My husband and I have been completely shut off from the outside world from hurricane Ivan. We are in the NC mountains and our road down the mountain is completely gone. Many others are trapped up here as well. There is an old logging road that is passable that we think can get out. Last week my husband had a mechanic who came here to our house and put in a new shaft on the front drivers side. ( I am completely stupid about all this and he is out cold from this miserable day.) The front drivers side tire is about to fall off because the guy didnt put it on right and my husband does not know how to take it off and put it on back right. Before the storm hit, he had to get towed home because the bearings were smoking and the tire was about to fall off. We think the shaft either slipped out or is bent. It is a 1997 Ford F350 Super Cab Diesel 4x4. He desperately needs someone to email us the diagram, because we cant get a manual or anything by mail for at least several weeks.
Or, if you would like to call us to help, our number is 828-297-7147.
Perhaps someone can talk him through what he needs to do. His name is Bill.
He is very mechanically inclined, and has a huge garage with a car lift and everything, but he says he cant do this blind.
I have a 4 x4 Jimmy that might make it up the old logging road and we can get parts somehow for his truck if we have to. We have a generator and I can run my computer, so I can get email at sky@highstream.net

You cant even imagine how bad it really is up here. This sort of massive devastation has never been seen up here - ever. The news crews out of Charlotte cant even get up here, and so no one outside of this area knows how bad it really is except us. Right now the hwy crews are concerned with huge missing portions of major roads - not us. We expect to be without power, and a real road out of here for maybe a month or more. We can survive if we can just get gas for the generator.

I will check my email several times a day !

Please help !
Sincerely~ Veronica

 

Sorry to hear about your situation, Veronica. I live down below you in the foothills, right on the McDowell County/Burke County line, just under 100 miles from the NC/TN line. Ivan wasn't all that bad for us here, although I am sure that we will have to deal with all the water from the higher elevations once it gets downstream to us. Frances was MUCH worse for us. Some places near me got 20 inches of rain in only two days!!

I am not sure how to fix your problem, but I am sure there are many many folks on here who do. My truck is a 2000 and I am not familiar at all with the '97s. Hopefully one of the fine members of this forum will offer up the info you need. In the mean time, don't take unnecessary chances and be careful and safe!

 

Veronica- i to am sorry to hear about the situation you are in. i live in washington so i dont know what a real back country storm is like but i can only im agine. lets get down to business shall we. i need to know the name of the part that your having trouble with on your truck, i need to know if he has manual locking hubs or if he still has the stock auto-lock hubs, i need to know what side of the truck as well as front or rear axle. i assume your talking about the axle shaft but im not sure, i also would like to know the symptoms of the problem, does the truck pull to one side, engage in four wheel. any info you can give me will better help me help you. p.s. i emailed you earlier, let me know if you got it.

 

Veronica.

Can you be more specific about your location? My father lives in Banner Elk N.C. (Beech mountain/Grandfather mountain area). He wouldn't be much help with the truck, but might be able to bring fuel for the generator if you're somewhere fairly close.

 

wish you were not such a far way from texas. we would get in the suzuki and come help. some of the guys on here will be much more help than i can but we are praying for all of you. good luck and keep posting and keep us informed on your situation. us powerstrokers gotta keep together

 

O.k. here's a shot in the dark.

If it is the pre-super duty type with the Old style solid front axle or even the TTB ( Independent Front Axle) then it's really simple. If it's the super duty type then I will be of no help, since I've only seen pictures of them.

Pre super duy. Take the tire off. Take the brake caliper off. It will either be bolted on, or held by a bolt and a spacer/slide. If the hub has screws on the outside take them out. The cover should be able to be removed by tapping on it with a hammer etc. Then there are two snap rings. One is on the axle stub in the center, the other is in a groove on the outer edge of the hub. ( Really hard to see under the grease) The outer one has to come off, then the inner one most times has to come off in order to take out the guts of the hub. Once you get that done, you will see a nut with four slots in the outer edge of it. That is the spindle nut. Depending on the design there will either be an outer nut, with a lock washer behind it, followed by another spindle nut. Or it will be a nut with a combination lock-washer behind it that ratchets ( Watch out, the book says that some ratchet type are right hand thread and some are left hand thread). If you don't have the right tool this will be a real bear to remove. Then there are the bearings behind that. If the spindle is loose, it is behind the bearings. When you take the last nut off, the hub will come off the spindle. There should be 6 or 8 bolts around 9/16's- 5/8ths size holding the spindle onto the axle. If these are broken, you have to find something to fix it with. They are grade 8 or 10. The torque specs on the spindle to axle bolts should be 50-60 lb/ft or so. The bearing retainer nut ( 4 slotted one ) the book says give it 55-65 ft lbs then back off ( 5 ) clicks for new and ( 8 ) clicks for used bearings. ( If it's the ratchet type). For the non-ratchet type tighten to about 50 ft/lbs then back off approximately 45 degrees. ( Just use your judgement here. It's better to be too tight than too loose. All you need is to have it work till you can survive. As long as the hub spins and doesn't have noticeable play you are good to go.) Then put it back together like you took it apart.

SUPER-DUTY type.

All I know is that they have a sort of sealed one piece bearing inside. They are supposed to have 3 or more bolts that hold the bearing assembly onto the axle. The shaft itself slides through the center of the bearing and runs the hub. If you start taking it apart, you should be able to figure it out.

write us back and we will try to help.

 

Sorry to hear about your situation. My Uncle lives in Cashiers, NC and I was there a few weeks ago. I can't be of much help on the axle problem. But DON'T be shy around here we understand that you are in need of help and there is some one on this board that can help you. Ask any question even if you think it is dumb. I'm trying to get a fix on your location in NC based on your area code. Please give a zip code or town or something so we know about where you are (don't give your full address, I don't want every tom dick and harry on the internet to know where you live). If I lived closer I would come your direction but AZ is several days away. Be smart and don't get your other truck stuck or busted it might save your life, our prayers are with you.

 

Are you guys o.k?

Haven't heard from you in awhile, just wondering.

 

I find it odd that the original poster never came back to either thread. Either it was a hoax, or perhaps something bad happened. I hope the latter is not the case.........

 

I had the same two feelings you did, RedTaurus.

After only reading the FTE thread, with them not getting back like they said they would ("I will check my email several times a day !") I was worried something happened to them.

Then I thought about the fact that they joined and this was their first post, and on the day they joined, too. Also, I found the same exact thing posted on the DieselStop forums... I thought it must just be a hoax/prank.

Then... after reading through the entire thread at the DieselStop, I figured they must've just been communicating through email, since a couple members there posted emails they'd received from the original poster about their status, which doesn't seem too desperate, after all... more like they just need some help, but nothing life and death...

I told you it was confusing!

 

Thanks to everyone for their overwhelming help and support !
The operation was successful ! That problem is fixed, and now we need a new truck bed ! Oh No!

 

Glad to hear everything turned out well.