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'04 PSD 4X4 - aftermarket hubs or stick with OEM?

3K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  stevedunham 
#1 ·
Need to replace ball joints and U joints. Need some advice from the folks here that know a lot more than me...As long as I am into it this far, wouldn't be much more to replace the front hubs and stub shafts with something else. Question: Would it be better to stick with the OEM parts and the needle bearings that are a pain to service, or change everything to something aftermarket like Dynatrack or Warn? I am after reliability. Opinions?
 
#2 ·
IMO I would do the upgrade. Simplicity breeds reliability. From a cost vs. potential savings viewpoint its not going to make sense. I know they try and make it sound like you're wasting all this fuel with the factory setup, but I've yet to see that verified, and fuel is cheap right now (I saw under $2/gallon yesterday). But, from a it won't leave you stranded standpoint I think its worthwhile.
 
#3 ·
TKO - your last comment about reliability is what I was thinking, but unsure of. Thanks for the reply. Has anyone out there done a conversion to aftermarket hubs and axle ends? What company did you go with, and why? I know the choices are rather slim...If the needle bearings in the stock unit go bad and take out the axle shaft, the cost is pretty close to replace with aftermarket or replace with OEM. Rather replace with something I don't have to worry about if need be.
 
#4 ·
I think the up front costs of the full conversion don't pay out over the life of the truck. Warn makes the OEM hubs. I think they are reliable for the most part. IF the ESOF vacuum doesn't work just turn them to LOCK. I had 287k on my 2006 which never had ball joints, Ujoint, or hub bearing issues, I did need new hubs for 4X4.
 
#5 ·
It all depends on how you use it. Wear on stuff like this is widely variable.
 
#6 ·
I have an 04 F-350 and did the dynatrac free spin swap , very beefy I will say but requires maintence , I've replaced bearings twice in 100k miles and every fall I disassemble and repack the bearings
 
#7 ·
What I was thinking about was a full conversion that would get rid of those hard to get to needle bearings in the stock hub/axle set up. Read quite a few posts on how bad the stock units are, and so I am at a point that it would make sense to upgrade IF it is reaally worth it to do so. Looking for advice from folks that have done the hub/axle conversion...was it worth it?, take any special tools? and most of all, Do you feel it has increased the reliability of the front drive train? Reliability is the biggest issue.
ttmech - how often are you having to repack the Dynatrac bearings? What are your thoughts on how well the dyna hubs are sealed against water?
Thanks everyone for any input/advice on this!!
 
#8 ·
Cricha, I apologize for not keeping up, curious if you did the front end swap, I am a fan of the dynatrac kit , I plow snow and think it's a stronger hub set up , every fall I repack the bearings just to be safe , bearings and seals are cheap if any issues come about, Isidro through a set of bearings just because I didn't set them right the first time , I think you get a lot of notice if and when something is going bad unlike stock fail immediately
 
#9 · (Edited)
I ran the stock lockouts while my truck was stock but that wasn't long... I lifted it and run 37" tires and use my truck offroad more than most... The stock lockouts aren't designed for the added stress of big tires and 4.56's gears plus ARB lockers, and so they grenaded themselves one day in the snow... I then installed WARN 31 Spline lockouts and they were OK for a year or 2... Then due to the weak Unit Bearing hubs design, I upgraded to the Dynatrac Free Spin Hubs kit with 35 spline outer stub shafts... At that time I upgraded to WARN Premium 35 Spline lockouts, but they kept failing under load... Their design is such that the inner gears move in and out under stress and the large snapring kept failing... After getting them replaced under warranty 5 of 6 times, I gave up on WARN's and now run Yukon Hardcore Lockouts and they have been bulletproof for several years... I run V-bar ice chains on all 4 tires with ARB's front and rear and the Yukon Lockouts take the abuse just fine... I think the stock lockouts are fine as long as you stay with stock tires and do very minimal offroading... Any driveline mods or tire changes and you are asking for failures if you stick to the stock lockouts...
 
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