Out of curiousity, how much did you pay for that hub assembly? I called about 5 places and surprisingly Ford was the cheapest at $240. Everywhere else wanted between $270 and $370. As a last resort, I called a local family-owned parts store and they got me one for $140. I'm sure it's not the highest quality but it'll keep the bothersome noises away for a while at least.

 

About $150. PTC branded (distributors) http://www.ptcauto.com/

Made in China, but lifetime warranty. NAPA was $258, National by Federal Mogal was $240 and was made in Korea. Now that I've got my little puller rigged up, I'll be happy to never spend another nickel on the hub even if I have to replace it every year.

 

Yeah the prices on these are pretty ridiculous. Whose idea was it to make the wheel bearings unservicable?

 

I'm not an engineer by trade and I don't play one on TV, but I have a couple of theories on that one...

-With the hub designed as it is, it's impossible to over-torque the bearing itself. Yes, you can strip the nut or the outer CV stub, but the bearing will be unaffected by the over-torque.
-Ease of assembly... no complicated torque-loosen-torque-loosen-torque sequence for tightening like a standard 2wd spindle assembly.
-Compare our setup to the previous-generation's front hub assemblies... they went from a pair of bearings that constantly had to be re-torqued (which was a pain in the butt itself) with a double-nut, a special little key you had to fish out to turn the nut, and a separate (and inherently weak) locking hub assembly to a simple and proven design consisting of a hub assembly, three bolts, and a spindle nut. (front wheel drive cars had been using similar setups for decades, as had Chevy trucks)
-The supplier made the new hub assembly out of three basic pieces (not including the rolling elements). They come sealed for life to prevent water intrusion (the old lip seals weren't very reliable... there's a reason you had to repack the bearings after submerging them)

Overall, I think it's much simpler. Sure it costs a bit more than the old cone and cup bearings on a spindle, but IMHO it is a better design.

-Joe

 

All of these are good points. I'm just used to spending $15 on a bearing and some other odds and ends and being done with it. It was quite a shock when I found out I was looking at well over $200 just to replace a wheel bearing. I guess I'm the one that wanted 4wd though so I shouldn't complain about the added expenses.

 

The price of the part didn't bother me nearly as much as having to replace it at 40k miles. The truck is just getting broke in good!