Guys, kind of new posting here, but have been around for a while. I need an OEM replacement spindle for my 98 F150 2WD V6. It is drivers side. Any idea where to look. I'm getting a lot of hits for spindle lift kits, but not for direct replacements. Does the spindle come as part of the knuckle if I were to buy a new knuckle? Thanks in advance for any help.

-C

 

Try www.fordpartsonline.com.

 

I was looking at that yesterday. I can't find a listing for a Spindle. I found the Knuckle. They have an image of the Knuckle that shows the Spindle but the Spindle is not listed seperately. I'm wondering if I have to purchase the Knuckle to get the Spindle...

 

If by 'spindle' you mean, 'the piece that you bolt the wheel bearings onto' then, yes, you will need the whole knuckle. It's all one piece.

-Joe

 

try www.fordtruckworld.com and www.race-dezert.com . . put an ad in the classifieds. lots of people have done spindle lifts on ftw an dcan sell you their old ones for cheap ; lots of people have done extensive work to their trucks on race-dezert and would be oh so fortunate to have someone take spare parts out of their garage and free up some space

 

Thanks for the responses...It looks like I should be asking for a knuckle. Fordpartsonline is charging $117. That's not bad. Scale of 1-10, how hard to change a knuckle? Any tips?

 

Scale of 1-10, maybe a 3 in my book. Knuckles themselves have no moving parts to fail. What happened to yours?

-Joe

 

Wheel bearing seized up at around 80 mph. Inner bearing race welded itself to the spindle. The shop that my truck was towed to (I was out of town) decided to grind the race off. They never got the diameter or taper right. Tried to replace bearing last weekend. Couldn't get the bearings to seat right on the spindle. They won't go far enough on...I had to improvise...you don't wan't to know how I'm driving my truck right now...trust me...

 

I do, I do!!!!!

 

OUCH! Yup, time for a new spindle.

Post in the suspension forum as mentioned above, or hit the local junkyard. It won't be expensive if you buy a used one.

Also, if you're having one shipped, make sure they place a plastic cap of some sort over the threaded end of the spindle. The folks at the big brown truck are often less than nice to them. A pop bottle with the bottom cut off would work pretty well to insulate the tip of the spindle from any major damage.

-Joe

-Joe

 

OK since your twisting my arm. The first thing I noticed was that when the bearings don't seat all the way on the spindle the calipers don't have room to clear the rotors. Of course, I found this out the hard way. After a mile or so of grinding I decided to check it out. So, as a quick fix I place about 1/4 worth of washers on each bolt holding the caliper (spaced it outwards). So, that took care of the grinding. Next problem was that after 2 days of driving, the spidle nut stripped completly out and off the threads. Only thing holding my wheel on was a finishing nail (cotter pin broke and didn't have a spare). This was quite un-nerving. I drive 125 miles per day (work and back) speeds up to 80 mph. So, I bought a new spindle nut and threaded it on as far as possible while still allowing the wheel to spin. New cotter pins and now I'm playing the waiting game until a new spindle/knuckle arrives.

-C

 

10 minutes with a die grinder and the bearings will seat on the spindle, no problem!

Also, there's no reason the taper of the spindle should be an issue... the taper is a rough cut. It's not a precision grind. As long as it's not scored creating a weak point, it's fine.

If it was mine, grind the spindle with a flap wheel until there was enough clearance for the inner bearing to seat against the back shoulder. If it's sloppy, a little bit of green loctite on the shaft will do the trick. Slip the bearing and rotor on, then pop the outer bearing on, snug the spindle nut per the spec and you're good to go! Just don;t drive it until the loctite cures...

And for pete's sake, don't jury-rig your brakes and suspension. There are a LOT of other drivers on the road relying on your good judgement to keep both you AND them safe. Please don't violate that trust. No mighty dollar is worth someones life.

-Joe

 

That's exactly what I did before the weekend. Bearing slid back to the original position. Everything fit back up nicely. No play at all between the spindle and the inner bearing. Even took less than 10 minutes. I was nervous about getting the taper right, but realized that it didn't have to be perfect. I'd say it's pretty close to what was original based upon the fittment of the bearing. I had driven about 700 miles since the last fix and it hadn't moved at all.