Dan-sr@perra-us.net
Senior Member
This is a warning to F53 Chassis motorhome owners. I have a 2018 Thor ACE 30.3.
On my way home from my winter trip I had a right front wheel bearing fail while traveling at 70MPH on I20 in west Texas about 70 miles west of Midland Texas. The coach tried to make a hard right turn, my decision to install the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer probably saved me from wreaking the coach. Fortunately, it happened near an exit with a Pilot truck stop. We ended up stuck in that parking lot for about 10 days waiting for parts that I had to have delivered from Dallas. The Bearing failure also damaged the wheel spindle, that was the part that was difficult to find.
Now here is part two of the story. Once I returned home, I took my coach into the shop for its after-trip service and to have the alignment checked I also had the front wheel bearings checked and repacked. When they disassembled the left side they found that the left wheel bearings were going bad as well. The problems with both front wheel bearings were likely caused by insufficient lubrication at the factory. My coach now has only 14,000 miles.
The Ford F53 Owner's manual calls for repacking the front wheel bearings at 30,000 miles.
This is the second lubrication problem I have had with my coach. The first was worn out kingpin bushings at 3900 miles just after I purchased the coach in 2022. Again, the problem was caused by insufficient lubrication.
WARNING to all F53 Chassis owner's, have your wheel bearing checked for wear and professionally repacked, it may save your life.
On my way home from my winter trip I had a right front wheel bearing fail while traveling at 70MPH on I20 in west Texas about 70 miles west of Midland Texas. The coach tried to make a hard right turn, my decision to install the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer probably saved me from wreaking the coach. Fortunately, it happened near an exit with a Pilot truck stop. We ended up stuck in that parking lot for about 10 days waiting for parts that I had to have delivered from Dallas. The Bearing failure also damaged the wheel spindle, that was the part that was difficult to find.
Now here is part two of the story. Once I returned home, I took my coach into the shop for its after-trip service and to have the alignment checked I also had the front wheel bearings checked and repacked. When they disassembled the left side they found that the left wheel bearings were going bad as well. The problems with both front wheel bearings were likely caused by insufficient lubrication at the factory. My coach now has only 14,000 miles.
The Ford F53 Owner's manual calls for repacking the front wheel bearings at 30,000 miles.
This is the second lubrication problem I have had with my coach. The first was worn out kingpin bushings at 3900 miles just after I purchased the coach in 2022. Again, the problem was caused by insufficient lubrication.
WARNING to all F53 Chassis owner's, have your wheel bearing checked for wear and professionally repacked, it may save your life.
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