My 02 F250 4x4 has a squeal under 20 MPH coming from the front axle only when the hubs are locked. It sounds like it gets worse when the 4x4 is engaged. Could this be a worn out hub issue? There are no abnormal noises when the hubs are in FREE.

 

Yes ,thats a problem with the hub,take apart and see if the little needle bearings are not chewing the axle stub.Do it imediately or its gonna be bigger bucks$$$

Rich

 

I think this may be the excuse I need to install some Warn premium hubs.

 

FortyFords:


I'm too late and in need of new needle bearings and axle shaft ends (oh yeah, and hubs ) according to my dealer.

Any idea how difficult it is to do this job myself (little experience, but very mechanically inclined)?

Thanks!

 

If you can get the tools and get a good shop manual.
An ask questions here on this forum,you can do the job.
A key thing is though,if you need this truck as a daily driver or to make your living with it ,let someone else do the work.your further ahead of the game.

Its your choice,could I do it yes 35 yrs fixing cars and trucks.
I can't make that decision for you.

The axles shafts have to come out . Key is putting them back in without hurting the inner axle seals way inside the axle housing.

Rich

 

Hmmm, tough choice. I don't need the truck as a daily driver (so if it is out of service for a bit, it won't bother me) and I no longer use it for work. But if you look at the list of things the dealer wants to do (I think you've posted in that thread too, but here it is), it really adds up

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...32#post3176632

I think the dealer is just guessing at the needle bearing and axle shaft end b/c they didn't remove the front wheels - they just drove it alot and came to that conclusion (I THINK, based on what they said - but I didn't ask them how they came to that conclusion so maybe they did more than I think). If the axle shaft ends are OK, will I still need to pull the axles to replace the needle bearing? If those are also OK, will I still need the knuckle seals (large & small)?

Thanks for the help!

 

The seals are about $55.00 dollars a side. Also I would really consider doing this yourself or getting a friend to help. Those prices sound way fishey. Each side needs to be gone over and replace whats needed, balljoints seals bearings hubs or whatever.


Dick

 

99350sd
First, great truck you have! I love my 99 350 SD, but I'm really considering trading it in at the moment. I've spent a bunch of money here recently, but maybe my fault (not rotating hub locks, driving through deep water, etc...). It now has new bushings in the front end, a new starter, a new steering wheel (purely cosmetic, but it was bothering me), new door lock actuators, and now needs some even more major front end work. I think I'll take it to a few other dealers before I make the decision. As I said before, I'm pretty handy and mechanically inclined (common for us farm boys) so just dropping new hubs in (even if I stay with the factory auto lockers and need to connect the vaccum system) doesn't sound too bad for a driveway project.

However, the axle shaft ends, needle bearing, and knuckle seals sound daunting. I do have a friend with a lift in his garage, but I think my truck will be too big for it.

When you said $55 each side for the seals, what seals did you mean? The knuckle seals (large and small) or the hub seals for the vac system? My dealer listed both for replacement.

Finally, should I bother with non-dealer shops like Milex, Pep boys, or Dobbs? Or is this really something that a dealer mechanic experienced with these trucks will do better (and cheaper if they do less damage in the process)?

Thanks!

 

Everyone keeps telling me to 'force' the hubs to rotate from auto to lock. They say this will take the wear off the needle bearing until I get it replaced. My question though, am I just going to break the darn hubs if I really REALLY force them to turn?

Would it be better to remove them, lube the heck out of them, let them sit awhile, then try to force them?

Just to be clear, does the front wheel need to be removed before I can remove the auto-hubs? I know it needs to come off before I try to replace the needle bearing and axle ends (and I'll probably do the ball joints while I'm at it), but do the wheels need to come off just to remove the hubs?

Man this sucks.

 

All three seals on a side are about $60.00 a side if you find a realistic dealer. I would go somewhere other than a dealer only if you knew that they what they were doing.
Hard to tell. As for those junk hubs I'm suprised you didn't get warns yet. When mine were hard to turn I tossed em as far as I could throw them. One didn't come off took me 3 hours to drill and cut it off. Leave the wheels on if you desire.


Dick

 

I'm waiting on a few more prices from other dealers, but your info seems to match what the first dealer quoted me. The quote was hand-written and hard to follow (but I was happy to have anything) and the line with "seals" written on it had a parts price of $60. So I guess this was for all the seals. However, the "knuckle large and small seal" were listed seperately at $88.16 and $89.60 respectively. But from what I've read here, the knuckle seals would only be necessary if the axle shaft end is, indeed, thrashed and in need of replacement - so there is hope I can get by without these seals (and the axle shaft ends which were quoted at $40).

If I do this myself (with the help of a friend who has an auto repair shop - but not a lift large enough for my truck ) do I need to purchase the parts from Ford, or does someone else offer the needle bearings, knuckle seals, and axle shaft ends? Maybe NAPA or a generic auto zone/advanced auto store?

Oh, on the OEM hubs, I only still have them b/c they just now died (at 113k) so perhaps I should count myself lucky. I've never rotated the hubs from auto to lock even once in the life of the truck. What is shocking, I think I will go with factory hubs as the replacement (even though they are not as strong as the warns) for two reasons (1) I plan to sell/trade the truck in the near future and I think a non-factory setup might hurt me (2) I found a local guy who sold me the factory OEM hubs still sealed in plastic for $125. If this were a truck I was planning to keep a long time, I would definately go with the warn premium hubs and not worry about resale issues.

 

I don't have vacuum hubs, just the old lever on the floor so it's more of an upgrade than anything.

 

I've never owned a truck with the lever on the floor - just ESOF or similar in other non-ford vehicles.

It sounds like when you have the lever (no ESOF) the front hubs do not have the auto vs lock position - is this correct?

If not, what do they have (if anything)? Is it just always open (as far as the exterior hubs go) so that you can only lock them with the lever on the floor?

OR, (my mind is starting to work as I type) are they manual hubs (open and lock positions on the hubs) so that you must exit the vehicle to lock the hubs, and the lever on the floor actuates the transfer case so that the engine drives the front axle and forward drivetrain? I'm thinking this sounds best.

Sorry for the dumb questions.

 

Yes, it sounds old school but you actually have to exit the vehicle and turn both hubs from FREE to LOCK then engage the transfer case via the floor mounted lever.

 

Really not a problem though - I've been considering the warn premium hubs after reading reviews of other on this site.

Even with the manual hubs, just lock them in when poor weather is anticipated and use the lever (or switch ) to actuate the transfer case from inside the cab. Minor axle bind, but I'm told no risk of breaking anything. Also, I now know that it is important to manually lock in the hubs at least once a month to prevent freezing (too late for me though).

Hope you like the warns!