My '01 F-250 4X4 has a problem with the left front locking hub assembly and want to do maintenence on both of them. Vehicle has nearly 105,000 on it and time to do various maint. items. I took the snap ring out and made an attempt to get the entire locking assy out but no luck. Is there something I am doing incorrect? The snap ring came out easily and the aluminum hub assy seems to be loose but will no slip out. Need info. Thanx for the help.

 

MT,
Wiggle the hub back and forth. Should slide off if you got the snap-ring out. Sometimes the hubs will be sticky if they haven't been taken off in quite a while.

 

Ur doing it right keep pullin away, If you got new ones and dont care to scratch the old hubs you could take 2 flathead screwdrivers and pry it out, thats what i did to mine to get em out, also while your under there check your wheel bearings as they tend to fail pretty quickley on the SD's, All thats holding those hubs on is the lockring and a tight fitted o-ring. Good luck, later

 

You both were correct and I thank you much. Now that I have it out I found that the O ring under the plastic selector dial was torn and bunched up. I can not get the unit completely apart to get at this area. Does it come completely apart to replace the smaller O ring? Or do I have to buy a new hub assy. to replace this? Seems crazy that it could not be replaced.

 

Yup, ditto... Just keep "man handling" it...

Use a penetrating oil if you have to...

Sometimes, and this is a bad thing, the axle stub has rusted at the splines where it meets the hub, and they are VERY HARD to get apart...

I don't think you have that problem, just gotta get a rag or even a few latex or nitrile gloves to grip the hub with. I've heard of people whacking them with rubber mallets... this might do the trick.

art k.

 

when i took my old ones off (locked up) to get my new premiums on, i just beat the hub at a 3 o'clock and a 9'o clock position with a hammer, to loosen them up. didnt dent it too much either.

 

On those o rings if I were you i would just go and pay the 160 bucks for the new ones cause thats exactly like mine were before i changed em. I didnt even screw with em cause who knows what kind of muck and not to mention water got in there. Just for a peice of mind i would replace em. But on getting them apart i couldnt tell you i didnt even look at my old ones to figure that out.

 

Let's face it - the auto locking hubs are a poor Ford design. They have several weak points - one of the most obvious being the vacuum line that runs to the hub. Most of the time these rot away and without a sealed line, you know can introduce contaminants to both the hub as well as the sending unit. If you maintain them regularly, you can keep them working, but like others on the forum, I gave up and switched to premium warn hubs and forever sealed up both the vacuum line and the hole in the steering knuckle housing on my 99. You lose the auto locking feature, but se la vie. I personally think the locking mechanism is also a peice of garbage. Compare it to the manual mechanism of the Warn hubs. You'll see why so many people switch.

 

I was appaulled when I opened up one of my auto hubs ...

I was putting in the Warn's anyway, but I felt much better about pulling stumps on my brother-in-law's land with my SD after the switch ...

The amount of "meat" that locks the hub to the axle is probably 4 times as much in the Warn as the stock hub.

art k.

ps: When I say pulling stumps, I mean hopping on all four wheels in 4LOW - that's not very easy on the hubs ...

 

is there anywhere besides the stealership that you can get new O rings and bearings and what else?

 

Dawn fell on stone head, mine, this AM after trip to Ford garage. Brian M., from this board e-mailed today also to echo what you have all said. After my sticker shock price for one Ford hub assy. I told Ford no. Went to CarQuest and ordered new Warn hubs. As you all have said, I will no longer have the auto feature, but that's OK with me. I am not so blasted old or lazy that I cannot get my rear end out of the truck to turn the hubs in. With the new Warn hubs installed I will have peace of mind that all is strong and correct. I thank you all for your wisdom. I will be on this forum more often in the future. Again thanx!

 

Good guy report. Brian Martin from this website has been a great help to me and saved me bucks to boot. I am in his debt. Also, would like to thank each and every one who has extended their help. You guys are the greatest! I got my Warn hubs on and will complete the process tomorrow. Will check for loose hubs as directed. Again, thank you all!

 

You can get the hub "cover" on turned 60 degrees off, and it won't match up with the "base". That's something different than the looseness I described...

 

It will match up so you can get the screws in but even after the screws are tight it'll still be loose on my situation.. Why do you think you needed extra rings cause maybe the hub bearing is different or the groove.

 

The groove can be wide enough that the single snap-ring will not hold everything still. Putting two in makes everything much better.

Warn will immediately know what you're talking about if you mention '99-up Superduty and "loose hub", I would think

I'm not belittling you, but you know that you can get the screws in and be 60 degrees off so that the two pieces don't mate correctly?