That's way too hot for Spokane!

Now is the time to have a buddy with a garage that has a lift and AC!

 

It is hot for Spokane. Its supposed to get hotter for the next few days. yay.

Anyway, I crawled unto my truck in the sweltering heat and pried, shook, tried to move, etc., everything that I could and here is what I came up with.

The shocks are shot as they are leaking fluid.
The front and rear bushings for the springs are worn (there is a little play).
The front and rear sway bushing are also worn.
The trans and engine mounts seem fine.

Now the kicker. I said I could freely spin the front drive shaft and it does spin. But the drivers side shaft to the front wheel spins also. The passengers side will not budge and I can NOT get it to unlock. The hubs on both side are turned to "Free" and "clicked" into place.

I have the electronic 4-wheel selector and put the truck (while running of course) into neutral then set it for 4x4-high.
Then I drove about 100 feet.
I put it back into neutral and turn it to 2wd and waited about 30-45 seconds and put it in reverse and back up about 50 feet.

Still locked up. Then I noticed that there looked to be pomething wrong with the passengers side hub on the back. There apperas to be a "loose" ring of some sort and maybe part of a seal gone?

here are some pics:

Drivers side. Looks good.


Passengers side. Um, what is that ring doing just dangling and why is there oil or grease everywhere?

So, there you have it. Any suggestions?

 

Your passenger side front hub is shot!! That seal dangling is suppose to keep the grease in the hub and dirt and water out. The grease is coming out and the bearings are running dry and dirty. They have worn out most likly and are ruined. The locking part of the hub have been damaged too!

UNSAFE!! If it is wore out enough to cause the truck to pull to one side it has goten real bad and is about to fall off.

 

BEFORE you drive that truck anywhere ( including the repair shop ) you need to check something to confirm how bad the hub is worn and its danger level. Use a jack to lift the wheel off the ground, then spin the wheel, then grab the wheel at the front and back and try to shack it, then grab the wheel at top and bottom and try it shack it. It should spin freely and smooth with no noise. It should not be to be rocked in either direction. If you get a metal on metal noise when you spin the tire or 1/2" movement when you shack it I would tow it to the repair shop. If it fells OK than I may be overreacting, but the first thing I would do is drive it right to a good shop and have them check it out rather then assume it is fine considering that we are looking at one picture and hearing what you are telling us.

If you are lucky it is only the needle bearing around the axle and the hub needs to be serviced. Do both hubs while you are at it. OR it could be the damn front wheel is about the fall off and everything needs to be replaced.

The shocks need to be replaced. But if both side are wore out it is not causing the torque steer just a rough ride.

The spring bushings might need to be replaced. But if the right and left are equally wore it should not the major cause of the torque steer.

Just because the **** on the hub is turned to "unlock" does not mean the hub is always unlocked. If it gets dry and needs service it can get stuck in lock position with the **** turned to unlock.

A worn out passenger hub CAN cause your "torque steer" and is very dangerous!

 

Here's a link to an article in the Tech Folder, Converting Auto hubs to manual hubs

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=467258

It does a good job of explaining and showing how to get the hubs apart and back together, even if you are not converting your hubs.

Also, a short term solution to drive your truck safely, put both hubs in the LOCK position. This will not hurt anything short term, as long as you leave it in 2 wheel drive while on dry pavement or other hard surfaces. With both sides locked you shouldn't see the torque steer.

 

Eodmule, where you at? Have you checked that hub out yet?

I didn't mean to scare you but from the picture we can't tell how bad it is and I didn't want it to fall off the next morning if the truck was a daily driver.

If it has just started going bad and you caught it in time then it at least needs a new needle bearing and back seal. Just having one hub locked in because it needs service will cause the torque steer a little. I may have over reacted but my concern is that if the grease is able to come out than the wheel bearings will go bad fast. So that MUST be fixed before you drive any longer. If the wheel bearings are already worn out and riping them selves apart than you got a dangerous truck to drive! That would also cause a lot of torque steer.

Check it out and if you are the kind of guy to do your own service on things like this than use the link Redford gave you to take it apart and tell us what you find.

 

I'm biting the bullet and taking it in to the shop in the next few days.

I was looking and it seems like it might be a little more than I can handle by myself. I can do brakes, shocks and minor stuff like that but as I have no garage or the proper tools, I'll pay someone else to do this job.

 

Try a local 4x4 shop. See if they will convert your truck to manual hubs. Much more reliable. I like Warn, but there are other brands.

 

After MUCH asking around and talking to several repair places, I'm taking my truck in on This coming Tuesday to have the hub looked at and fixed.

My Rough Country shocks and double front mount finally came today, just 30 minutes before I left for work.

Hopefully this will take care of the steering problems.

I had checked on a few but they are a little out of my price range right now. I'll just try to keep the ESOF system running.

 

Having manual hubs isn't a big deal.

If you think you might need 4 wheels drive, you get out and lock your hubs. You are not in 4 wheel drive at this point. When you need 4 wheels drive, you just engange the switch and you're there. Reverse when you don't need it. When all chances of needing 4 wheel drive have passed, you unlock the hubs.