Front Axle and Unit Bearings

Since I decided to run a larger and heavier than stock tire (Continental MPT81 335/80/20) I needed to address the weakness in the Dana 60 front axle.  The axles have a unit bearing or unitized bearing in the version which is in my truck.  I first heard that this could be an issue when reading about the Turtle V truck.  A friend of mine with an F350 and near stock tires and the same axle also had issues on two occasions.

The bottom line is that the front bearings can fail and if they do you are looking at significant costs and downtime just to return the truck back to the stock, weak, condition.

With the large, heavy tires that will be on the truck, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Dynatrac Free Spin Kit for my truck.  I decided to also upgrade the front U-joints to a greaseable/serviceable version.  Mine were squeaking anyway, two birds......   I had manual hubs, if you have electronic-shift -on-the-fly (ESOF) you will loose that and have manual hubs.   The "free spin" is nice for the ESOF trucks because it stops your front drivetrain from spinning when in 2 wheel drive, saving fuel and wear.

If you order the Free Spin Kit, I suggest you order directly from Dynatrac.  I got expertise, a good price, and free shipping.  The F450 hubs require special machining, which Dynatrac performs in house.
I went with the Warn hubs, rather than the Dynatrac hubs.  This saved me about $450 dollars.  I feel that Warn makes great products, the Dynatrac would be nice, but I am not in need of their extra robustness. 

The kit:

FO60-3X1104-E

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Free Spin Hub Conversion Kit, 99/04 Ford F-450/550 4x4, Warn Premium Hubs, Machined for Stock Adapter

The U-joints:
Dana Spicer SPL55-4X

With the Free Spin Kit and upgraded U-joints, I am confident my front axle is ready for the MPT 81.  Being serviceable, the stock bearing are not, should give that much more life and reliability to the front axle.

Automobile Service Company in Saint Louis Park, MN installed the kit for me.  I was happy with the work.  Dynatrac offers detailed installation instructions on their website.  Installing this kit is apparently pretty straight forward, but I decided to have a pro do it because of my time/space/energy considerations.  It only takes a pro a few hours with all the right tools and knowledge, worth it in my book.

This mod is not fun because you can't tell anything is different.

Somewhere in my journey I will be many miles from a service center and be grateful my wheels are happily turning.