This vehicle I received from friend . And prior to that helped with repair to front lft hub bearing and hub completely tore up .
In findings during repair amazed to find the whole hub and tire assy. and spindle held to knuckle by three bolts of which one was missing another broken off and third loose , this is large and heavy truck (really three bolts ) My question is there any update or upgrade to this frnt suspension ? It does make me quite uneasy to wanna take 4 wheeling . Is this all one can accept of Fords these days ? My 1953 f-250 took nearly 50 years to break suspension or axle and I've rolled two early Ford pick-ups and still here to tell about it .is Ford losing there built Ford tough truth and phrase ? Any and all conversation welcome ,Tthank-You in advance.
Regards , Paul (digitdeeper )

 

They are high grade bolts that are have a lot of torque on them. They do fine. Somebody probably replaced the hub before and didn't torque them properly. When I replaced my bearing hubs, I had a time getting those bolts loose.

 

YES ISN'T THAT THE TRUTH THE ANGLE TO GET TO THESE BOLTS ARE ARE SLIGHTLY OFF A TRUE LOCK ON TO BOLTS , SO i GUESS THEIRS BEEN NO CHANGE AND THIS IS SUFFICIENT DESIGN . OH AND YES SPECIALIZED BOLTS ONLY HAD FROM FORD , I'VE YET TO DISASSEMBLE ONE MORE TIME TO ATTEMPT TO REMOVE BROKEN BOLT OR REPLACE SPINDLE , THANKS for reply and I'll sit on it and see if any more response's COME THRU ..

 

Oops

 

I bought a high torque impact wrench to get mine out and used it with a universal on that one that's hard to get to.

 

all the bolts do is hold it against the spindle....really no load on them. the load is all on the bearing as it should be. pretty standard. Now your broken bolt...thats going to suck ...ALOT, as was mentioned these are grade 8 or 9 bolts, your standard drill bit is NOT GOING TO LIKE THAT.... after you remove your hub if there is ANY part of the broken bolt sticking out....i would recommend WELDING a nut to it...then immediately remove it (while its HOT)

 

One '88 F150 rollo for me and then drove it another 1500 miles to the insurance co. and dealer. Got a good trade in for a truck with 110K on it.

Today's Built Ford Tough is lighter for fuel economy, and metallurgy for strength.
I've looked at what you talk about, and think, WHAT? And then the truck last more than 170K(as far as I've gone without new) with proper maintenance.

 

In my humble opinion, the 1997-2003 (2004 heritage), wasn't one of Ford's better designs chassis-wise. Especially in terms of crash resilience.

Today's trucks are amazing in what kind of abuse they can muster -- especially in crashes. Truth is in folks surviving (a lot of times without injury) some pretty bad crashes. The 2004 and above are above are built like mini fortresses to protect the occupants.

Personally, I'd rather be driving a slow, anemic, gas-guzzling pickup truck that can protect me like a fortress from these crazy idiots out on the road.