Hello all,

I have a 1973 F250 4x4 that recently stopping moving - the engine turns over real good and sounds normal to my ears. One afternoon I started it up, drove it 50 ft, turned it off, came back to it the next day and it wouldn't budge!

Things I have checked:

- Pedal action on my clutch feels normal to me.
- Gear shifting feels normal - I can hear and feel it shifting into gears. My truck has had this behavior where I sometimes have to let off the clutch about halfway before I can shift into reverse. That is still happening which I think means my clutch is still doing stuff and my gear shifting is still shifting gears.
- My 4x4 gear shifter seems to be working, but I am not totally sure. It feels like it is, it sounds like it is, and it LOOKS like it is - I crawled underneath and I can see the 4x4 shifter in 4 different positions (4L/N/2H/4H) going into the transfer case. If I use my hand I can turn the driveshaft about half a turn and all three shafts move - drive shaft from transmission, drive shaft to front axle, and drive shaft to rear axle. It seems like the transfer case is engaged.

I have sometimes been confused when I accidentally knock it out of 2H into N or something and it takes me a second to run through the mental checklist of why it's not moving. This certainly FEELS that way, but I have quadruple-checked that the shifter is at least moving something inside the transfer case - that doesn't mean it's actually engaged!

One other observation that is so slight I almost wonder if I'm seeing things - when I shift into R and engage with the clutch, it looks and feels like the truck almost leans in reverse ever so slightly. When I shift out of R into 2, it alllllmost seems like it leans forward a tiny bit. This is regardless of how much I'm accelerating and I have tried all 4 + R gears with no movement in any of them.

Any help would be appreciated, Thanks.

 

Have you tried locking the hubs to see if it moves? I had this issue with mine, it turned out I broke the passenger side rear axle.

 

Wow! This seems to be exactly the problem! Kicked both of the front hubs into LOCK and was able to start crawling around again to at least move it.

Unfortunately this still seems like a really expensive fix

Is this something I could do as a novice? I don't need my truck daily, it would be OK it if took me a while. Seems like trying to drive it to a shop would also be dangerous/destructive

 

The axles are easy to pull out of a D60 since it's a full floater. If you don't have center caps on your wheels you don't even need to take the wheels off. You just need to get to the axle flanges, pull the 8 bolts, and pull the axle out. You might want to jack up the side you're working on to keep oil from running out the axle tube once you pull the axle. Once the axle is out, check to see if it's broken, if not, put it back together and move to the other side. Once the axles are out, and if you're able to get all the pieces out, you'll want to count the splines and get a replacement from a junk yard/craigslist/ebay/etc. I forget when they changed from the course 10 spline axles to the fine 30? spline axles, which is why you'll want to count.

If both axles are complete, then you could have a broken pinion, ring gear, or stripped/broken spider gears. You'll need to pull the diff cover to check that. Even if you've just got a broken axle I'd still pull the diff cover and try to flush out the axle tube to ensure there is no shrapnel left inside that could get into the gears or bearings.

Also while you're into the rear end, you might want to check the wheel bearings to make sure they're good.

If it is a broken axle and you do want to take it to a shop, I would pull the inner part of the axle that broke off, put the outer part of the axle back in to seal everything back up, and drive it to the shop in 4wd.

 

Cool! That sounds simple enough... I'll ponder it and see how courageous I'm feeling this weekend. I've monkeyed with the wheels and the brakes enough - never had the chance to get into the axle/diff box.

Thanks for your help and guidance!

 

too bad it's not a half ton...I have lots of cheap rear end parts for a 9"

 

If the rear driveline is spinning when you aren't moving then the axle shaft could definitely be broken. Another thing to look at if both shafts are intact are those end splines that you have been instructed to count. My brother found on his '79 F150 that the splines of one axle were worn severely. We actually had to figure out a way to beat the shaft out from the opposite side because the high spots of the splines inside the spider and on the outside of the axle had nearly stripped. If you find this, it is possible to get spider gears separate so you don't have completely set up a new differential and is something you could handle yourself, so long as the retaining bolt for the cross shaft comes out correctly. If you have the money and don't have a Trac-Lok or other limited slip already, it is a great time to upgrade. On a budget though, a junkyard axle shaft can work, if you can find one in good condition. Rockauto has pretty good deals usually, but don't list axle shafts for your application at the moment. Try and price shop though, sometimes you can save hundreds on the same brand of axle shaft.

Is there any noise? Does the driveshaft move in any direction other than turning? Growling and grinding can indicate a broken ring gear, pinion gear, or bad bearings. That can get expensive fast. It can be cheaper to buy a whole axle than to set up a new ring and pinion if someone else is doing it for you.

Hope what you find is simple.