OK, I have had a rough evening and I am looking for some help and advise. It seems that the right rear wheel on my 2000 F-150 is locking/binding up when I try to go in reverse. The wheel will roll fine foreward, but when in reverse it will go around to a certain point and then locks up. Any idea what is causing this? I have jacked the truck up and put it in neutral and the wheels will turn fine by hand until you try to reverse direction on the passenger side wheel. Then the wheel stops turning. THe limited slip will still allow the left rear to turn in either direction, but the right will not go in reverse. When the truck is in reverse, the wheel can be forced to turn, but it is putting a lot of stress on something and I did not try to force it back very far. So any ideas on how to fix the problem will be greatly appreciated. Another question is if I have to swap out the rear end, what should I get to go a little beefier on the next one? I am currently running with an add-a-leaf and 285-75-16 tires. I have also considered going with a selectable locker in the rear, any chance that will fix the problem at the same time?

 

Do 2000 f series still have drums in the back? If thats not it, you just might have to crack the cover off your diff to see if anything is broke.

 

No drums, 4-wheel disks. I have thought about cracking the cover, but I am no master mechanic by anymeans. I can turn a wrench and get it back together, most of the time anyway. Any special tools required if I decide to fish around in the diff?

 

No special tools, unless your planning on pulling axles and dropping the carrier (which I don't think is wise at this moment). A big flat head screw driver would be nice for poking and proding. Oh, if you haven't already, a repair manual is always helpful. Good luck.

 

Any idea as to if I could do anygood by poking around to see what has gone ary in teh diff? What I might look for etc.

 

Don't forget four wheel disks do have drums on the rear for emergency [park] brakes.......... Check there first.

 

OK, it appears that the clutches have cooked. The gears all looked fine, but the mechanic I had look at it with me said the clutches were toast. Anyone had any experience replacing the clutches rather than the whole rearend?

 

Check the e-brake on the pass side. They use a sort of shoe like old drums. Crown Vic's are notorious for them falling apart and wadding up. The symptoms are very similar. As for the diff, the clutches can be replaced independently. Pull the carrier out, pull off the ring gear. Unbolt the halves and pull out the spider gears and clutches. At least that's all there is to a 9in rear. The others are similar, but not the same. Really not a hard job, just tedious and time consuming when you've never done it before.

 

Not up to date on the rear end of a 2000. Plz inform us. I would assume that its still a Sterling 8.8, if this is the case, then clutch replacement is pretty easy(or time consuming and frustrating if you never have done it before). Pull the axles, remove the carrier bearing cap bolts, pull the carrier. Remove the center pin retainer bolt (good luck), then the center pin. Remove the "S" spring. Twist out the spider gears, and then the side gears come out, and behind those are the clutches. Follow the instructions on your rebuild kit for clutch install, and I suggest a repair manual for proper "S" spring installation and torque specs Have fun