So last december after 4x4ing I blew my drivers side hub assembly out(vacuum hubs), no big deal I thought, just get it fixed and Im good as new right?... WRONG. Cost me 600 bucks for a new one plus labor, plus an axle, and rotor that I wrecked when the hub blew .3 months later the same NEW hub blew out again on me, after only about 200 kms(the truck was barely driven in that time). Took it back to the shop where I had it replaced and thankfully the hub was warrantied for a year but the labor was only warrantied for 100 days and I was just over so I had to pay for that . The truck was then parked and uninsured for 3 months until this month. Well after driving it again this month and about another 200kms once again the SAME hub has given out AGAIN!! WTF?? Now I have to go in and get them to warranty this hub and get another but once again I am just over the 100 days for the labor and will have to pay that.

My question is WTF is going on with this hub? Is this just bad luck or what? Or could something else be causing it? The manager at the shop was kind of a jerk the last time they had to replace it saying that it's cuz my truck is lifted it is hard on the hub. I have a hard time believing this as it is only a 3" body lift, lots of people have them with no problem. And also shouldnt the other hub have blown out too by now if this was the case? Ive had the truck 3 years and no problems before. Now I can only get 200kms out of a NEW hub? I dont think so...Something's not right here...

The truck goes back to the shop in the morning to show them the hub so they can warranty it but I have a feeling they are going to give me a problem about having to fix this again and Im worried about if it blows again they might not fix it.

BTW if they dont waive the labor this time I will be taking my business elsewhere. The only reason Im staying with them now is because I want this fixed free of charge.

Can you guys please give me any advice on what other things could be causing this one hub to keep going so quickly and also maybe some advice on what to say to this jerkoff manager at the shop if he tries to give me the run around or tell me its my trucks lift doing this...Also if he doesnt waive the labor do I still have the right to get my new hub so I can take it to my new mechanic?

I would really appreciate your input guys on this situation as I dont really know what to do and am by no means a mechanic here... Thanks in advance

 

It could be a faulty install. Get some AVM manual locking hubs. They are stronger and you won't have to worry about the vacuum hubs failing.

http://www.tellico4x4.com/product_in...ducts_id/26509

 

I wish I knew about the AVM hubs when the original hub blew out, as the auto parts store(Lordco) told me that there was no manual locking hubs for the '98 ranger...dumbasses... And yes I will probably end up going with the AVM's sooner or later but i already spent the $600 plus labor on the new vacuum one and since its still under warranty Id like to get what I already paid for before I just kiss the $600 goodbye and start over. But I totally appreciate what you are saying... But in the meantime I need some help to figure out whats going on with this hub. Is there anything else I need to look at that could be causing this new hub to keep going so soon?

So is this most likely the shops fault? They sold me this product and installed it, shouldnt it be on them to remedy this? Should I not back down and make them deal with this?

I dont believe it's the lift, and the tires are only 32's. And the passenger side hub hasnt needed replacing in the whole time Ive had this truck so it's got a lot of kms on it and its still going strong...Something isnt adding up here...

 

There not tourqing the axle nut properly and the bearing is seperating. the Hub nut needs to be tourqed to I think around 200ft lbs of tourqe, im prolly wrong. If is not tourqued properly it will fail everytime, its just a matter of time. I'd try another repair shop. My dad owns an auto part store and we see this happen alot.

 

josh its also called run AVM's is your truck PVH or live there josh?

 

Nope, I have a late model 2000, so I didn't get shafted with them crappy PVH's.

 

ic so is mine.. i am gonna convert it to PVH wheel bearings and CV's in time and run AVM's so i dont have to have the axle spinning all the time

 

Thats the best thing to do. My trucks not my DD anymore so I'm not realy worried about it. It's just a tow vehicle and my winter truck basicaly. My cougar is my new DD, gets about 22MPG city, The way I drive. lol

Sorry for the Thread Jack

 

Well took the truck into the shop and left it with them. 20 minutes later i get a call saying my truck is ready, im like wtf how could they replace the hub that quick?? so i go back in and the shop manager tells me that the mechanic said everything was fine except i need a wheel alignment. im like "no no no thats impossible, hang on, bring it back in and I WILL show you whats wrong"

So they put it up on hoist and I went under and yanked on the boot connected to the hub and showed the shop manager that its come apart... then the shop manager stunned is like ohhhh yeahhh i see what the problem is!! CAN U BELIEVE THESE MORONS?? So he calls the mechanic over that has been the one that replaced the hub the last two times and shows him the problem, well the idiot mechanic looks at it with a dumb look on his face and is like yeah whats the problem?? GOOD GRIEF!! and AGAIN WTF??

So the manager, who i believe is also a mechanic, has to tell him that thats not supposed to be like that and proceeds to tell him what needs to be done. So the other mechanic walks away in a huff and then the manager looks at me and says quietly, "you know what, I think he ****ed it up..." Im like "YEAH exactly what i have been saying all along, does this guy even know what he's doing??" the manager says "well he supposed to".

So I asked if there is any other mechanic who knows what he's doing that could do the work and he says "yeah dont worry about I will have someone else look at it". UNBELIEVABLE that me, a laymen, has to show THEM whats wrong!

So thank God the manager is on my side now about this and told me that they will take care of all of it at no charge. I just cant believe that mechanic, how did he ever get certified?? He's an east indian fellow too who barely speaks english so I cant even discuss this with him cuz we dont understand each other, but again today, he tried to say that its the lift causing this problem and even the manager said no way there is no way that the same hub would keep blowing out after so little miles on it. Its the MORON who installed it!!

So in a way now it's a good thing cuz the manager knows whats going on here and realizes its the person installing these hubs that is the problem and not anything to do with my truck. I told them that if it's not properly installed and everything torqued to specs that i will end up back there again and he assured me not to worry.

Once this problem is fixed, BELIEVE ME I will never be taking my truck back to them again. The only reason Im allowing them near my truck right now is cuz Im getting this work done for free....LIKE IT SHOULD BE.

Anyway just thought Id share with you guys that experience I just went through this morning...