Front Diff Problem?
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 775
Likes: 0
From: Williamston, MI
Front Diff Problem?
Drove into town today. From a stop sign the truck steering was pulling. Felt like a wheel was ready to fall off. I stopped and drove slow. Made it back home. Jacked up the front and checked to see if there was any play. Very solid. The passenger side front wheel spins fine until I lock in the warn lockout. With the lockout engaged the wheel will spin about half way around and then get tight. If I get the wheel to the tight spot and let go, it will actually spin itself to the free or non tensioned location.
What should I check?
Ball joints, u-joints and all steering links look good.
What should I check?
Ball joints, u-joints and all steering links look good.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 775
Likes: 0
From: Williamston, MI
Thanks for the reply. Just remove the allen head bolts and take off the cap? It is driving ok now. The only sign of anything wrong is when I lock the hub and spin the wheel.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,274
Likes: 1
From: Milroy, PA
Im betting on the axle bearing, inside the unit bearing. Out of curiosity, on the other side, jack up that wheel, lock the hub in on both sides (4wd selector in 2wd), and spin both directions. If no trouble is found, then im pretty sure its that little bearing that is replaceable, inside the hub bearing, on the defective side. By trying this on the other side, with the t case in 2wd, it should turn the driveshaft when you turn the tire. Eliminating the problem from being inside the differential. Hope that helps
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,274
Likes: 1
From: Milroy, PA
The only thing to remove the old ones is pull the snap ring out, and put the new internal part of the hub in, then put the new snap ring in, and put the outer half of the hub on, and screw it down. Thats kinda general but its overall pretty easy, you need needle nose pliers, and the appropriate size allen head for the new hubs. Really though, unless your factory hubs are stiff, there isnt much to gain. Broken hubs are kinda rare, in most cases from what ive seen they just get stiff, and miserable to change positions.
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FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: May 2001
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From: Cabot, Arkansas
Originally Posted by Mike F250
Thanks for the reply. Just remove the allen head bolts and take off the cap? It is driving ok now. The only sign of anything wrong is when I lock the hub and spin the wheel.
When you jack that wheel up is there any play in the hub? If there is any play at all the hub bearings are on the way out. Normally you can hear it when they get bad, they squeak going down the road....especially around corners.
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Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 775
Likes: 0
From: Williamston, MI
I did jack up the other side and did the same test. No problems at all. Both wheels are very tight. I don't feel any movement when trying to rock top and bottom of the wheel. I don't have any noise down the road or corners. When this happened, I was making a sharp right from a stop sign. After I stopped (about 300 yards) and checked everything out, got back in the truck and all was ok. The hubs were locked out at the time. Still are and the problem has not returned in the 15 miles I've driven since.
Frome Guzzle's site - needle bearing same as hub bearing rebel and cookie refer to?
Frome Guzzle's site - needle bearing same as hub bearing rebel and cookie refer to?
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 775
Likes: 0
From: Williamston, MI
So, drove the truck about 75 miles since the original problem. No sign of any trouble. No wobble, squeek, shake rattle n roll... Any thoughts? Is it possible for a warn lockout to somehow engage for a short period of time? Would a front differential cause the feeling of severe wobble and erratic steering? Odd, happened for just a very short period of time and now nothing. The wheels feel very tight. No play top to bottom when jacked up.
Cookie, when I remove the lockout, what should I be looking for?
Cookie, when I remove the lockout, what should I be looking for?