Ok so im a newbie to this hobby and i got a problem as do many. About a month ago, i went through a drive thru and since this is my first big pickup, turning is harder for me. In the process i got in a rut and engaged my 4x4 to hop a curb and proceed to knock some bushes over...haha..... anyways when i stepped on the pedal and it got some power, i heard a clunk. I continued and when i got home, i checked the driveline and everything looked fine and dandy. monday i start driving and i feel this heavy vibration from the floor. i stop and everything seemed fine. now i've been driving it the whole week and when i hit bumps, it does this heavy vibration for about 2-3 minutes and then smoothes out? also happens sometimes out of the blue? Im not all that familiar with pickups, but i shaked the driveline from the carrier bearing, there is a little play but not that much. should there be any play? any info or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.....

 

id say your hubs are still locked in.but im not sure.is it auto locks or manual? if you put the year of truck on here. others will be able to help you much better..

 

sorry 02 f250 cc long bed 4x4 45k miles. I checked the hubs they are in the auto position.

 

is it in 2x when this happens? does it also do it in 4x? Is it load related? Does it do it when your on or off the gas?

Have someone shake your steering wheel back and forth and get under the front end and check for play in your trac bar. It goes from the drivers side frame rail to the passenger side axle. Not to be confused with the drag link, which attaqches to the steering box and moves with the steering wheel. I'd also check the wheel bearings and ball joints... Jack up each tire and put a cheater bar under it, pry up and see if theres any play. There should be none.

 

While you've got the front jacked up, make sure your front tires both turn freely to prove the hubs aren't still locked for some reason.

Just because the hubs are in the "auto" position doesn't mean they aren't still locked.

Pop

 

It IS OUT of 4wd now, isn't it?
could be the carrier bearing, possibly u-joints (park it with ebrake on, in nuetral, turn shaft... no more than about 1/2" play) same for forward shaft...Could be the tranny mount too... get a jack under the pan with a block and see if it wants to lift off.

 

sorry for the late response, havent been able to check it since my last response. I jacked it up and spinned the drivers side wheel and spinned freely. checked the **** that switches from auto to lock on the passenger side and it is locked up. Spun the wheel and sounds like the bearings are bad because it sounds in certain points the tire hits like grinding. suggestions?? I have never owned a 4wd so like my title says, im a newbie. Im a beginner in the mechanic world but i know a little bit to get me by. also the truck is in 2wd almost all the time and it only happens sporatically..any help is appreciated...oh i checked the trac bar and its ok and so are the bushings.
thanks

 

someone a bit more familiar with this 4WD is gonna have to chime in on this, but so far it seems you are doing a fine "seat-of-the-pants" troubleshoot. could this hub be bad? when it "catches", is the forward shaft turning? how about the axles... tight, no slop, no leaks? are you abolutely sure the noise is from the wheel area, not deeper inside (just a question, lol) forgive my unfamiliarity, but is this a solid-axle setup or does it use halfshafts?

 

Classic symptoms of a bad wheel bearing.

 

no leaks on the axles...i drove it on the freeway and when i drive by the wall, it sounds like a heavy rattling...if i didnt know any better, i'd bet its the wheel bearings...it is a solid axle set up...im pretty positive the noise is from the wheel area but since it only does it when it wants to, i cant get someone to drive by me and listen and keep a eye on the road....too much work..haha...but i dont know for sure that it is the bearings..ill keep my eyes open on this website for more ideas and hopefully i get another day off where i can devote it to the truck....

 

Well, it appears you have an ESOF or electronic shift on fly 4X4 system. You can keep that POS setup, but that is not helping you. Now the selector should turn back and forth as you know but it is stuck and that is not good. However, the driveshaft should not engage or lock unless it has the vacuum applied when you select 4WD on the dash. Can you spin both axle shafts by hand freely? If not you are stuck in 4WD or at least partially and that is bad.

If you can spin the shafts but the wheel grinds when turning, look to see if the axle shaft is turning with the wheel when spinning the tire. You should have noted that when checking the axles. If so, and the grinding is right there, your problem will reside in the bearing or hub assembly.

Another note, won't solve your grinding sound in the hub area, but check your front bumper right in front of the tires. Look for gravel that will collect there. I am here to tell you that if you get some in there it will rattle a lot more than you think it will. Drove me crazy until I found it.

Now we must await sage advice from those who've actually corrected this problem.

Edit: You may want to consider titling your thread with the problem you have as folks who have expertise may not have time to read all the threads but can see something like "Grinding sound in R/F axle area" and be more likely to respond, or at least quicker. You may even consider posting a new thread with a like title.

 

ok i know i should be treating my psd better but the problem i had with the vibration completely ended..i took it to my dad's shop just to double check and it turned out nothing??? but i want to extend a big thanks to those who put their input into diagnosing the problem but i gave it a break for a week and this week i put it to work and no vibration at all. engaged the 4wd low and high and no vibration on either.... checked the bearings, track bushings, brakes, and everything turned out good...guess it was my luck

 

Whatever it was got all ground up and fell off. I'd be super leary of something like what you described that just cured itself.

 

ok so the problem came back and i took the wheels off and checked the rotors(gone) and i took the hubs off and the hubs had metal scrapings in it so i replaced them with warn hubs and replaced the rotors and brakes...runs like a champ... took a trip to vegas from northern california for new years and it ran like i first bought it...I want to thank everybody who put their input....

 

Good to hear, well sort of. Didn't want to be a Richard-head but I felt all was not well along with TX Outlaw. So is it safe to say the stock ESOF is a POS?