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Sterling hub flange bent

Tiha

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
711
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809
Has Anyone run into this?

Been chasing vibration for a while. Had it as soon as I went to new tires and wheels, 305/70/16 on MT classics.

Blamed tires from day one.

On my third set of tires. Road force balance. Also centramatics. Screwed around with pretty much everything.

Out of desperation I jacked up the truck again last night running it in drive on jack stands. Was going to recheck my pinion angles.

Put it in drive to look listen, run it up to speed.

Driver's side rear wheel wobbles. I am like okay. Bent wheel, thinking road force balance was supposed to catch that.

So then I wonder how many are bent and start the process of rotating them out.

First I swap side to side on the rear, start truck up and run it. Driver's side still wobbles, Passenger side is fine. (should of had the bent rim on passenger side now)

Ok, so it is not a bent rim.

Digging deeper, Wheel bearing tight.
Pull tire back off check mounting surfaces all look great. Pulled brake drum, cleaned flange with wire brush, put wheel on without brake drum. (that was enough to ruin a couple lug nuts, studs are so long)

Start truck, wobble still there.

Being a full floating axle I was pretty sure it wasn't the axle, but I pulled it anyway. Axle appears to be true.

rolling the tire and hub without axle or brake drum still shows run out.

This truck has been a highway cruiser so I know there is no traumatic injury to the hub. 170k miles on truck. Maybe just a couple heavy tows.

So was it always there?

My factory alcoas had 285 tires and I never had a vibration problem. At least one that I felt I had to deal with.

So maybe it was always there and putting the wider and taller tires amplified it?

I ordered a new hub. Ouch. They are expensive.


I am still kicking around different theories. Things I can check tonight.

I cannot visualize any scenario where a bearing or race can cause this. Am I wrong?
Bearings are tight, show no wear or pitting. There is no bearing end play. So there would have to be a deformity in both the race and the bearing in order to cause this?
Or could it even cause it?
I am stuck on the idea it can't.

Bent stub/spindle would cause caster/camber issues not wobble.

Just wondering if I should put bearings in before I throw a $300 hub on it.

I searched the web and found nothing. So I figure it is so common it's like everyone already knows this but me, or I just get the weirdest shit happening to me.

Thoughts anyone?
You guys know everything.
 
For the $60 for bearings for that side, Id replace them. You are already $300 in might as well finish the refresh on that side at least.
 
I was kind of thinking that. The new hub comes with bearings and seal, part of why I went that way over used.
 
centurion%202_zps7jj6twmn.jpg


I wonder if you could knock the studs out of the old hub, have it chucked in a lathe and true it up. This picture is the moment I hit a hole doing a snow-nut blowing the bead on the driver rear tire taking the tire clear off the wheel and not damaging anything. I don't know how you could bend the drive hub, I just can't even picture it. The spindle, yes. But the hub flange itself, that sounds impossible.
 
JR4X said:
But the hub flange itself, that sounds impossible.
Click to expand...

I agree, that is why I was thinking it has been there forever. Just never noticed with a smaller, narrower tire.

Also the tire selection in my current size is horrible.

I do have a friend with a lathe, I may chuck it partly for fun, and to keep a spare. That way I will never need it. lol

I have never bent anything in my life. I have had the truck over 100k. I know it wasn't me.

In my search, read on another forum where sitting for a long period of time was considered the cause of a bad hub flange. I am not buying though. I could see trauma, rust jacking, extreme heating cycles. All kinds of scenarios but never just sitting.

Don't actually remember if I have ever put bearings and races in this truck. Know I have done seals, so most likely it was dropped on the assembly floor and nobody said nutin.
 
When you have your buddy chuck it I'd love to see a cell phone video of the runout. Hoping your new $360 dollar hub and bearings cures it. I've had to do the speedy sleeve inner bearing/seal combo on both sides of mine pictured above.

Another thought, you said you never noticed it till after having the new tires put on it. Could the dickheads that put tires on it have dropped it for you? I watched some jackasses at an express lube drop my diesel superduty trying to rotate tires for me. They lifted it up in the air and took all the lug nuts off all 4 wheels. They pulled the rear tires off first and didn't have the truck balanced so without the couple hundred pounds of rear tires it tipped forward off the lift, luckily for them the front tires were still hanging on because it landed on the front tires stopping it from falling further. They had to put the rear tires back on and tighten the lugnuts, then jack the front tires up with a jack to put the lug nuts back on. I rotated my own tires at home after that. If the front tires hadn't been on it still probably would have bent all kinds of shit.
 
In line with my typical luck, The new hub arrived and it was damaged in shipping.

looks like it was dropped. The box shows no damage but the area where the seal is driven in has a huge flat spot. Seal is bent.

So now back to option 2, pulling the original hub, putting it in a lathe and truing it up.
 
Yeah working on that with them now.

My machine shop guy is not working tomorrow, this is like the one saturday all year he doesn't work. Said he would meet me Sunday, but I have a graduation to attend. So Monday it is if I don't figure something else out. I feel bad and am not going to let him just do it on Sunday for free.

I may try a pick and pull tomorrow.

Road trip next week I am running out of time. This last minute crap should be for accessories not necessities.
 
Outside the box here, strip the hub and Chuck it up on a brake lathe

or go to a junkyard and buy one for 40, that shit should be everywhere
 
Projectjunkie said:
Outside the box here, strip the hub and Chuck it up on a brake lathe

or go to a junkyard and buy one for 40, that shit should be everywhere
Click to expand...

Yep that is the plan.

Ordered new because when I first found it I figured it was common and I am just more picky than other people that don't notice or just live with it. Thinking many used ones might be the same, but after i ordered and started searching I find that it is not common, so junk yard is my next stop.
 
I'm just scratching my head about this.

You mean this flange, right? With the studs through it?

Did you put a jackstand/screwdriver (or dial indicator!) next to it, on the truck, and verify that the flange is wobbling? Remove the wheel/tire from the equation? All the swapping tires around seems like circumstantial evidence- go measure the hub for runout.

Click image for larger version Name: SterlingHub.jpg Views: 0 Size: 44.6 KB ID: 52671
 
subybaja said:
You mean this flange, right? With the studs through it?
Click to expand...

Yep that flange is bent.

I did pull everything off. Cleaned the face, swapped wheels. Even marked and clocked the wheel in 4 different positions.
Did not measure with a dial indicator or tape measure, I simply put a hammer, handle up against the sidewall and rim for each try.

Have not put a run out gauge on it yet, maybe tomorrow, but by process of elimination, yeah it has to be that flange.

I think it will be interesting to see how far off I can measure compared to what it visually looks like running with tire on.
 
Tiha said:
Yep that flange is bent.

I did pull everything off. Cleaned the face, swapped wheels. Even marked and clocked the wheel in 4 different positions.
Did not measure with a dial indicator or tape measure, I simply put a hammer, handle up against the sidewall and rim for each try.

Have not put a run out gauge on it yet, maybe tomorrow, but by process of elimination, yeah it has to be that flange.

I think it will be interesting to see how far off I can measure compared to what it visually looks like running with tire on.
Click to expand...

I mean measure the flange, not a possibly-bent wheel/tire.

(I can't see how multiple wheels and multiple clocking could still wobble...but I can't figure how the hub could be out either!)
 
For grins tonight, I'm gonna put a dial indicator on my 10.25 that's already on stands!
 
is it possible the rotor face is bent or a piece of rust fell in between the rotor and hub flange when the wheels were off? I can't imagine a scenario that would bend that hub flange without destroying something else, like a bearing, along with it.

I'll be curious to hear the results of this
 
Tiha said:
I think it will be interesting to see how far off I can measure compared to what it visually looks like running with tire on
Click to expand...

a little at the flange ends up being a lot at the tire. I’ve got some bent spindles that are clear to naked eye when the tires are on. But trying to measure how much their bent is almost impossible it’s such a small amount.
 
I missed the part of what year this is whether it has rear discs or drums but either way you need to eliminate the rotor or the drum from the equation completely and put a dial indicator on that bare hub and have it run while it's on the jack stands see what you got I find it hard to believe that that thing is bent I've run those rear ends for years I have never seen that, and I have definitely done my fair share a stupid shit and abused those Sterlings .
 
Valley Rock said:
I missed the part of what year this is whether it has rear discs or drums but either way you need to eliminate the rotor or the drum from the equation completely and put a dial indicator on that bare hub and have it run while it's on the jack stands see what you got I find it hard to believe that that thing is bent I've run those rear ends for years I have never seen that, and I have definitely done my fair share a stupid shit and abused those Sterlings .
Click to expand...

First post

Tiha said:
Ok, so it is not a bent rim.

Digging deeper, Wheel bearing tight.
Pull tire back off check mounting surfaces all look great. Pulled brake drum, cleaned flange with wire brush, put wheel on without brake drum. (that was enough to ruin a couple lug nuts, studs are so long)

Start truck, wobble still there.

Being a full floating axle I was pretty sure it wasn't the axle, but I pulled it anyway. Axle appears to be true.

rolling the tire and hub without axle or brake drum still shows run out.
Click to expand...
 
Is the hub casting off just enough that the wheel isn't fully seating? As in the wheel hub bore is just barely hanging up on one spot on the hub. It wouldn't take much and your problem started with new tires AND wheels.
 
JR4X said:
First post
Click to expand...

Nope. He didn't "put dial indicator on that bare hub". He "put wheel on without drum".

Every measuement so far (that I've read) has been on a wheel. Bent wheel(s), oddball stud with long splines not letting the wheel seat...just an extra variable.

Damnit. Went out and threw an indicator on my wheel. .100 out on my junk 16.5 wagon wheels (never noticed my 30% MTRs wobble!). Tried to pull the drum...no dice, time for BFH. Bang, Bang, oh wait, 11:30pm 20 feet from neighbor's window... Maybe tomorrow. Now I want to know.
 
Last edited:
Recap,

this is a 95 F350 4x4

I did swap wheels thinking it was a wheel and no change.

Cleaned the face of the hub and assembled without drum to eliminate rust jacking or dirt, or brake drum issue.

For me, I was looking to eliminate the visual wobble. If you can see it, you can feel it. (in my mind anyway)

Measured the hub with a dial indicator. .009-.010 run out at the outer edge of hub flange.
When I get around to chucking it in a lathe I will be interested to find out if the bend is centered around a wheel stud or something. Will also get a more accurate measurement.
I thought I read somewhere the ford spec was .005 max. Could be wrong though.

Never the less, used junk yard hub fixed the problem. Tire spins true now just like the other side. Measuring the used hub in the same fashion I got maybe .002-.003 that could easily be an error on my part and might have been less.

again, I keep thinking it has always been like that and was just not able to feel it with 285 tires and factory alcoas but changing to 305 on MT classics, bigger wider tire, more weight being thrown around off balance and side to side. I am on my 3rd set of 305s and always had this problem till now. always blamed the tires.

That was the majority of my shakes and vibrations. That little hub tweak made a world of difference, been a long time since it was this nice to drive. I have one tiny vibration left but I know it is pinion angle/driveshaft related as it only does it on acceleration and not deceleration or coasting. But it is definitely not tires or hubs anymore.

You run it up to 85 mph, flip it into neutral and it is just as smooth as glass all the way down. If you are light on the pedal it is just as smooth all the way up as well.
 
subybaja said:
Cool! I'm glad it worked.

I'll bet it was just a little off-spec from the factory.
Click to expand...

could me, or maybe the truck was hit by a car in the tire, or spun out and hit a curb just right at some point, somebody replaced the tire and wheel and never noticed anything wrong
 
Tiha said:
Recap,

this is a 95 F350 4x4

again, I keep thinking it has always been like that and was just not able to feel it with 285 tires and factory alcoas but changing to 305 on MT classics, bigger wider tire, more weight being thrown around off balance and side to side
Click to expand...

:rainbow:
 
JR4X said:
centurion%202_zps7jj6twmn.jpg


I wonder if you could knock the studs out of the old hub, have it chucked in a lathe and true it up. This picture is the moment I hit a hole doing a snow-nut blowing the bead on the driver rear tire taking the tire clear off the wheel and not damaging anything. I don't know how you could bend the drive hub, I just can't even picture it. The spindle, yes. But the hub flange itself, that sounds impossible.
Click to expand...

That is a great pic. Centurion?
 
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