Questions about installing new hub?

[bserventi]

My ESOF was not holding a vaccum, so I replaced the knuckle seal and yellow oring. While I was at it I also replaced the U joint, outer axle and hub. I've been reading tons of posts and looking at tons of pictures of how this is performed. It all seems to have gone back together great. Holds vaccum and all, but I can't get the snap ring behind the auto lock hub that holds the thrust washers in place to seat all the way. I've taken it all apart and back together a couple of times, but it will not seat in the groove. If I put the one washer on it will seat, if I put the Hexagon washer with the round washer it will not seat, and then it obvisouly will not seat with all three on the shaft.

What can I do to get the axle out another 1/8" or so.

Also there seems to be quite a bit of play in the front axle. Everything should be tight since everything is new, but if I reach behind the tire and grab the U joint I can wiggle the shaft 1/8-1/4" inch in the knuckle. Is this caused by the snap ring not being all the way seated??

Thanks

 

[KRISTOLSON]

What year is your truck? I seem to remember a post somewhere when I was looking for info on repairing my hubs. someone had an older f250, and was trying to replace the hubs, I think he had a 99, but there was something about ford changing the hubs mid-year that year, and he was asking if he could put the newer style hubs in his truck by using a different washer...when you bought the hub, did you maybe get a hub for the wrong year? since the hubs changed mid year, you could still have ordered a 99 hub and got the wrong part... anyway, I think the concensus of people responding to his post was that it should not hurt anything to put the new hubs in and use a different washer, but I am not 100% sure.

 

[KRISTOLSON]

As to your second part of the post, there is an ALARMING amount of free play in the front axle on the knuckle. It shocked me too, but apparently is completely normal.

 

[KRISTOLSON]

Looks like they started production with new hub design on 3/10/99 for single rear wheels, and trucks built on that day could be either new or old style. For duallies, they changed to new hub style on 3/21/99, while trucks built on 3/20/99 could be either or.

 

[bserventi]

The truck is a 2003.

What I did, and it seems to have worked, is pry the axle out of the axle housing a little. I guess the axle was too far into the housing. Once I pryed it out about a 1/4" farther, I was able to get all three washers on and the snap ring seated. Once this happend it really tightend up the free play in the axle as well. I'm not sure how the axle got seated to far in, but it did.

Thanks for taking the time to look into the hub production dates.