FTEers,
I have an '03 4x4 with ESOF and the hubs need replaced according to the dealer. This was diagnosed 2 months ago. I decided not to do it then for cashflow reasons but am looking at the temps falling and thinking I might need to get 4x4 again before too long.

OK, first, I like the ESOF so don't try to talk me into an aftermarket hub that doesn't play with the ESOF. Is there an aftermarket hub that does work with ESOF?

Now to the real question. When I come to a stop now, the truck 'grinds' as if I were stopping on rumble strips. The grinding slows with the truck. I rembember seeing the inside of the hub on a tech article on replacing them and wonder if the gears in there may be causing the grinding. If so, do you think it has gone from not-so-expensive-just-replace-the-hub to big-bucks-you-messed-up-more-than-just-the-hubs?
Any thoughts?

Big

 

Big,

To me, if it were the hubs it would be a constant grinding at all speeds. It is possible that they are starting to go.. in which case you should not drive it any more than you have to. It also could be your wheel bearing assembly... both of these instances can and will cause further damage if you continue to drive on them. It only gets rough if you start to grind into the axle stub... in which case you can easily cost yourself $2-3k. I would suggest replacing the hub or bearing assembly as soon as you are able. Hope this helped!

-Casey

 

I should have replied earlier. You know how life goes...

I have had both front wheel hub assemblies replaced in the last 4-6 weeks. It could be that one of them is bad again. I will have to have the dealer have a look see. I am just so darn busy now and I need my truck. I don't want to just leave it at a dealer for a day or tow for them to scratch their heads on...

 

Big,

Hey man... I highly doubt a hub would go bad a couple weeks after installation. That would mean it was defective in the first place or improperly installed.
OR --- it's not the hubs in the first place.. Wheel bearings maybe?? Sounds to me like a incorrect diagnosis if you're still hearing the grinding.. What exactly is going on with the truck? Maybe I can help pinpoint a little more...

-Casey

 

are you sure they wernt refuring to the hub assembly as in the wheel hub assembly as in the wheel bearing? Not the locking hubs.

 

BigRyan is right. When I was typing "wheel hub assembly" my brain was hearing "wheel bearing assembly".

It is both wheel bearing assemblies that have been replaced recently. The grinding that I am experiencing is no so much audible as it is felt. In other words, as I slow to a stop, I feel it in the pedal and in the seat of my pants. I suppose i do hear some of it but it certainly more pronounced in the pedal.

I have read the tech folder article on replacing the locking hubs and it looks pretty easy. I need to simply make time to pull the front wheels and at least have a look at the locking hubs innerds to see if there is anything obvious going on.

What do you think, Casey?

Ed

PS On edit: BigRyan, do your Warn hubs play with your ESOF? or do you even have ESOF? I know the hubs need replaced because they are not working. I just wonder if there is an aftermarket hub that works with the Ford ESOF.

 

No aftermarket hub works with esof ,as far as I know.
if your feeling something in the pedal ,I'd be looking at brake pads and calipers sticking .Don't go too long without fixing or your rotors will be toast.

Did a Ford dealer change the hubs?
Take it back to them ,they may have screwed something up!
The new wheel bearing units come with new needle bearings that support the axle shaft if they did not grease them and the axle shaft stub was toast and they put a needle bearing on it the shaft will destroy the bearing in about the time you have.
Rich

 

I'm w/ Forty here. I'd be looking into the brakes. If it was bearing related, you should here/feel something at all speeds. If your feeling it in the brake pedal, I'd say you probably have a bad rotor/pad. Does it surge as your braking? These factory rotors are prone to warping. Just my .02.

 

Big,

From the sound of things, I would say it's not your hubs or wheel bearings. With it being felt during braking... FortyFords is right -- Check the break calipers... The calipers sticking would cause you to feel a slight rumble in the brake pedal immediately after braking and letting off the brake pedal. If that is the case... it will destroy your pads rather quickly and then it will begin to dig into the rotor. Here's how you can quickly tell if the calipers are sticking...

--- Have someone walk beside the truck while you drive about 5 mph and brake to a stop quickly, not abusive, just quickly. Immediately after stopping, let the truck idle itself back to speed and let off the break pedal. If the calipers are sticking, the person outside the truck should hear the slight rumble you are describing. You should also feel it in the brake pedal. Brake dust can cause sticky calipers -- so a good shot of brakleen and compressed air to clean the rotor and caliper assembly should clean up the dust.

If that is not the cause, you can eliminate the wheel bearing being bad by doing this...

--- Jack up the front (left, then right) of your truck. Grab the tire at 6 and 12 o'clock and push toward the truck at 12 o'clock while pullling the 6 o'clock position toward yourself. If there is play in the tire, and you can physically "wobble" the tire back and forth... the wheel bearing is gone.
If this is the case... turn the tires all the way to the right and look into where the wheel bearing connects to the axle shaft... there will be a seal that looks like a flattened mushroom between the two... if the wheel bearing is bad that seal will not be flush against the axle shaft and will be loose... Often times if the wheel bearing is bad, your ABS light will be on as well. So, it doesn't sound like this is the case to me.

FortyFords is right about the wheel bearing needle as well... Of course, if the axle stub is burnt out anyways it does not make a difference whether they greased it or not it would eventually break itself. He is also right about aftermarket hub compatability with ESOF... I do not know of one... could be one, I just have not heard of it.

I think it sounds like your brakes... let us know of anything else.


-Casey

 

Sweet tips fellas. Looks like I have something to do this weekend after all!

Thanks, and I will report back.

Oh, and I don't have stock rotors. I have 92,000 on the truck so I am on my third set of rotors. Only this third set is the final set - Power Slot Cryo rotors with Hawk SD pads. No warped rotors for me anymore.

Ed

 

Ended up going to the outlaws 5 hrs south this weekend so I didn't tear into the truck until just now. Here is the problem:

The left ball joints finally went out and that was causing play in the axle end. Not sure why but I noticed that the "grinding" was not always as strong and even sometimes non existent. Maybe depending upon front axle loading (turns, braking, road camber etc) the axle didn't move hence no sound.

Anyway, I have been holding my breath waiting for the left side Ball Joints to go. I don't know why I didn't suspect it sooner. Both left ones are gone. There is a local shop that installs MOOG greasables for not too much jack and they do a heck of an alignment too (how can you get better than straight?Isn't it by definition perfect? Anyway...).

Part of the reason for not hearing the thunking of the ball joints going bad was that a while ago one local machanic told me that I needed new stabilzer end bushings installed. I did that and it fixed a thunking that sounded similar to the ball joints being loose. Well, I just figured that he used cheap bushings and they needed replaced again and were causing the thunking. (thunking not related to the 'grinding')

Anyway, that is the answer to my problem. Hub assemblies on both sides look good with no play. Calipers and brakes are A OK. I pulled the Auto hubs to see if there were some play or metal shavings in there and there was none. I tried to lube them but it didn't have much affect on them working. I suppose I need to get some new ones. I looked on eBay and found that you can get a set for maybe 200 or so while new ones are $250+ each.

Thanks for the tips.

Big.

 

I got the left side ball joints replaced with MOOG joints and an alignment. Cost on that was $202.67. Not bad.

But.

Still getting the grinding feeling. It is really more a feeling than a sound, although I have not had anyone walk beside the truck to tell me if they hear it. I will try to have some one walk beside the truck like sglynx1 recommended. It is still only under breaking that I feel the grinding. Maybe I shouldn't use the term griding. It is more like gears that are not meshing smoothly.

I pulled the right front wheel tonight because after getting the new LF ball joints replaced, I still have a clunking (not the grinding) which I was trying to diagnose. I suspected it was the right side ball joints going again (had them done in January) but they were not visibly loose like the left ones were. I don't know how to check them other than shaking the wheel when jacked up. That test didn't reveal anything.

What I did find though was my caliper slide bolt may be sticking. I didn't have a socket big enough at home to pull the caliper but I loosened the caliper slide bolt and it does appear to have some crud in it. There is grease visible but without pulling the caliper I can't tell how freely they slide. I may just get all four caliper slide bolts and be done with that to eliminate it. Call me a parts changer if you will - I don't do this for a living The outer RF brake pad (Hawk SD) is about 4.5 mm thick where the inside RF pad is 6-6.5 mm thick. This tells me that the caliper sticking is a really good possilbility. Those pads are only 20 k old. I don' think that there should be that much wear. This further points to caliper sticking.

Finally, I will post a picture in my gallery of a hard rubber seal that goes around the axle just inboard of the steering knuckle and U-joint. Check it out and tell me if it is major bad that it is loose. If it is, could that be a possible source of my noise? Don't wince too bad when you see it.

Ok. I put it here instead.



Big

 

Big,

Sorry to hear these troubles continue! If there is one weak point on our SD's it seems to be the axle shaft to wheel component system. The seal in the picture is the axle shaft dust seal. From what I can tell in the picture, that seal doesn't seem to be out of place. When's it loose, I mean.. it's really, really loose... hence my prior description of it being like a flattened mushroom. Now by itself, it is not going to cause a problem unless you drove it like that for 10,000 miles.... It's especially not going to cause a clunking by itself either. The reason I mentioned that seal is because when a wheel bearing does go, it tends to loosen that seal in the process. But as far as that is concerned... I believe you'll be ok.. hearing about the pads and the wear on them that definately points to a sticking caliper. Here's to you getting this thing figured out!!

Casey