Hey folks. Tried this over at the suspension forum, but no love, so...
2001 f250 cc, 4x4, 7.3, 3.73 w/40,000k. Just noticed a new noise yesterday. Happens at parking lot speeds when turning very tightly left or right, (like pulling a u-turn) almost with the wheel at full lock. Rythmic knocking/ticking noise. Frequency of noise is dependent on speed. Not too sure yet where its coming from, but I am guessing the front because it happens when I am turning. I can feel as well as hear the knock when its happening. Any ideas?

Thanks alot
-Shawn

 

Are the hubs locked in ? Is something rubing against something like your tires or suspension anywhere?

 

Hubs in auto position, so I will assume they are not locked. Nothing rubbing as far as I can tell either.

Thanks.

 

could be cv (u joints) in the front axle or DO YOU have a posi rear in the truck?? Sometimes posi rears will jump if the fluid needs additives. Just a thot .....

 

Probably your front hubs or axle u-joints. I'll bet ya' a dollar that they are not unlocked or are partially locked. Have somebody drive the truck at you slowly and look and see if the front axle on either side is turning. If so then your culprit is a hub that didn't unlock. If not turn the hubs in manually and leave it in 2wd and turn and see if it's still making the noise. If not then it's a hub that was partially engaged.

 

If it was my truck...I'd put both axles on a good set of jack stands and have a friend drive it in a stationary position and I'd stay outside and just watch and listen and see what you can observe. Might even have a third party video the whole thing and then you can watch with friends and lotsa suds and maybe they'll see something that you missed. fd

 

Pretty sure its not a posi rear. I will have to check the codes and see.

The esof is kind of flukey, so maybe its a hub that didn't unlock. I will check to see if the front axel(s) is/are turning and report back. Maybe, just for fatdaddy, we will get all loaded and video tape the whole affair.

A u-joint shouldn't be crapping out a 40k, should it? This truck (ashemedly) gets pretty light use. Lotsa highway miles and 4x4 driving in VT, but not a lot of heavy towing.

So if its a hub, why would it not unlock? Is the unlocking mechanism of the esof vacuum controlled too?

Thanks for the help fellas. I will report back soon when I find something out.

Shawn

 

I don't think they use vacuum to UNLOCK but they could stick

I think it's a 30 second deal to check out and I would do that befor I went down and bought the parts store out of jack stands

If it didn't work then fatdaddy's idea might work

However you said it only does it when you turn so you would have to have someone turning the wheel.

 

Hey folks,

So I did some poking around. The front axles are turning with the hubs in auto. But the front axles always turn, don't they? I looked at several 4x4's, and the front axles were all turning.

However, I looked under the truck and the front driveshaft is turning. Now I am pretty sure that unless I have the truck in 4x4, the front driveshaft should not be turning. So it would seem that the transfer case is not disengaging.

So what to do? I have been put some miles on the truck. Hope I haven't hurt anything.

-Shawn

 

Wrong.

If the front hubs have not disengaged and they are still turning the front axles then the front driveshaft has to spin.

Jack up the front and see if you can turn the front driveshaft by hand. If it turns and the front tires turn then the hubs are stuck and the truck is in 2wd. If it starts to turn and stops then the t-case may be in 4X4 but I'll bet a dollar this is not the case.

The other trucks you see around town are probably dudge's. They don't have hubs. They suck.

 

Ok,

So I just jacked up the truck and fiddled with the wheels. I could spin the drivers side front wheel and the front driveshaft spun. Alternatively, when I turned the front drive shaft the drivers side wheel moved. Nothing doing on the passenger side front wheel. While spinning the drivers side wheel, I alternated the hub between lock and auto. I eventually heard a little ping and the hub unlocked. Now when I turn either wheel, the axle doesn't move, nor does the driveshaft.

Found some other fun stuff while looking at the front axels and hubs. First, the inner seal on the hub? (where the front axle goes into the hub, wheel side of the u-joint) is dislodged on both sides. Also, the seal for the front axle on the differential side of the u-joint is dislodged on the passenger side. This does not seem right.

There is some play in the front axles. If I grab the u-joint on either front axle, I can rotate it back and forth a little. This may be normal. There is no play in either of the front u-joints.

Now again, this is an 01 f250 I picked up in October of 01. I have 40k on it now, mostly empty highway miles. Lots of 4x4 use this winter in the snow. I am out of warranty now (what is it, like 3yr, 36k for everything but the motor?). Should I be bitchin at the dealer about this or what?

BTW, good call Mike!

Thanks fellas,
Shawn

 

If you've had problems with hubs like I have it's pretty easy to understand how it works and how to figure out what is the culprit. I've had problems with my old 79 and with my 96. Luckily I haven't had any problems with my new one but it has manual hubs Not even gonna get into that argument. Everybody has their own preference. I'll never own another truck without a shifter on the floor and a truck you have to get out and lock the hubs in on Unless I got a good deal on one but I'm ranting off topic

When you describe the play in the axle u-joints are you saying you can move the outer shaft in relation to the inner and vice versa or that you can move the whole assembly up and down together (Inner axle, u-joint and outer axle together).