Alternative to IWE and F150 Unit Bearing

This is more aimed at people that might be going with a fabricated upright in the future. I'm sure most people are aware of the failure issues with the IWE system. I wasn't positive if it was common or not for an IFS vehicle to have manual locking hubs, so I did some searching around.

I also considered our bolt pattern(6x135). If you've done some drivetrain searching for upgraded parts, the f150 wheel bolt pattern is pretty rare. Currie does offer a full float rear hub now for the raptor in 6x135, but thats about it. 6x5.5 is super common and just about every hub manufacture has a 6x5.5 pattern option.

The second reason I was looking at different options was because of the strength or lack there of, with f150 unit bearings. If you've ever seen bearings come apart on vehicles that were used lightly offroad, you could imagine the concern with a LT raptor going 80 through a whoop section. I know a few f150 owners that have bearings on hand because they go through them often enough.

So what I found was that older 4WD Toyotas with IFS had manual locking hubs. They have a snout design (fixed spindle) which is similar to the beefed 2WD bolt/weld on snouts that people like Camburg, Mazzulla etc... offer. The one negative to this would be a possibly track width increase of 1-2", which is considrable if you are running something like that alpha 1 LT kit(5.5" track increase).

This is a kit as example, don't mind the u joint. Imagine an RCV axle.



Now onto the second option(unit bearing). Staying with a unit bearing, but something a little stronger. There is the option of upgrading to 1 ton bearings and running an F450 unit bearing.This would be a bolt on replacement and help maintain similar track-width. More than likely the bearing bolt pattern to the bearing plate would be different. Companies like Spidertrax make upgraded bearings that would allow you to have a 35spline axle shaft from your CV, and of course, manual locking hubs.

Discuss.

Are you suggesting in "second option", that a hub bearing from a Superduty might be utilized in place of our IWE hubs, allowing us to use locking hubs that are already produced? I'm interested, but nothing will fit.

Crash33 said:

Are you suggesting in "second option", that a hub bearing from a Superduty might be utilized in place of our IWE hubs, allowing us to use locking hubs that are already produced? I'm interested, but nothing will fit.

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Exactly. It's actually pretty common to use f450 bearings on offroad vehicles that require more strength. Spidertrax pretty much made these bearings with the 6x5.5 bolt pattern for vehicles that are pushed harder. If you were considering a fabricated spindle, the bearing block would have to be adjusted for the f450 bearing and the mounts for the caliper might have to be moved.

I'm pretty sure this would be the most cost effective way to upgrade. The bearings are $400-500 each compared to the $150 for the f150 timkens, but more than likely you would never have to replace them. They often last 100,000 miles on f450s. You can also say goodbye to IWE problems.

Spidertrax FUB-5512 - SpiderTrax Offroad Replacement Unit Bearing for Spider 9 Applications - Quadratec

Currie also makes heavy duty unit bearings. You can also upgrade to 5/8 studs.
http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestore/Product596.aspx?id=4309

While this is a great idea for people with deep pockets and run they're trucks beyond hard, it would cost a crap ton of money to have a custom spindle made just for a couple people. The upgraded spindles are already something like $2-3k, imagine having those manufactures do one off custom versions of those units to run something like this. Ouch.

HAYNES OFFROAD said:

While this is a great idea for people with deep pockets and run they're trucks beyond hard, it would cost a crap ton of money to have a custom spindle made just for a couple people. The upgraded spindles are already something like $2-3k, imagine having those manufactures do one off custom versions of those units to run something like this. Ouch.

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I would "imagine" it wouldn't be horrible more expensive for say a long travel suspension spindle to incorporate something like this... Most are hand fabricated anyhow. By the time you spend that much, what's another G or 2? Personally this idea definitely catches my attention.

If I were a fortune teller, I'd predict this option in the future (perhaps distant idk), but I'm not Cleo. Certainly the best solution I've heard thus far.

HAYNES OFFROAD said:

While this is a great idea for people with deep pockets and run they're trucks beyond hard, it would cost a crap ton of money to have a custom spindle made just for a couple people. The upgraded spindles are already something like $2-3k, imagine having those manufactures do one off custom versions of those units to run something like this. Ouch.

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Fabricated spindles are built daily for much less than 2k. I'm sure you've heard of raptor tax. Go read up on some build threads on DezertRangers. And obviously, you wouldn't buy a LT kit and then have a second set of spindles made. You would just have them made the first time to accept a different bearing. BMS, HnM, Dirtfreaks, LSK, Link, Mazzulla, FabUnlimited, Solo, etc.. are all more than capable. Simply replacing the bearing housing for the 1ton unit might be all it takes.

I am thinking more in the direction of people going with LT kits. If you are purchasing a 6-9k dollar LT kit, the work to create the proper geometry for the spindle is already done. Replace the bearing housing from the f150, with one that holds the 1ton unit.

This is obviously a fabricated spindle. The box with the big circle is the bearing housing/plate. These plates are sold for whatever bearing you want to run, or they can be machined out by machine shop.



Currie 1 ton bearing plate $300:



With that said. There might even be a remote possibility for factory upright to be machined to accept the 1 ton bearing. You would have to have both bearings on hand to measure the bolt patterns, but looking at the f450 bearing and the raptor bearing, it almost looks like the bolt pattern could be the same but the bearing diameter extends out further. If that was the case, we could then also machine out the center of the bearing plates on already made LT kits.

F150 Bearing:



F450:



---------- Post added at 11:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 PM ----------

It's also nothing new to do an upgrade like this, I was just trying to figure out the most cost affective route that would enable raptor owners that push their trucks to get to a manual locking hub without adding 2.5"+ of track width.

^this fellows onto something here!

Even on the narrow roads of the netherlands and europe
I wouldn't mind increasing witdh to increase durability

And with an LT kit that would mean a very wide raptor
But still would love how it stands

Just need an equaly wide rear axle


Would love to see where this will be ending up

Dan06 said:

I would "imagine" it wouldn't be horrible more expensive for say a long travel suspension spindle to incorporate something like this... Most are hand fabricated anyhow. By the time you spend that much, what's another G or 2? Personally this idea definitely catches my attention.

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Jarrett H said:

Fabricated spindles are built daily for much less than 2k. I'm sure you've heard of raptor tax. Go read up on some build threads on DezertRangers. And obviously, you wouldn't buy a LT kit and then have a second set of spindles made. You would just have them made the first time to accept a different bearing. BMS, HnM, Dirtfreaks, LSK, Link, Mazzulla, FabUnlimited, Solo, etc.. are all more than capable. Simply replacing the bearing housing for the 1ton unit might be all it takes.

I am thinking more in the direction of people going with LT kits. If you are purchasing a 6-9k dollar LT kit, the work to create the proper geometry for the spindle is already done. Replace the bearing housing from the f150, with one that holds the 1ton unit.

This is obviously a fabricated spindle. The box with the big circle is the bearing housing/plate. These plates are sold for whatever bearing you want to run, or they can be machined out by machine shop

With that said. There might even be a remote possibility for factory upright to be machined to accept the 1 ton bearing. You would have to have both bearings on hand to measure the bolt patterns, but looking at the f450 bearing and the raptor bearing, it almost looks like the bolt pattern could be the same but the bearing diameter extends out further. If that was the case, we could then also machine out the center of the bearing plates on already made LT kits.

It's also nothing new to do an upgrade like this, I was just trying to figure out the most cost affective route that would enable raptor owners that push their trucks to get to a manual locking hub without adding 2.5"+ of track width.

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You guys made some great points. And like I said, I don't think its a bad idea by no means. I was just pointing out the cost. But like you guys have mentioned, if your already spending a decent chunk of change on a LT setup then why not. And yes raptor tax is a thing.

But I do think that this is a possibility. I'm going to look deeper into this myself and I will report back.

HAYNES OFFROAD said:

You guys made some great points. And like I said, I don't think its a bad idea by no means. I was just pointing out the cost. But like you guys have mentioned, if your already spending a decent chunk of change on a LT setup then why not. And yes raptor tax is a thing.

But I do think that this is a possibility. I'm going to look deeper into this myself and I will report back.

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It's always been a possibility to have a full float style spindle with a snout design front spindle, check out the King of Hammer truggies that have IFS. They run drive flange kits that have the wheels always locked, and run the 4WD activation at the transfer case. Toyota has also been doing it for a long time. Although, using a CV instead of a U-Joint would be more beneficial. At extreme angles, U-Joints don't spin at a constant velocity.

Drive shaft velocity - YouTube

The 1 ton bearing option is a cool alternative for a truck that will be hitting whoops at 80mph with a 37" 100lb tire. It might even be more preferable for some if they made the WMS plate on the 1 ton axle in a 6x135 bolt pattern. But, you still have to run a wheel that has a larger center hole, so stock raptor wheels wouldn't be an option. You can bore out the center on a Method wheel though.