I'm trying to replace the front wheel bearings on my 79 f250, with the dana44-9F, and I'm having some problems. I can't seem to get the inner wheel bearings to fit onto the spindle. Do these need to be pressed on? I have the same bearings as what came off it, but when I set them in place, they're too far up on the spindle. Whats the deal? It took a mallet to get one of the old ones off, but the other side came off no problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 15-Sep-02 AT 03:38 PM (EST)]I was looking at my 77 ford truck shop manual and it looks like you've got a seal then the bearing facing outward which should be seated on the inner race as you slide the hub over the end of the axle shaft and then it will center itself again as the outer bearing comes into contact with the axle shaft and you start replacing all the washers , nuts etc. to hold it on ,-----I was just rereading your post----if you had to use a mallet to get the bearing off you need to completely degrease the inside of the hub and inspect both bearings and their races--and probably replace both sets if your smart---plus what oil or grease seals--------it's too much work not to go ahead and fix it right while you're in there!!!!NONE of the bearings requires any force to fit correctly , you will have to remove the races with a punch ----put your new races in the freezer for a couple of hours and they should go in alittle easier........fd

 

The races have already been replaced. I wasn't the one who did it, a buddy did it while we were at work, but I assume they are the right races. The bearings are new too, and I've triple checked the application. They are the right ones for this vehicle. What I'm wondering is whether or not just the spindles have been swapped with some other vehicle. I checked the numbers on the old bearings, and they match, but the old ones didn't seem to seat right either, which is why the grease went bad. Before I noticed this problem, I went to put it back together, and the inner bearing didn't fit far enough on the spindle, so I couldn't thread any of the nuts and washers once I got the outer bearing on. I'm stranded right now with no vehicle, and heck if I can't figure this out. I went to the parts store and looked through their whole application book, and couldn't find any other bearings that fit these spindles. fd

One other thing I'd like to make sure of. The inner bearing is supposed to fit flush against the back of the spindle, right? Right now, as it is, theres about 1/4 " of space, and thats as far as it'll go on. The seal that fits on the back of the rotor doesn't seat on the spindle either, so I'm pretty sure that can't be right.

Thanks for the help, I'm really gettin desperate

 

sounds like you have a rough spindle. run a fingernail across it, if it feels rough take some emery cloth and polish it a little. see if that helps any. it should slide all the way back on the spindle.

 

in my book(77) there is no explicit distance given , but when you tighten up in the nut the bearing is (should) going to slide all the way over until the diameter of the spindle shaft starts getting larger than the inside of the bearing diameter---If i was you I would beg or borrow a michrometer with a digital readout and check your spindle shaft diameter and check your bearing id and see what the difference is, and just try to slide both bearings on and off the spindle----you my have a bent spindle shaft or one that is out of round---That would explain having to use the mallet to remove the old bearing-----it would also explain why the hub won't go ahead and slide up on the spindle shaft------You could also have a bent axle shaft that won't allow the spindle shaft to slide all the way on as far as it is supposed too-----fd

 

I had an old pontiac wheel bearing seize up, and it chewed up the spindle enough to make it pretty hard to get off. I had to polish down the shaft with sandpaper and it worked fine (with a new bearing). It should slide on nicely and I'm pretty sure it seats against the spindle with no gap at all to give it support, etc.
Let us know how it comes out...

 

I had a problem with that once. Not knowing at the time ,A previous owner used parts from an 80s truck on the on side of the axle & left the 79 stuff on the other. Of couse I bought parts for a 79 and saw that they did not fit, then I looked at the other side and found out I had a Johnny cash truck.


1979 F350,4x4,NP435,5:13 gears,Detroit locker in rear with hardened shafts,ABR in the front,L&L Ladder Bars,360 with 428 crank & rods,390 HP heads,Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch,MSD Ignition,39.5x18 Boggers,bucket seats out of a Lightning,& a Southern Body that is perfect.




1997 F350 PowerStroke 4X4,36 Inch Super Swampers, Strait Piped, Chiped, Propane Injected, LUK Clutch

 

Well, I got them on. I was at carquest, and they used their dial calipers to measure it. There was a couple thousands difference, so I cleaned 'em up as good as possible, then put the spindle in the freezer and the bearing on warm in the oven. Only burnt my self once, but I packed the bearing into the rotor and mounted the spindle while they were still hot and cold, then shoved it on, and tightened it down with the outside bearing and spindle nuts. It worked, so I guess I'm good to go. Thanks for all the help.