanding that the plan is to press the spindle out, build a new one, and press it in. I have seen where you heat one part and freeze the other and a bearing slides right on. I ask the guy at the shop how they would get the new spindle into the knuckle and he said they had a special way to heat it.

What are you guys thoughts on the shop making a new spindle? I don't have any pics but the original spindle has a head on the back side so it can only go in so far so i don't have to worry about it falling out.

JWA you mentioned it doesn't take much buffing to remove material. The only area i buffed was the very inner shoulder and that is where the seal rides.
After thinking this over a little bit more, those marks that i buffed smooth may very well have been chisel marks from someone removing a bearing in the past. If so then that means that that spindle was bad to start with!. You can see the chisel marks on the spindle pick i posted above.

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These pics below are the newly installed spindle and bearings.I would guess they have less then 2000 miles on them.
The spindle doesn't look that bad.



here are the bearings and they don't look that good. to me the inner race has signs of spinning.
Outter small bearing




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inner bearing


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Did I over tighten the bearings? Well in the past i have never used a torque wrench and until this van, never had a problem with a spindle or bearings. I was taught to tighten the retaining nut a fair bit while spinning the wheel in order seat the bearings and then back it off 1/8th turn. But this time after replacing the spindle i followed the ford service manual and did it this way.

 

Annaleigh has anyone measured the suspected bad spindle against one that's known to be good or not have these same bearing issues? I'm not sure how a machine shop could adequately make a new spindle without an engineering drawing showing the specified dimensions of its diameters. I'm not an experienced machinist so take that FWIW.

It also occurs to me we've not discussed or mentioned the rotor itself as that might be the cause of or contributing to this right side recurring problem. Has the right side rotor been swapped or exchanged with one that 's not experienced these bearing issues? If you've been using and re-using the same rotor during these repeated bearing failures there could be something amiss there?

 

I took some measurements but forgot wither it was the original or replacement spindle. I did not take measurements on the drivers side which appears to be ok.
I mentioned about the bearing tolerance and he said his machinist would know? Maybe there are standards for some simple applications.
When I replaced the spindle I replaced the bearings and rotor all at the same time. I am guessing that the "NEW" steering knuckle I bought was actually a take off that had an issue and somewhere along the line got put back in stock and sold to me years later!. The only other way to do this would be to visit salvage yards and mike the spindles before I buy one. My 85 spindles are the same diameter because they use the same bearing and rotors! I could measure them if the van wasn't 70 miles away

There is another way the machinist might be able to get the factory specs.
The inner bearing has a pretty good taper on the back side of the inner race so there is an area of the spindle that is never touched by the bearing.

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There is also a area that the outer smaller bearing does not touch on the spindle.


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once he presses the spindle out of the knuckle, he can use the old one as a pattern..

 

Here is a video of a a machinist making a new spindle. He is concerned about the strength of the metal he uses for the spindle and has a good spindle for measurements.
I need to change the caliper, rotor, and pads on the left side so i col always do it up at his shop so he could get the measurements

 

Thought I would update this thread instead of leaving it open ended.

The machine shop tried to press the spindle out of the steering knuckle but was unsuccessful. They said that they heated quite a bit but didn't want to heat it so much that it would loose strength. So I am back to the idea of trying some loctite to see if that works. If it doesn't then i will swap the steering knuckles with the 85 van since i know they are good.

Interesting is that I gave the machine shop a new set of wheel bearings to use for measurements. When they gave me the spindle back the bearings were in place on the spindle and the inner bearing appears to be stuck on the spindle now. At least it wont come off by hand and I lightly used a 5 in 1 tool with a hammer trying to get the scraper between the bearing and lip on the spindle!