I have now destroyed both hubs on my level 5 rear. My passenger went with about 5000 miles on them and now my drivers side hub went after about 9000 miles. I have never been to the track with the level 5's. I daily drive my car during summer months and I'm 35 yrs old and treat my car well. Never done a burnout with the car. Is anyone else experiencing problems with the dss hubs that come with the level 5's?
level 5 hub problems
- Thread starter astippich
- Start date
What were your hub or axle nuts torqued at? DSS has posted some #'s that might be different than stock (lower).
Why do you have the Level 5's if you don't race the car?
Why do you have the Level 5's if you don't race the car?
My nuts were originally torqued to the DSS spec of 125ftlbs when they were put in last april. They have been torqued to the latest spec as of november(when my passenger side hub was replaced) which I think is 225ftlbs with new ford nuts. It is possible wear occured last year because of the low torque recommended by DSS and is now rearing its head. The car has only been driven about 1500mi since nov. I have the level 5's as a preventative measure to protect against breakage. I like to build supporting pieces first to prevent problems later. I am running 510hp/510 tq right now. I also plan on some track passes this year.
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What happened to them? Do you have pics of the damage?
BTW I am working on installing my level 5's this week.
BTW I am working on installing my level 5's this week.
interesting, so what were you doing when they failed?
I cant say I was doing anything abusive. The car developed a ticking/tinking noise from the rear that I would notice during normal daily driving. The passenger hub when removed was in pieces. I haven't seen the drivers side hub yet. I will try to get some pictures up of that one . I am thinking that the failure was caused by the low original torque setting. This caused the axel nuts to come loose. I believe if the nuts are torqued to 225 ftlbs(the updated torque spec) and ford axel nuts are used this problem will disappear.
I cant say I was doing anything abusive. The car developed a ticking/tinking noise from the rear that I would notice during normal daily driving. The passenger hub when removed was in pieces. I haven't seen the drivers side hub yet. I will try to get some pictures up of that one . I am thinking that the failure was caused by the low original torque setting(125ftlbs). This caused the axel nuts to come loose. I believe if the nuts are torqued to 225 ftlbs(the updated torque spec) and ford axel nuts are used this problem will disappear.
One problem with the DDS hubs is that they counter bore the end bearing seat to such an extent that it ends up being paper thin. I was shocked when I saw this and don't expect it to live very long. The short span between the inner and outer bearing doesn't help much either. Those bearings and hubs have to absorbe all that redial load from accelleration and braking forces.
As a matter of fact one of the hubs got hung-up in the lip of the inner bearing while I was pressing it in and got peened over and was oval. I put a pipe expander on it which eliminated the rolled edge and tapped the bearing housing onto the shaft to seat it back on the bearing race. When I do the final install it should ride up on the lip right after the spline which should remove any remaining distorsion.
From an engineering persective that hub design is pretty bad. I have never heard of anyone complain about this and thought I was the only one who noticed. My feeling is that the outer CV joint is off an Explorer IRS with a custom shaft to work with the Cobra. I think I will call DDS and find out if I am going to have any problems with this. That bearing housing Ford designed leave a bit to be desired as well.
As a matter of fact one of the hubs got hung-up in the lip of the inner bearing while I was pressing it in and got peened over and was oval. I put a pipe expander on it which eliminated the rolled edge and tapped the bearing housing onto the shaft to seat it back on the bearing race. When I do the final install it should ride up on the lip right after the spline which should remove any remaining distorsion.
From an engineering persective that hub design is pretty bad. I have never heard of anyone complain about this and thought I was the only one who noticed. My feeling is that the outer CV joint is off an Explorer IRS with a custom shaft to work with the Cobra. I think I will call DDS and find out if I am going to have any problems with this. That bearing housing Ford designed leave a bit to be desired as well.
Well I had a problem with one of the hubs, I knocked it off the press and folded over the very thin lip. I tried to fix it but when I pressed it in, it just folded over. Currently waiting on a new hub from DSS.
I didn't know that the Explorer IRS was 31 spline. I own a 2003 V8 Explorer, might have to take a look at the hub. If the Explorer hub could be used, I'm sure it would be thicker than the DSS one. May only require a different bearing to make it work on the cobra.
I didn't know that the Explorer IRS was 31 spline. I own a 2003 V8 Explorer, might have to take a look at the hub. If the Explorer hub could be used, I'm sure it would be thicker than the DSS one. May only require a different bearing to make it work on the cobra.
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