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So this past weekend the family and I went camping and this was the first time pulling the trailer with the Excursion. The trailer weighs 6,200 LBS dry and the Excursion did very well. Only issue I had was when turning in the camp ground or at low speeds, it felt like I was in 4x4. I locked the hubs and unlocked the hubs just to ensure they were not engaged, I could turn them by hand on each side so I thought they were free / open. What could cause this feeling in the steering? It was like it was in 4x4 and the steering wheel was kind of jerking slightly on turns. Any help on where to start would be appreciated.
Just because you can turn the **** doesn’t mean they are not sticking open/closed
Your description sounds like you have a frozen Ujoints on the inner axle as well.
I could turn the u joint on each side I was not referring to the ****. So for a better explanation it was in the 2wd position on the consol, hubs were unlocked, and I could turn the u joints by hand on each side. Would each u joint turn if it was locked? Thanks for the help
They would turn when the wheels are straight ahead but bind when turning to the left or right and give the sensation you are describing. But to do that the hub would need to be in the locked position, or in the free position but stuck as often happens.
the hub stuck internally in the locked position Despite what the dial indicates is typically what causes the ujoint to fail because it has been turning for an extended period of time.
Take it apart and replace anything worn out. Locking Hubs, ujoints, needle bearings, seals ect.
Some folks have luck cleaning the stock hubs and putting them back into service but since i am not a fan of the stock plastic o ea to begin with I throw them away and use Warn manual hubs.
Curious, does the EX only exhibit this jerky feel in the steering while towing the TT?
Are you using a WD hitch? If so, Is the front end returned to it's unloaded height with the WD loaded?
How did it do towing otherwise?
The Ex exhibits this behavior even when not towing however it seems to be much worse when towing. I do use a weight distribution hitch and it make the Ex stand almost exactly level. Towing overall went very well, on straight road it is like the trailer is not even there. On a steep climb the only real complaint is that the trans does not down shift soon enough, once it down shifts there is plenty of power.
I’ve experienced exactly this behavior in a similar situation - pulling a trailer on wet grass in 4WD. I call it ‘the Cyclies’. I ended up disassembling the front axle, closely inspecting the joints, needle bearings, hub bearing - all were silky smooth and in great shape.
My theory-
Those front axles can act in odd ways at times. A friend of mine had the rear drive shaft out of the ex, and drove the truck in front wheel drive only to take the DS to a shop a couple of miles away. It was almost undriveable, the kick-back was so hard. It was on pavement, but nothing connecting the front to the rear, and an open front diff. My theory is that well-working front U-joints, which cyclically have to change speed with every rotation in a sharp turn, simply aren’t able to. Really, those U- joints needed to be CVU’s from the start, IMO.
Thanks for the pictures. I think I am going to have to do the same and inspect everything. I have Been wanting to install Warn locking hubs so maybe this is a good time to do so and look around inside.
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