4X4 Front bearing hubs

So I have a 2001 4X4 F-250, w/ABS. The ABS light was coming on sometimes, and reading on the forum, I checked that the speedo was good, put it on the lift and found some slop in the left side bearings. Had a little noise on the right side, and found the inside of the manual hub was dry. grease was rolled up in little balls. Other than that the inner bearing on the backside of the hub that the axle runs in is frozen. Ford says it is only serviced with the entire hub, not avail from them.

Also there seems to be some kind of rubber rings rolling around the axle on either side of the u-joint. Not leaking any grease, can't find any part numbers for them, or just what they are for.

There is some kind of vent? hose coming from each steering knuckle ported into the area around the hub assy, that was missing on the right and had a break on the left. I suspect that allowed some water behind the bearing hub but does not seem to have caused any damage other than the stuck small bearing that the axle rides in. Is this just standard vaccuume tubing?

When the Bearing hub assy is removed there are some thrust washers in behind, are those pieces available? One side shows some wear there.

So I'm looking at two hub assys unless I can change out that one small bearing on the back side of the right hub. Any ideas or suggestions as to where to buy? O'Reilleys? Vatozone?

Thanks for the help, Joe.

Yes the front bearing is a complete hub assembly. I'd call around and see what you can find. I did the hub (bought two but only did the one that was bad at the time) on my '02 several years ago. When I did the price for that hub varied wildly from Ford at nearly $700 (going from memory) to the ones I bought at Advance Auto for ~$350. This was over 10 years ago. Checking today Rock Auto has that same hub for $159.

There is a seal on the backside of the hub. At that time it was a Ford only part but likely available through aftermarket now.

There was one specialty tool and it may have been for getting the seal seated. From the advice of a Ford forum I was able to use a 12" long section of pipe with a cap threaded on one end and a flange (flat with holes like for mounting a railing on the wall/floor) on the other, so it would fit over the protruding axle maybe. I'd have to go back and look at the service procedure as this is all from memory.

So here's the update, 1 new bearing/hub assy, 10 year warranty online for under 66 bucks, comes with a new O-ring for the outside, and a new inner spindle bearing already in it. Came with new wheel studs and mounting studs.
Found a seller with a Vacuum Seal kit that had the inner axle dust seal, the outer axle vacuum seal, and the outside O-rings for both side from a seller in UT. They also had the inner spindle bearing came with a thrust washer set for behind the hub, and the thrust washer that goes between the vacuum seal and the hub.
All Dana-Spicer parts except the hub assy, all in delivered, 188.38 plus the 36 bucks at the plumbing supply store for parts to make a press tool to install the vacuum seals, and 20 or so for new vacuum tubing.
4WD now engages with just the dash switch, and so far the ABS light is out.
Ventures Truck Parts in UT was the Dana supplier, parts delivered in a few days, same as bearing hub.

lvhdude said:

So here's the update, 1 new bearing/hub assy, 10 year warranty online for under 66 bucks, comes with a new O-ring for the outside, and a new inner spindle bearing already in it. Came with new wheel studs and mounting studs.
Found a seller with a Vacuum Seal kit that had the inner axle dust seal, the outer axle vacuum seal, and the outside O-rings for both side from a seller in UT. They also had the inner spindle bearing came with a thrust washer set for behind the hub, and the thrust washer that goes between the vacuum seal and the hub.
All Dana-Spicer parts except the hub assy, all in delivered, 188.38 plus the 36 bucks at the plumbing supply store for parts to make a press tool to install the vacuum seals, and 20 or so for new vacuum tubing.
4WD now engages with just the dash switch, and so far the ABS light is out.
Ventures Truck Parts in UT was the Dana supplier, parts delivered in a few days, same as bearing hub.

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So still working out for you?

Yup. Hubs shift in and out with the dash switch, ABS light stays out (after the start auto check) And I seem to get better and more distinct air flow from the A/C-Heat-Def system than before. I think due to the bad vacuum hoses. I hope the info helps another member. I had to hunt a bit to find the correct parts. Drives like new.