wheel bearings life span

[RavoHimself]

as everyone knows dana 35 wheel bearing are spaced way to close together. i have 15x8's with 3 3/8 bs on my wheels with 32x11.5's and they sure dont help my cause. i was wondering if there is anything i can do to improve the spacing or make them stronger. i know about the 44 knuckle swap but i would still like to keep the 5x4.5 lug pattern. has anyone done anything? do you think i could machine a new race to sit inside the discs to help space the bearings apart? does that even sound remotely like a good idea?, because i would definitely be willing to be a test subject

 

[4x4junkie]

I have a total of 60K or so on mine with 33" or bigger tires (the last 30K with 35s), all on 15x8 rims w/3.75 backspace (not much less than yours).

A friend had over 150K on his to my knowledge, until a shop he had do some axle work on it tightened the piss out of them and they (both sides) disintegrated about 2K after that

Thing to do is use good quality USA-made bearings (Timken), and be sure you're not overtightening the preload on them (about 15 inch-lbs on the nut is fine before spinning down the outer nut (manual hubs) or sticking the key in (auto hubs).
Also, use a good hi-temp lithium-base grease (do not use anything with molybdenum in it on roller bearings).

 

[RavoHimself]

i use that red packing grease stuff. my dad has used it for ever with no problems. i tighten them by feel. i spin the disc in direction of travel and tighten slowly untill it stops. the disc still spins relatively easily then i crank hard on the outer.

as for the BS. 3.75 is supposedly the "max" you should go with a 15x8 on a ranger. maybe i just got a bad bearing because only the left side is acting up. either way. if i could still put more space between the bearings that would be cool.

 

[4x4junkie]

3.75" on a 15x8 is what's typically suggested. There are several who run 15x10s with the same backspace and don't have issues either (would be equivalent to 2.75" on a 15x8).

Wider bearings certainly would be more tolerant of wide-spaced rims having a shallow backspacing, however yours are nothing extreme by any measure. If you're having issues with it, I'd be suspect of your setup procedure and/or the lubricant used and quality of the bearings.

How I do it:
Tighten inner nut to 35 ft-lbs while spinning rotor back & forth.
Loosen and then retighten it to 15 inch-lbs (this is just snug by hand using the socket).
Tighten the outer nut to 225ft-lbs making sure the inner nut doesn't try to spin with it (they tend to loosen if you only go the book-spec of 150ft-lbs).

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

Same set of bearings have been in my truck for the last 7 years with 15x8's with 3.75" BS and 35 and 36" swampers. No issues, just regular maintenance.

 

[RavoHimself]

i wasn't even aware they made wider bearings for our trucks? do you have a brand so i could look into them if these continue to fail?

i'm going to repack both and try it with a torque wrench this time. if i wasnt dealing with a lifted truck i would just do it my way but i'll try the real way for now. i'm also gonna tighten the outer one to 225. when i re tightened them last time the outer one was loose enough i could take it off by hand

 

[shane96ranger]

i wasn't even aware they made wider bearings for our trucks? do you have a brand so i could look into them if these continue to fail?

i'm going to repack both and try it with a torque wrench this time. if i wasnt dealing with a lifted truck i would just do it my way but i'll try the real way for now. i'm also gonna tighten the outer one to 225. when i re tightened them last time the outer one was loose enough i could take it off by hand

I don't think there are wider bearings, it was a "what if" statement.

One other thing you can do to improve their lifespan is to be sure the O-ring on your hub is in good shape so you aren't introducing water into the hub.

 

[Hahnsb2]

Only time I've EVER had a problem with mine is when I got mud/water in them and didn't bother to repack them.

 

[legoms013]

Only time I've EVER had a problem with mine is when I got mud/water in them and didn't bother to repack them.

Same with mine. They will last (for all intensive purposeds) indefinitely except if they get water/mud in them.

I found this out after sitting stuck for an hour in 1' of mud, and 2' of water, 3' total deep while waiting for another truck.

In about 2 days the bearings started howling and I was noticing all kinds of hell from up front.

When I pulled them apart finally, both side's inner bearing had completely disintegrated from the mud, and allowed the rotor to move in and make contact with the caliper bracket, grooving and ruining both rotors.

Hard lesson to learn. Had I just checked and repacked them...I could have gone on my way without having to spend $300 for all new bears, pads and rotors. FYI I went with Timken

 

[canyoncritter]

rockauto.com if you need bearings, chepest place I have found for timken. and if you search for thier coupon,you can save anouther 10%