Bearings

[supertruckerfl80]

Hello, I have an automatic 4 wheel drive 93 ranger. My bearings in the inner most part of the hub broke. The only bearings we could find are sealed. the bearings that were in there were not sealed. Is it ok to use the sealed bearings?

 

[adsm08]

What exactly are we calling "sealed bearings" here.

Links to parts on parts store websites is encouraged.

 

[brinker88]

Yea there should be an inner and outer bearing, both the same with a seal on the backside of the rotor holding the bearing in. There is ALSO a seal on the back of your spindle. Which one are you talking about?

 

[adsm08]

I'm worried that he's gotten into his head that he might be able to use a hub and bearing assembly style unit, like the 98+ have.

 

[racsan]

that sounds about right to me also. good thing is the tapered roller bearing he really needs are a hellava lot cheaper than a 98+ hub/bearing assy.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...ring=search&itemIdentifier=788737_0_1050_4459

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, $20 compared to $120.

But the hub assembly is what is properly known as a "sealed bearing".

 

[supertruckerfl80]

This is my 1st ranger. The bearing im talking about is the one inside the front automatic 4 wheel drive hub. On the outside of the hub it says 4x4, tha bearing im talking about would be butt up that 4x4 on the inside. If you look down in the hub and take out the spline you have a set of bearings at the bottom. on mine they were open, can a sealed set be used here???

 

[martin]

It's a long time since I've had an auto hub apart but I don't remember there being a bearing in there, however, it should not make any difference. If you want non sealed bearings, just pull the seal out, they come out quite easily.

 

[adsm08]

This is a non-sealed bearing that your truck should have a total of 4 of. One inner and one outer on each side. The inner one is behind a dust seal, but that does not make it a sealed bearing.


This is a sealed bearing, used on a different type of front suspension, different type of knuckle. No you cannot use one on your truck.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

There is a bushing at the end of the locking hub itself, not a bearing IIRC?

He's not talking about wheel bearings adsm. He's talking about inside the locking hub itself.

 

[Will]

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/HubDiagnosis.html

Could be a bearing. Warn hubs used to come with bearings in there instead of bushings.

For those unaware of this, the outer stub shaft is supported inside the spindle with a bearing and the end of the outer shaft is supported by the bearing or bushing inside of the lockout. If the bearing in the lockout is toast it's likely that the spindle bearing is also bad. That little spindle bearing in there is abused because nobody knows its there. You have to remove the 5 nuts inside of the knuckle and then knock the spindle off with a block of hard wood and a BFH. Inside there will be a seal (some have 2 stacked) which comes out with finger pressure so it isn't a very good seal and water gets in there fairly easily and ruin the little bearing. Both the spindle and hub bearing/bushing need regular attention.

 

[adsm08]

There is a bushing at the end of the locking hub itself, not a bearing IIRC?

He's not talking about wheel bearings adsm. He's talking about inside the locking hub itself.

I'll take your word for it.

To be honest, I barely understood the original post.

 

[racsan]

i thought he meant wheel bearings in the original post, his second post makes me think hes talking about the bearing (or bushing) inside the lockout hub itself (and apparnetly he has a factory auto hub) ive never tore apart my auto hubs but ive had my milemarkers completly apart, they have a plain brass bushing, its only job is to support the stub shaft during 2wd. when the hub is engaged the axleshaft & hub will both be turning. id worry most about the bearing inside the spindle, every couple of years i take my spindles off to inspect this bearing and lube it well while its apart. im thinking he wanted to replace the bushing inside the auto hub with a roller bearing. i wouldnt bother, just clean it out real good, pour a little atf into the hub, then put it back on the truck. definetly dont pack it with grease.

 

[Will]

The bearing or bushing in there supports it in any wheel drive. If it's worn, the shaft is going to wobble and tear shit up. And grease that thing. Use the black moly grease (molybdenum-disulphide) and use it thinly on the plastic parts.

Those hubs can work okay, but they have this enormous flaw--they take a couple revolutions to lock and unlock. If you are stuck and shifting from forward to backward, they unlock the axle, let it spin 5x, and relock it. --BAM-- If you understand this, you can make them live a long time. I did. Keep the grease thin on the plastic cam so it doesn't gum up, clean them often, don't beat them and they can be okay. But what's the point? They aren't made anymore. New manual ones are. Manual ones also allow a more accurate wheel bearing adjustment. A pair of regular War manuals, or even Pile Marker hubs are good enough for regular use. If you are a hardcore 4-wheeler or heft a snow plow, Warn makes a heavy hub for this axle that works brilliantly. I've only broken one in the last 10 years.