Axle nut on back order from Ford, aftermarket alternatives?

Maybe you can see if there is a 1999 Mustang GT manual online to confirm what is the recommended torque for the nut you are using.

The CD Service Manual I have is for a 2005 LS - 2nd gen like the one online (denau).
 
Andddd, it came back from alignment. Something is loose/wrong/etc. The wheel wiggles on the hub but the knuckle and suspension isn't moving. Time to tear it all back apart. :(

I tell you, that Taurus SHO keeps sounding better and better.
 
Kumba said:
I tell you, that Taurus SHO keeps sounding better and better.
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down pipes, meth, 3 bar sensor and a tune. hellooooo solid 12s lol.
watch the rear diff though. needs fluid changes way more often than ford says.
 
Well either the machine shop that pressed in the bearings messed up, or the bearings themselves are messed up. Both hubs have play in them allowing the wheel to move around. I find it odd that the machine shop messed up both hubs so I'm going with bad bearings. I used SKF GRW186 bearings so buyer beware and check your endplay!!!

Sigh...
 
Kumba said:
Well either the machine shop that pressed in the bearings messed up, or the bearings themselves are messed up. Both hubs have play in them allowing the wheel to move around. I find it odd that the machine shop messed up both hubs so I'm going with bad bearings. I used SKF GRW186 bearings so buyer beware and check your endplay!!!

Sigh...
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Why did they press the bearings? The entire hub/bearing comes from Ford as an assembly. Four bolts and you're done, no pressing needed.
 
LSinYourLS said:
Why did they press the bearings? The entire hub/bearing comes from Ford as an assembly. Four bolts and you're done, no pressing needed.
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Cause $30 for a bearing and $35 to press it into the hub seemed like a better use of money then spending $800 per knuckle for one from Ford.
 
DeviLSh said:
right - like fund the 8.8" swap :p
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I am only missing the torsion diff and gen1 axles to do that swap now that you mention it. Well, and a rear subframe to work with while I have the forward diff mounts made.... all about priorities!
 
Well you are further along than me! haha

I think I want to take the same approach - get a spare rear SF to mock/weld up the forward mounts. I will be due for a rear suspension refresh in a while anyway, so I need to go junk yard searching. My local dealer has a gen1 parts car in the back, I am gonna see if I can grab the axles from it.

Are the rear SF's the same on both gens - Or are gen1 axles the only gen1 part I can use for the 8.8 swap?
 
DeviLSh said:
Well you are further along than me! haha

I think I want to take the same approach - get a spare rear SF to mock/weld up the forward mounts. I will be due for a rear suspension refresh in a while anyway, so I need to go junk yard searching. My local dealer has a gen1 parts car in the back, I am gonna see if I can grab the axles from it.

Are the rear SF's the same on both gens - Or are gen1 axles the only gen1 part I can use for the 8.8 swap?
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Gen1 and Gen2 rear subframes are different thanks to the electronic vs manual parking brakes. The Gen2 has some extra mount points to accomodate the parking break set-up that the gen1 doesn't. I believe the control arm and knuckles are all the same as well.
 
1LoudLS said:
I though you were gonna scoop up that new whole IRS drop out from bama?
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Never heard back from the guy and got busy with my own stuff. Plus someone else said it was a Gen1 and wouldn't fit the parking brake set-up. I'll just transplant the control arms and knuckles whenever I do that project. At least this way I won't have to gamble with buying something that the guy described the rubber as starting to crack.
 
I ran into an issue using the Doorman 615-098.1 spindle nut on the CV axles of my LS. Due to bad bearings I had to rebuild a second set of knuckles. The second set are tight and this time when the axle nut was put on it would not seat all the way down on the hub. The hubs that were rebuilt the second time were the original hubs for the car so they DID fit before all this started.

Fortunately, when I ordered new bearings I also got two OEM-style nuts as well on clearance. While I did not think to take pictures, there is a LARGE (like 1/4-5/16") shoulder on the OEM axle nut that allows the nut to seat further on the hub versus the Doorman nut. The same shoulder on the Doorman nut is around 1/8" or so.

Since I don't have pictures, what I mean by "shoulder" is the distance from the face of the nut that goes against the hub to where the threads stop inside the nut. If I had a washer that was the right size then the doorman nut would have fit without issue.

This might only be an issue on my 2006 LS but I just wanted to share my experience. This was not a torque issue as I broke the CV socket trying to get it on with a breaker bar and ended up having to cut the nut off to put the OEM style ones on. The OEM ones went on smoothly all the way down to the hub and torque'd to 300 ft-lb with no issue.
 
Admittedly, I'm a liitle slow... Are you saying that the 99 mustang axle nut did not fit as previously reported?

How do I know what generation axles I have on my 00 ls?

Thank you
 
dmercurio said:
Admittedly, I'm a liitle slow... Are you saying that the 99 mustang axle nut did not fit as previously reported?

How do I know what generation axles I have on my 00 ls?

Thank you
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The Axle Nut does fit and can be used, but in my case it would have required a spacer or washer to torque down to the hub properly. Perhaps there is a difference in the hubs between gen1 and gen2 as the previous successful use of it was a Gen1.

If you can find a hardware store with a 1" diameter and thick washer then you would likely not have an issue. In my case I just happened to re-order a pair of OEM-style axle nuts and they have a much thicker shoulder which eliminates the need of a washer.

http://p.globalsources.com/IMAGES/PDT/B1059022555/Hex-Flange-Nut.jpg

In the above image, the shoulder of the nut is the area between the flat flange of the nut (the part that faces the hub) and where the threads start further down the inside of the nut. You can see that the threads do not go all the way to the flang. There is a bevel in there where the threads do not extend or engage, like a small relief. On the Mustang spindle nut, that area is about 1/8" or so. On the OEM LS nut it's around 5/16 to 1/4". I wish I had thought to take a picture of the two side by side but I was more concerned about what else was broke to think about it.
 
Thank you for explaining further. I'm replacing a wheel bearing tomorrow and am concerned about the axle nut. I picked up the 99 Mustang part at Auto Zone and will make sure to have a washer available just in case.
 
dmercurio said:
Thank you for explaining further. I'm replacing a wheel bearing tomorrow and am concerned about the axle nut. I picked up the 99 Mustang part at Auto Zone and will make sure to have a washer available just in case.
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The good news is that the Mustang spindle nut is a one-piece nut, not 4 layers of metal in a crimped cage like the OEM nut. That means that it is a little more resilient to being put on and off. While still not a fabulously great idea to re-use a lock-nut, you can do that if it doesn't go all the way down. Plan B would be to just locate another $5 axle nut if it doesn't work and then buy a 1" washer. Truth be told you'll probably have more issues finding a washer for a 1" bolt then you will an axle nut.
 
Well.. No problems with axle nut removal.. Definitely a problem with upper control arm bolt/nut though. It seems to have become corroded to the point of no removal. It just spins the threaded pin along with the 18mm nut connecting it to the knuckle.

I'm selling the car and would hate to have to buy the 200 dollar control arm because of a bad bearing. Besides hacking the bolt in half with a hacksaw, any other options?

I'm considering unbolting the arm from the frame and bring the knuckle/arm in to the machine shop in hopes it won't get in the way of the bearing r&r.

Note: the under carriage of the car is horribly rotted out.
 
Hey Kumba---

Do you have a source for the 'swap' mounts or, alternatively, a dimensioned drawing? It is a project for the future.

KS
 
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