Hey guys I am in the middle of doing my brakes and I had to have the rotors cut so I removed them. This is the first time I have removed the rotors without experienced help. I had not planned on replacing the bearings so in cleaning them I got the inner and outer bearings confused.
Is that a problem?

My second concern is I didn't identify the right and left rotors is it a problem to install the bearings (which were identified left and right)in the wrong rotor?
Or are the bearing seats not absolutely necessary to match with the bearings?
It is a 50/ 50 shot...Thanks for any help.

 

>I had not planned on replacing the bearings so in cleaning
>them I got the inner and outer bearings confused. Is that a
>problem?

I know that the outer bearing won't fit over the spindle on the inside because the inner bearing is wider than the outer on my 90. If you just had your rotors turned it shouldn't matter which side they go on. You might as well replace the bearings while you have them out. It is cheap and easy to do.

Hope this helps.

KJ

 

Yeah, since inner and outer are obviously different sizes, I'm guessing you're saying you confused them left to right.

If so, there's nothing you can do but hope, but in theory it is a big deal. The bearings wear with their races.... personally since you've got it all torn down I'd just throw new ones in - shouldn't exceed $40-50 for quality Timkens at Autozone (yeah, I know $40-50 can seem like a lot if you're broke).

 

Well I thought the inner and outer would be different sizes but the bearings are the same all four. Thats whats giving me a hard time. The truck is 4x and its an 88 (I can't find the build date). I am stumped I would run out and buy bearings or at least look at a pair in a store but I have no transportation. So my next step is to call ford and see if in fact all four bearings are the same or whats going on.

 

Oh, it's an 88, I was thinking '89. So do you have the flange style hubs???

 

Exactly, I called ford and apparently all four bearings are the same on this year and model truck. Thanks for the help and any other suggestions will be appreciated. Any tips on tightening the bearing adjusting nut would be helpful also thanks again.

 

Oh, you poor thing. My suggestion would be slap it back together however you want (who cares, don't want that front end long), and immediately go searching for an '80-86 or '89-92 front end from the spindles out. That flange hub setup is garbage.

 

Hey could you are anybody else out there explain that? I haven't heard that before and am interested to hear any opinions and reasons for these opinions,

 

I am sure that quite a few '88 owners would also be interested in a reply.

 

I also have the flange mount hubs in an '88. Yes all four wheel bearings are the same. I would just replace them, but if money is tight I would use the old ones (after repacking with grease) and plan on changing them soon.
I have torn my hubs down apart and I am rebuilding them.
I can tell you that ford only sells the complete hub for $267.00 no indidual parts. They do sell a seal kit that consist of one flange o ring and a new ford decal for the selctor **** for about $6.00.
There is a caged roller bearing(japan iko ba248z) in the outer part of the hub that I replaced just because I was in there. No one had it, not even ford, until I found it at the fleck bearing co. here in okc ok($6.50).
How tough are the flange mount hubs?
All I can witness to is that my truck has over 150,000 miles and everything looked very nice internally.I will also add that the outer housing will polish up very nicely on a buffing wheel, if yours look bland from age as mine did.
Most of the four wheel drive shops recommend a hub swap to the later style which requires new or used :
spindles,wheel bearings,brake rotors (cheaper $39 vs $75),hubs and I believe outer axle shafts.
I'll let you know if these flange hub locks can handle the 460 I'm building.
I would like to hear other opinions on these.

 

 

to add to my post
The only reason I have heard for converting to the later hub design is for parts availability and cost not strength or reliability problems.
I would convert hubs only if the original ifs front end required a replacement of a number of parts due to wear.