88 F-250 302cu 5 speed Manual

I noticed when plowing my long driveway that I wasn't going into 4 wheel drive low. Im glad this past snow fall was mild otherwise I couldn't plow without 4 wheels

When I locked both manual wheel hubs the LEFT front wheel clicked in and assumed it worked BUT the RIGHT front lock hub it does NOT click in but you can turn the switch all the way around. So I'm assuming that Front Right hub is bad.

I jacked up the just the right front only and the wheel just spin and not lock. Jacked the LEFT front wheel and still spins free when i lock it.
However I DID NOT jack up the whole front end due to the plow attached.

I need some food for thought to figure out how to get back into 4 wheel drive. I didn't have this 3 years ago when I last plowed.

I'm heading south for the winter in MID January so no plow is needed but if I can fix this now would be good but could do the fix next year.
I'll just pray for the time left before leaving for light snow until then.

I did replace both OEM hubs with Warn about 20 years ago and looking to replace both but want to make sure that's the issue.

Any help would be great. BTW my T-Case is rebuilt and flawless.

Runner

 

That's one of them jobs, where pulling the hub off and taking a look, the problem will probably be revealed to you. An Allen wrench and 5 mins will probably be all it takes.

Tip; if they've been on there for 20 years, if any of the bolts don't turn out; just drill the heads off, take off the hub, and then you can turn them right out with vise grips and replace them latter. So long as you have 2-3 in there, that's enough for a yard truck anyway though......but they don't cost much, right at the hardware store; take a good one with you to match it up.

 

Thanks for the quick response.

Yes indeed. Pretty easy to remove the Warn hub and sure the hub that doesn't lock in but that you can turn all the way around is bad BUT why didn't the front left good wheel bub lock up while in the lock position?

Just asking if one of the wheel hub is broken will the other good wheel hub lock up?

 

Interesting...

I will have to see if I can get those bolts off. one way of another I'll get them off no doubt. I think back in the day I put lock tight on the bolts.

 

Tomorrow I'll remove the manual hubs and see if the mechanism are engaging.

Thanks for helping. I would have never thought about that.

Runner

 

to tell if the hub is actually locking, lift that wheel. lock the hub. reach behind and grab the axle. if it spins, the hub is locked. if the axle does not spin, the hub is bad.

 

Thanks TJC!

Today I watched a LONG YouTube video that tells you how to find the bad Hub. Not kidding 15 + minutes long and a bit confusing.

Your reply is excellent and took me 3 seconds to read to get this done! nice.

thx

Runner

 

Hey TJC,

I have a feeling the Hub on the right is bad but will find out tomorrow and preparing to pickup another hub.

can you tell me if this will fit?

i found a few and I’m assuming this will fit.

————-
Locking Hubs For 59-96 Ford Chevy Dodge Bronco Dana 44 Axle 19 Spline
———-

 

I don't have this exact issue, but I do have a related one with my Warn manual hubs. I'd like to investigate and pull them off, but don't want to screw anything up. Can I just undo the Allen bolts and pull the hubs out with the truck sitting there?

Apologies for the thread hijack...and thanks...

 

Yup. There's large locking nut in there, holding the wheel bearings in. You wont go in that deep.
............

 

the link is no good.
to be honest, i would buy a set and keep the good one as a spare.
your 88 should have a D-44 front axle in it. warn 9790 for standard hub at $129.17 amazon:
warn 20990 for the premium hub $159.93 amazon:

mile marker hubs from partsgeek $88.98:
https://www.partsgeek.com/5mzyjjw-fo...13601165008005

 

Update:

Thanks Tom.

Found that the right side hub was not locking.
I thought so because you could turn the switch that goes to Lock or Free completely around.

I took off the warn hub cover and sure enough the round plastic part inside where it screws to the handle is cracked. When you switch it didn’t seat and hold the to move the spring.

i found and bought a brand new Warn 9790 on eBay for $40 to the door! This what I’m using now.

Easy fix now!

My current hub is fine and I’ll just replace the cover when it comes in & keep the new hub for backup.

I'm currently bonding the crack and let dry overnight to see if it holds and locks the hub. You’ll never know but I have a new cap coming in..

thanks a ton all that helped me.

 

Glad that you found your solution. But to close the loop on this, no, the good wheel won't lock up if the other hub is broken.

With the left wheel (with the good hub) in the air and the transfer case in 4WD, if you turn the left tire it will turn the left axle forward. The transfer case will keep the driveshaft from turning, but the open differential will let the right axle turn backward. Since the right hub was broken the right axle was free to turn, so the left tire was free to turn too.

That's why Tom suggested reaching behind to see if the left axle was turning.

 

Great! thanks for this info! Always learning.

thank you!

Runner

 

Another update:

I bought a new hub that I just need the Hub cover.

However, I created a clever workaround to get my Hub to lock.

My current hub Free/ Lock plastic switch had a crack. Epoxy did not fix the crack. It just expended the crack while turning the switch.

Im a fabricator but no way for me to make a temp switch fix

What I did was take the cover off a plumbers Teflon tape roll/ cut it once.

i inserted into the hub where the switch goes! Fits perfectly!

Now the switch has no play for the crack to expand and turns the switch to Locl or Free!

works like new!

I got my 4 wheel drive back.

Runner