Dynatrac free spin hubs for Ford and Dodge

[Wnc3]

I used the Warn premium hubs like I have on another old truck.
I waited on steering linkage because I had changed it 25k miles ago.
Mine really feels like it freewheels and coast like a 2wd pickup.

 

[jomobco]

Fourth, The stub shaft support bearing went out on mine and I had to buy a new outer stub shaft, U joint, bearing and seal all within about 50,000 miles. This setup is far higher maintenance and if you want it to last you have to pull it all apart an grease it regularly. From what I understand this problem is not uncommon because water can get in and there is constant pounding from the axle shaft even when not in 4wd. To grease it you have to pull the axles out of the truck which requires removal of everything but the knuckles. By the time you get the bearing out to thoroughly clean it you might as well replace it because it's hard to press out and requires a special tool. This is a time consuming and expensive piece of maintenance.
.

Sorry to drag up an old thread. I was just researching about the Dynatrac free spin kit and noticed something above which I think is incorrect. You don't have to pull the axle shafts out to grease the bearings. It's much like most full float hubs. Pull the hub, remove the spanner nuts, pull the hub off the spindle. Both bearings are in the hubs. The axles are still in place. If you want to change the race you need to punch them in or out. The rear seal pulls out and taps in. I just got done installing mine this weekend and it's a pretty simple kit. Perhaps they didn't pack the gap between the bearings well enough? I wiped out a whole can of CV-2 lube doing my front shafts.

I saw the benefits being that a 3 year sealed hub unit from Napa was close to $650.00 for a set. Throw in $120 worth of sealed u-joints which now won't spin all the time and should now last more than 90k miles. No one I could find at the moment had a joint that worked on my AAM 2007 Dodge 6.7 front axle which was you could grease. I plan on keeping the truck for 500k or so miles. It has 95k now.

So 4 more sets of u joints to get to 500k (120 x 4 = 480), 2 more unit bearings (650 x 2 = 1300) is 1780. I changed my unit bearings out since I had the whole thing apart but they weren't showing much play. I spent 2k on the free spin kit. This is a difference of approximately 1350.00. It's a slight savings for me to 500k miles not including anything additional I might see on mileage or driveline joints gains vs perhaps one or two axle shaft joint failures.

Sorry for the resurrection I just wanted to clarify for anyone like me searching.

 

[Raspy]

Sorry to drag up an old thread. I was just researching about the Dynatrac free spin kit and noticed something above which I think is incorrect. You don't have to pull the axle shafts out to grease the bearings. It's much like most full float hubs. Pull the hub, remove the spanner nuts, pull the hub off the spindle. Both bearings are in the hubs. The axles are still in place. If you want to change the race you need to punch them in or out. The rear seal pulls out and taps in. I just got done installing mine this weekend and it's a pretty simple kit. Perhaps they didn't pack the gap between the bearings well enough? I wiped out a whole can of CV-2 lube doing my front shafts.

Sorry for the resurrection I just wanted to clarify for anyone like me searching.

You are incorrect. I'm not talking about the wheel bearings, I'm talking about the outer stubshaft bearing that is inside the spindle. The spindle must be removed to get to it and a special tool used to remove it. It runs on the axle with no race, so if it fails the outer shaft must also be replaced. Once you are that far into the project the axle can simply be pulled out. This is a good idea if you want to check on the Ujoints or if you don't have greaseable joints.

This bearing might not last as long as the wheel bearings and should be serviced early enough to prevent more down time and much more cost and hassle. When mine failed it also ruined the locking hub. So I ended up buying a new locking hub, a new stubshaft, new bearing and doing a job much harder than simply greasing wheel bearings. Now, sometime later, I've got a wheel bearing making noise. So I'm faced with doing the whole thing once again, as I can't let the axle support bearing go ungreased while doing the wheel bearings.

For anyone going into this for the first time, be sure to go ahead and replace the ball joints. AVOID Moog.

 

[terryknight]

i've always called them the spindle bearings. they do need to be greased (but i only grease them when i have the spindle off, so far no problems) and they will take out the stub shaft if they go bad. never needed a specially tool to remove or replace them

 

[slowzuki]

If you don't want to run with locked hubs on the highway you could replace the bearings with bushings like old time axle so they are a bit less maintenance.

Like Terry says bit of a pain but if the axle shaft hasn't failed you can regrease it. Don't need a special tool unless you want to. Apparently the dealers are often guilty of not greasing this little bearing too even when paying for the full service.

 

[Raspy]

For the Dynatrac spindle I made a tool that allowed me to "press" out the bearing race, if I remember correctly. No tool needed to grease the bearing, but the race is difficult to remove when replacing the bearing. When the bearing goes, it lets the axle run at an angle and destroys the hub.

 

[jomobco]

You are incorrect. I'm not talking about the wheel bearings, I'm talking about the outer stubshaft bearing that is inside the spindle. The spindle must be removed to get to it and a special tool used to remove it. It runs on the axle with no race, so if it fails the outer shaft must also be replaced. Once you are that far into the project the axle can simply be pulled out. This is a good idea if you want to check on the Ujoints or if you don't have greaseable joints.

This bearing might not last as long as the wheel bearings and should be serviced early enough to prevent more down time and much more cost and hassle. When mine failed it also ruined the locking hub. So I ended up buying a new locking hub, a new stubshaft, new bearing and doing a job much harder than simply greasing wheel bearings. Now, sometime later, I've got a wheel bearing making noise. So I'm faced with doing the whole thing once again, as I can't let the axle support bearing go ungreased while doing the wheel bearings.

For anyone going into this for the first time, be sure to go ahead and replace the ball joints. AVOID Moog.

How am I incorrect? You don't have to pull the axle shaft as you stated and as I was clarifying. Please explain.

 

[terryknight]

correct you don't need to pull the axle shaft out, but it's the next step and doesn't require any extra steps other than physically pulling the shaft out

 

[jomobco]

correct you don't need to pull the axle shaft out, but it's the next step and doesn't require any extra steps other than physically pulling the shaft out

And greasing the needle (spindle) bearing is only 4 bolts and a tug prior to that. Mine took two awfully big tugs That bearing hub was a monster to get off both sides.