One final question before I tear into this wonderful project. Ive been spraying deep creep into the seam on the hubs for two weeks where the selector knob is for auto or lock, they still wont unfreeze, gotta throw a wrench on them to turn. It sure would suck if i went to all the work of replacing the seals only to find out im gonna hafta replace the hubs too...thoughts?
I gotta' wonder if locksmith's graphite wouldn't make a better lubricant than something solvent-based.
Pop
__________________ -Marv- one of the Brotherhood
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You have to get that stuff into where it does some good. You can't just spray it inside the hub and hope it frees the dials. Drill a hole in the recessed part of the dial (after you take it off) spray some silicone lube in there, put a sheetmetal screw in the hole, let it sit dial side down overnight, and work the dial the next day with pliers.
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Mine would only turn with pliers on drivers side. I sprayed paint thinner and soaked about one inch of it in thinner for about two hours. worked it with the pliers about ten times and it freed up. Guess What. I did all that work and I'm going to buy new locking hubs,
My major concern isnt to get the dial to work, though it will be nice. My biggest concern is that in the event i cannot get the hublock dial to free up, with the hubs still lock in automatically with the vacuum system?
I would say to do the lube on the hub locks and while you have it apart make sure the black rubber diaphragm on the inside is bottomed out before putting it back together. And then give it a try. The only thing I did different than the Guzzle write up is when I got to the white plastic washer, he pulled it out with pliers. I pushed it all the way to the bottom with my finger and let up and it released. Good luck.
As far as the risks outweighing the benefits of changing the top end oil, when you have to have 8 injectors replaced at a cool 4 thousand dollars from ford, its worth a little extra time. Take a look at this video and tell me what you think.
I don't pay attention to him. Every now and again he says something okay, but you have to muddle through the other 90% of what comes out of his mouth.
I haven't changed any injectors yet. I have the original 8 that came with the truck and it's got 187K on the odometer and I've only changed the HPOP oil once.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotsaunders
My stub axle is pretty smooth going through the hub bearing, then splined as it gets into the locking hub. Where I see the vacuum line is way back on the knuckle. I don't know. I guess I will replace ALL seals and see what happens.What a Job. Will shoot grease on the bearing so Pop's won't get on to me anymore. LOL
There are 3 seals: the yellow o-ring (hub-to-knuckle seal), the black o-ring (the locking hub seal) and the axle seal (inside knuckle seal that looks like a big disc that seat on the axle itself).
Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotsaunders
I have the hub off and you can move the stub axle around a little bit. Do you know if the seal is bad or should it move a little around the outer part of the seal? Where did you buy your o rings?
With the hub off, you will definitely feel play in the axle. There are no support bearings or brackets for it. One end slides into the front differential housing (the axle tube really only protects the shaft from dirt and debris) then feeds into the hub assembly through the knuckle. Other than both ends, it's not really supported anywhere else. So when you take your hub assembly off, you really only have "support" for the axle at the differential and the axle seal in the knuckle.
I've never heard of generic o-rings being used. I've bought all of mine through Ford (I never re-use my o-rings).
Quote:
Originally Posted by onephinesuperduty
My major concern isnt to get the dial to work, though it will be nice. My biggest concern is that in the event i cannot get the hublock dial to free up, with the hubs still lock in automatically with the vacuum system?
Quote:
Originally Posted by onephinesuperduty
One final question before I tear into this wonderful project. Ive been spraying deep creep into the seam on the hubs for two weeks where the selector knob is for auto or lock, they still wont unfreeze, gotta throw a wrench on them to turn. It sure would suck if i went to all the work of replacing the seals only to find out im gonna hafta replace the hubs too...thoughts?
If you can't get the hub to operate in manual, it most likely isn't going to operate with vacuum. If it's just really "sticky" then M-A-Y-B-E. One of mine was frozen in the unlock position and it took me about 45 minutes of gently "tapping" it around the circumfrence with a mallet until I finally worked it off the axle splines. If the hub is frozen, then chances are the 4x4 system has not been exercised in a while so you may have a combination of problems. I bought mine and the hubs weren't engaging (maybe the 3rd party mechanic WASN'T as good as I thought ), but the light would come on and the transfer case would engage. Turned out to be a bad hub and a solenoid problem (along with a vacuum leak that showed itself after fixing the other two problems ). You could easily have a single point failure, but don't rule out the possibility of more than one problem for your symptom.
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2003 F-250 PSD 7.3 Lariat FX4 CC/SB, 4R100, 3.73LS, dual alternators with 188K+ Miles
AIH delete, In-Tank (ITP) and Harpoon Mod, SS HPX, 203F Thermo w/Billet Housing, FTVB, '08 Rear Diff Cover, Headlight Harness (GOS), Zoodad (King Style), 6637, Foil Delete, Engine/CAC boots (Dieselsite), Moog Ball Joints, BFG Mud-Terrain TA KM2 285/75-16
Real Men Redline Less Than 3500 RPM
It still might work on automatic if the locking hub is turned all the way to the left while looking at it. This is the auto position.
But if it's sticking when you manually operate the hub, chances are using vacuum isn't going to yield any better results (ask me and my wallet how I know that one )...
__________________ THE MOOSE
2003 F-250 PSD 7.3 Lariat FX4 CC/SB, 4R100, 3.73LS, dual alternators with 188K+ Miles
AIH delete, In-Tank (ITP) and Harpoon Mod, SS HPX, 203F Thermo w/Billet Housing, FTVB, '08 Rear Diff Cover, Headlight Harness (GOS), Zoodad (King Style), 6637, Foil Delete, Engine/CAC boots (Dieselsite), Moog Ball Joints, BFG Mud-Terrain TA KM2 285/75-16
Real Men Redline Less Than 3500 RPM
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), but the light would come on and the transfer case would engage. Turned out to be a bad hub and a solenoid problem (along with a vacuum leak that showed itself after fixing the other two problems 
). You could easily have a single point failure, but don't rule out the possibility of more than one problem for your symptom.
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