Hey again everybody, its your favorite Ford newbie (ok, maybe not, but one of many )

So i've recently discovered that my old F150's locking hubs don't seem to be working. The trouble is i can't find any info on them, as i see some trucks in 1990 had auto locking hubs, but mine are manual. They look factory, but i can't tell cause they've obviously been on the truck a long time.

In any case, it seems like either one or both of them aren't locking in: previous owner told me he only had to use 4wd once in the 4 years he owned the truck, so i'm guessing they could stand a service. That and its been freaking freezing in Western PA, and i remember growing up my one uncle having trouble with his manual locking hubs (His was a square body chevy though)



Sound off below if these are factory pieces and where i can find a diagram for them so i know what to look for when rebuilding

 

Not sure if they are factory or not but they look like standard dana 44 hubs, my 88 f250 and my 90 bronco have the same hubs.
I changed the ones on my F250 to the mile marker 104 hubs and they are working good.

 

I figured they would be a standard set of hubs for a dana 44. Although if thats the case it should mean my TTB axle is a bit bigger than i was expecting it to be. Good news i got someone who says they have a set of Warn hubs that may fit, and he apparently don't want anything for them. Probably be easier to pull these off and put some newer and nicer hubs on; truck kinda deserves a bit of pampering now

 

Those actually look like Warn hubs with the "WARN" emblem missing from the center recess on the red actuating ****.

 

Actually those look like the stock pieces on my 92 rather than aftermarket Warn hubs.

In any case a way to test is to lift both front wheels and put transfer case in neutral. Start with each side in free mode, then switch one side into lock mode. Turn wheel by hand and see if it rotates the front driveshaft going to the transfer case, then test it in free position. That will tell you if that particular side is working. Then do same with the other side .... I had a problem that mine would not unlock at all on one side discovered by this method ....

 

How is it bigger than you were expecting it to be? What were you expecting? The stock axle on a 1/2T was a Dana 44. It appears to be the faded OEM hub to me. You can remove the hubs with the wheels on the ground. Just don’t start removing the wheel bearings. Remove be the screws in the hex head screws. Remove the cap. There are a couple of snap rings after that. One on the stub axle and one inside the wheel hub. Next, I take one of the hex screws and partially screw it into the hub body ( to use as a handle ) and slide the hub out of the wheel hub.

As a side note, there is no need to put the transfer case in neutral to check the operation of the hubs. The front driveshaft is disconnected inside the transfer case when in 2wd.

 

If it's anything like mine one of the most challenging parts were simply getting those 6 bolts holding the cover off, it seems that on mine the back of the bolt head sort of fused to the cover. Soaking with penetrating oil for a week or two still didn't allow it to work. I had to use a very thin cutting wheel to cut 6 slots basically thru the cover and the screw to get one side off. Then you can get to the internals as suggested above .....

 

The reason i said that is because the only other truck i've owned ford wise was an 88 Ranger; i figured the Dana 44 was the light duty front axle on 3/4 tons and a heavy duty front axle on 1/2 tons, and a Dana 30 or something similiar would be the normal axle on a 1/2 ton, so obviously i have much to learn

Thanks for the tear out procedure though, next time i get some decent weather, i'll jack the front end up and check which hub is not working. My guess is the drivers side, since it felt different than the passenger hub when i turned it to LOCK

 

WarWagons85, this might help you. It's from the 1996 Service Manual, but I don't think they are different from year to year.