Free Spin conversions??

[Hotrodtractor]

Definitely watching this one a bit. I'm currently electing to keep the unit bearing setup on my Superduty axle under my Dmax, but not sure that will be my long term solution - although I have been told that the unit bearings in the '05 and up are much better.

 

[Vader's Fury]

I was just trying to say, it's not used because it's superior. It's pretty much inferior in every way aside from time to assemble on a line, and never ending source of parts revenue.

Hence their widespread use by OEM's.


Ford gets nearly 500 dollars from me every other year when I buy ONE of them. Anybody that thinks that's crazy.... you're right. Anyone that thinks I'm crazy for paying that, you're right. Show me a cheaper one for an early 99 without ABS and I'll dive on it.

I may build my own bearing conversion.

I agree with everything that you said. I just enjoy the way you get your point across sometimes

 

[Layson]

Spyntec kit is on mine. Got it for a deal from Tank. Otherwise I would have gone with Dynatrac. One thing to keep in mind...it is so simple to swap unit bearings and you can get the cheap ones off eBay.

 

[wetnsloppy4x]

Definitely watching this one a bit. I'm currently electing to keep the unit bearing setup on my Superduty axle under my Dmax, but not sure that will be my long term solution - although I have been told that the unit bearings in the '05 and up are much better.

Same here.

Spyntec kit is on mine. Got it for a deal from Tank. Otherwise I would have gone with Dynatrac. One thing to keep in mind...it is so simple to swap unit bearings and you can get the cheap ones off eBay.

Speaking of Tank, he pounds on his junk parobably harder than anyone else in here. He'd be a good one to get an opinion from.

 

[juniort444e]

Well i might just bite the bullet and get a dyna trac.

Why are some saying its hard to change the bearing on a free spin kit?

Im not understanding some of your statements, or maybe im not reading it right. I dont know.

 

[Layson]

You don't have to pack grease in a unit bearing. You also don't need any special tools to install a unit bearing.

 

[juniort444e]

But are those really a good reason to NOT get a dyna trac kit?

I dont mind being able to repack grease in my bearings once a year, knowing that i can actually do it kind of puts my mind at ease.

Where as now, im pretty sure i have to replace both unit bearings. And im looking at a good chunk of change to do that. My idea is to get a dana 60, which i am here in a few hours, and rebuild it to new, and stick a free spin kit on while its off the truck and some ssbc breaks and maybe an air or magnetic locker and be done with it for a long time, maybe forever as long as i regrease those new bearings.

 

[El chupacabra]

What's the difference between this kit and manual hubs?

Break break break

 

[Layson]

Manual hubs are to lock in 4x4 are 200 bucks and don't involve wheel bearings. You can install manual hubs on your truck with stock unit bearings. The free spin wheel bearing kit gets rid of the auto function of your hubs, no more vacuum. So they come with manual hubs.

 

[Zmann]

Manual hubs are to lock in 4x4 are 200 bucks and don't involve wheel bearings. You can install manual hubs on your truck with stock unit bearings. .

unless you have the newer silver larger locking hubs

 

[NEVRNF]

There are 2 way too look at this. Cost up front or cost over the life of ownership.
Dynatrac kit = $2k plus 2hrs a year to repack bearings for maint.
E bay bearings = $150pr and 2hrs every 75-100k to switch out.

How many miles a year do you drive? My E99 has 298k and is on its 3nd pair of bearings. Someone show me the cost saving on the conversion.
If we had Dodges it would be a different story as they don't have freewheeling hubs to start with.
My F350 had 38 or 41's on it for 8 years and 100k and the bearings only were replaced 1 time. I have these axles under my Ex right now and will run the units forever as they are just more cost effective.

 

[bbbxcursion]

I've replaced 1 hub bearing in the 8 or 9 years I've owned my truck.

 

[Charles]

You don't have to pack grease in a unit bearing. You also don't need any special tools to install a unit bearing.

You don't need anything at all for a standard bearing.... cause you never F with it again. No matter how cheap, or how easy a unit bearing is to replace, it's still more time, money and effort than doing nothing at all like a truck with real bearings under it that you never do anything to.

And my bearings are ~498 dollars EACH for my early 99 w/o ABS. Having replaced 4 of them thus far, I can't say I share the idea that the unit bearings are so great. I got over 200,000 miles out of the original set, that may have been replaced before I bought the truck at 90,000. I have since replaced 4 of them and the truck has ~400,000 miles on it now.

On the other hand..... our old 1995 truck with a real spindle and bearings has NEVER had anything done to it, and it's got nearly 500,000 on it. My 97 with dana 60 and real bearings has never had anything done to it, and it has 50" tall backhoe tires on it, flies off the ground routinely and goes underwater on a regular basis.

Just look at the distance between the bearings on the units. That just can't work as well.... and it doesn't.

 

[Layson]

Listen I have the fancy setup on my truck. If I had to fix the truck on the side of the road, I would probably chose unit bearings. Those can be change real fast with less tools and you really can't mess it up.

I totally agree that the Dynatrac kit is going to last longer and may be cheaper in the long run.

 

[Strictly Diesel]

Much like everything else that gets debated in the internetz, it really comes down to personal preference. Everyone is going to justify why they choose to do it their way, some more adamently than others.

Here's how I looked at it, I needed to pull the front of the dually apart for front brakes and front inner axle seals (leaking badly). With that much apart, and over 100k on the clock, I wanted to do bearings at the same time and not have to think about the front end for a while. Since I personally hate the unit bearing idea (bearings too close together for heavier aftermarket wheels/tires), I chose to spend the money for the DynaTrac kit. I could have done nothing, the truck wasn't broken...but I hate taking the same stuff apart multiple times and my luck I would have had a bearing issue 6 months from now.

DynaTrac recommends checking the "adjustment" of the bearings about every 30k miles. That's about 2 years for me. They didn't give a "repack the bearings" spec, but I would probably do it at the same time. For how and where I drive, these should last longer than the rest of the truck. I chose the peace of mind over a few dollars in my pocket, I'm far far less worried about being on a road trip to a race or event or family vacation and having a front bearing issue now. That's worth a fortune to me!