If you have warn premium hubs on the front of your 99-2003 7.3L F250/F350 you can install a zurk fitting in the spot where your vacuum line used to connect to actuate your autolocking hubs. This will grease your inner axle shaft bearing. Quick and simple.... Just thought you should know
i Had my inner wheel bearings go bad and they ended up damaging my stub shafts in the process costing me an extra $300.00. It takes five minutes a side to install.
That sounds like a great idea. I actually have Dynatrac hubs, but my vacuum line is also non-functioning. So, the grease fitting sounds like a perfect solution to "plug" the hole.
That tells you how to spend a bunch of time taking it all apart and greasing it. If you install that zerk fitting and pump about 10 pumps worth of grease into it. You will do the same thing in a 1/16 of the time.
Zircs are usually 1/4-28 for the small ones, and 1/8-27 npt for the hole that measures near.350 You should not over pack hubs, that can inhibit the action sometimes. Twisting the lock cams a gear into position to lock the hub with the axle shaft, a small spring is used to return the gear to free wheel when the cam is backed away. Loads of grease can slow the spring return significantly. Another trick I learned is to use special low temp grease that I used to buy from GM when I was owning a few of them. It stays nice and soft in very cold weather, which is just the time I need my hubs to work.
Can someone post a pic of where the vacuum line connects for the auto hubs ? Mine has the manual hubs and I would like to put a zerk in there but not sure exactly where it is ? Thanks !
If you put your head in your fender well and look directly down you will see a pipe plug. Their is only one whole on the spindle that would be blocked off.
If you have warn premium hubs on the front of your 99-2003 7.3L F250/F350 you can install a zurk fitting in the spot where your vacuum line used to connect to actuate your autolocking hubs. This will grease your inner axle shaft bearing.
I read somewhere on this forum that this is incorrect (after installing zerks in those holes).
Putting a zerk in that whole will pump grease on the outside of the unit bearing assembly....not the inner shaft or bearings. They are not serviceable.
The inner bearing is servicable...just not from ford. The bearing has a timkin number on it. Just drive the bearing out and take it to the parts store, mine had them in stock last time I did one. And it was like 10 bucks. Just a little fyi for everyone.
I picked up a fitting a few months ago from a member on another site. He (Snowseeker, I believe) machined them to fit into the ABS sensor hole.
You need to remove the sensor, use the fitting, then re-install the sensor. I took a few pictures of the fitting / grease as a bench test.... (with a failed unit bearing -- You can see the fishing line that was jammed into the bearing)
I picked up a fitting a few months ago from a member on another site. He (Snowseeker, I believe) machined them to fit into the ABS sensor hole.
You need to remove the sensor, use the fitting, then re-install the sensor. I took a few pictures of the fitting / grease as a bench test.... (with a failed unit bearing -- You can see the fishing line that was jammed into the bearing)
I'm interested. So which size npt zerk should I get to install in place of the vacuum fitting on top of the hub? My truck had ESOF, but, as expected, they had failed and were replaced before I got the truck last year - vacuum hoses removed, but the fittings are still sitting there. The question still on the table is whether grease through this zerk will grease only the manual locking hub, or grease the bearing?
My bench test showed me that at about 15-18 pumps the grease would start to ooze from the outside seam. At about 20-25 the grease had made it into the inner bearing.
I think the vacuum port might net similiar results.
Also, I would recommend using high-end grease. I didn't (for obvious reasons) on the bench. But I plan on using Moblil 1 or similiar grease when I hit my truck this spring.
After reading this thread I went and replaced the vac. line fitting with a grease fitting and put about 25 pumps of grease. How do I know if Ive put enough or to much grease in because I havent seen any grease oozing out?
When I first did mine I pumped in 17 pumps and it was greased. I know this because I took it back apart to check. 25 is fine. Now when you do all of your ball joints put two or three pumps in their from here on out.
Good idea! I will try this when I install manual hubs!
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