Guess I'll have to put that lift kit, true duals, and rims with 33's on hold.

Heard a slight whining/whirring noise going to work this AM in 4H. Took it over to an ASE aquaintance's shop to see what's what. He was like "Ruh roh. Take a look at this"

axle housing tube was cracked on the passenger side with fresh oil on it. He pulled the drain plug and didn't get anything when he checked it - dry.

He said don't even bother with trying to repair. He said that way to go is to get a new front differential assembly because when they start moaning the damage is done, and you can replace one thing then have to go in there an replace something else later - just start fresh. I tend to agree initially, but beyond sticking his finger in the chunk, observing the crack and listening me describe the noise it was making, he didn't do a lot of diagnosis - said it wasn't necessary. Thoughts? He's probably right: the "Moan of Death" I call it.

He also said he can get a used complete front assembly for around $850 and have about 3.9 hours labor in it. All in all, it's going to cost me about $1,100 to fix it... Are we ballpark there? I'd do it myself but I just had shoulder surgery 9 days ago, so my lifting days are done for a while.
Plus, it's like 11 degrees and I'd have to do this in my unheated garage.

Show me some love, boys. I be needin an e-hug

 

Get out the phone book and start calling the junkyards. If you've got the time and tools, you can install it yourself in your driveway in an afternoon.

And Im curious as to why you were driving around in 4H?

 

Have you seen the news about the ice storms in the mid west????

He just had shoulder surgery, do it himself is out.

 

66- i think you answered your own questions, sounds like you got a plan. i would be interested in knowing how or why the tube broke? have seen the weather out there on the TV. You been ice mountain climbing or jumping frozen rivers?

 

The last comments may decide it, depending on just how reliant you are on that vehicle. I'm spoiled with multiple vehicles, so I can just hop into another & have been fortunate not to break down on the road in a long time. If you can wait, I'd recommend you at least get a 2nd opinion, identify why the "axle housing tube was cracked" & determine the structural significance of the crack before biting the bullet. Not all cracks are equal & "$850" sounds high for used. Did you wind it up tight on dry road in "4H" or bash it on a rock or is it a hairline for no good reason?

If the crack looks like a minor casting defect & the shafts/gears all spin smoothly consider a temporary patch to get it back on the road & test if the bearings & gears are toast. Careful cleaning & roughing the surface & some JB Weld or silicone/polyurethane goo, just to hold oil again, may well give you breathing time & could be OK if babied. Could give you time; to heal (obviously you'd be willing to give it a whack yourself even in the cold) AND search for a much better deal on a front axle. If you can avoid ramming in 4WD this might get you through till spring. Of course you didn't mention how big/fast the leak is or how you got home. Can we presume you had it refilled & drove it, confirming the "whining/whirring" remains?

Of course if the crack is a mortal blow to structural integrity you could even cheaply & quickly convert to 2WD to give you an out. Pretty sure you could drop the outer drive shafts-disconnecting the front differential & just drive in 2WD. I towed a couple of SAABs that had busted differentials by dropping axle shafts. It looks like you could even take this F150 'front end' right out & still drive!

You didn't mention the condition of your front end, is it low miles & gentle use OR high miles & hard use? Keep in mind junkyard parts are rolling the dice, you could get a replacement that's on its last legs & retire one that's still relatively fresh. If you can indeed drive around w/o even having a 'front end' in place it gives you the luxury of repairing it on a bench at your leisure. Diffy gears are both very tough & pretty easy to inspect.

I was skeptical of the aluminum frontend housings the 1st time I saw them. Curious why yours cracked, wonder how well they stand up to rough service like snow plowing & rock crawling? Still dubious of the torsion bars as well. Keep expecting F150s to start looking like low riders.

 

Thanks for the quick assist, Lx - you are exactly right. And if I didn't have a bum wing, I'd be on this like ugly on ape. But alas...

And yeah, the land of ice and snow cometh, so 4wd comes in handy. I did take it highway speeds (60 mph) in some plowed off and dry areas. Was that possibly the death knell?

plans are good - makes me feel better.
I'm a little worried about the crack, too. Hopefully, I'll fix it and get this behind me. No jumping ice rivers, only highway speeds in 4H. Same thing? You guys tell me....

This mule is my daily driver - I have to be able to point the key at it and go, no questions asked, so that puts the repair on a different plane of importance. And where I live, the 4WD has to be operational.
I do trust my mechanic and don't want to leave too much to chance. To his credit he said that he may be able to get it cheaper - he was estimating high just in case.

That's exactly what I did. Am I a bad person? And I did back over an ice drift trying to get out of a tight spot and took a pretty good jolt, but nothing bone jarring.



It's a pretty good lick. No hairline fracture here - she's broke.

yeah, I'd be all over it if I tweren't hurt. Can't afford to have it patched and baby it - it's got to be right as rain; otherwise, I might not be able to pick up the three kids from school. No good. Haven't filled it up and check the whining. Let's say that goes away with a full chunk. What do I need to look at then for repairs? Just the tube? If so, can I get a replacement made of steel/iron?


4WD is a must. Fixed in a timely fashion is a must. Oh how I wish it was not!!!!

Truck has 102K on it and otherwise tip top. Took the opportunity while it was up on the rack to check a few other things out, and I was pleased with what we saw. Hard to say if the 102K was come by easy or hard - I just recently bought the truck. Judging from the condition (dicey, I know), it has lead an easy life. VERY clean, zero rust, etc.

 

I don't think dropping $1100 to have a "new" front diff in and ready to run is that bad of a price. Heck just a gear swap for both diffs would run that, which if you have the money would be a great time to do. Also I really doubt running in 4wd at 60mph did any harm as long as you had some ice or snow to drive on. I run 60mph every year in 4wd on snow and ice here. In fact today was the first day in the last 6 that I was finally able to use 2wd again. It would be interesting to know what caused the crack though, always the chance that another part has failed and made it crack.

 

Well, the good news is that I took it to a specialty drivetrain shop today that my mechanic referred me to (at his suggestion) for a second opinion and put it up on THEIR hoist.

They took a few looks at it and actually yanked on some stuff, turned this, eyeballed that, checked the diff oil level and called it good. It still had 2 quarts in it, so they topped it off. They drove it and didn't here the whine that their trained ear would recognize as the "Moan of Death."

They said what I was hearing was probably my wallet squawking because I thought I was going to have to drop a c-note on a truck I've owned a very short time. So they call my guy and said order an axle tube from FoMoCo and nothing else, and I should be hittin on all eight in no time flat.

How often does THAT happen - a mechanic in line for a big, high margin job sends you to one of his buddies to make sure he's trackin, and I end up saving $900?!?! Feels like Christmas already.

So I bought the drivetrain guys a 12 pack of Busch and a bottle of Captain for putting me back in the black and keeping me outta the little lady's doghouse for spending more money on my truck!

 

Ah...I stopped reading at the "$1100" mark


This is EXACTLY why I preach to people to NEVER use 4WD unless you are stuck. 4WD will not help one bit on ice...nothing will. Well, maybe studs, or even ice screws in extreme cases where there is no asphalt.

A good welding shop can fix it for you. If it's in an easy to reach area, you might be suprised on the price (cheap).

 

Well, one lesson I learned is that at a minimum, I'm going to be a little more selective with my 4WD ops, regardless...

I'm not going to weld it - I'm going to fix it. If nothing else, for piece of mind...

See sig

 

If you weld it...It can be all three

Good thing it was just the axle tube, and that it didn't mess up anything else...especially running without lube.

 

peace of mind!

 

First of all, sorry to hear about your misfortune. Adn glad to hear it worked out so well.

The key to hwy dry pavement use is having the tire pressure balanced so front and rear speeds are very close. Mine has many hundereds of miles on hwy. One trip was 500 miles stuck in 4low. So they can endure. If you take the time to get pressures close it will click into and out of 4wd on dry without any complaining. (Driving straight) Turns are another matter. And of course, once bound up is can be hard to undo. I have my pressures off right now and don't dare engage on pavement. (did not pay attention when I let the tires down a bit for the ice. Have to reverse to release to 2wd. So I only engaged when neccessary. This weekend I will tweek them to get it back.

If you decide to try this. Set the front where you want to run and drop the rear a little at a time until it works. Have a road where it is easy to get two wheels off the payvement to unload. If the truck runs empty, start with the rear about 3psi lower as a guess. The old eyeball looking at tire sag can do you pretty well. Measuring the pavement to rim distance will also shorten your task.

 

What's "specialty drivetrain shop" best guess? Wound up tight in 4WD on hard dry surface OR that "pretty good jolt"? May never know for sure? Glad to hear the gears & bearings didn't lose oil. Call around junkyards & repair shops, you might find a front end that is wrecked or w/shot gears that can donate a bargain axle housing. Bet my stealership would need days to order cross country & I'd need to be sitting when they quoted price.

I'd always thought of "a c-note" as $100. Eleven "c-notes" in chorus do a lot more "squawking" leaving the comfort of "my wallet". You were contemplating dropping more than a 'G' on your recent truck purchase!

 

Please "preach" to another congregation & "NEVER use 4WD unless you are" offroad or negotiating continuously bad winter road conditions. Yesterday I used the 'Cream Puff's' 4WD for the 1st time & was not "stuck". I needed to drag some old junk cars that had been sitting a long time, had sunk into the ground, flat tires & seized brake drums.

FWD & 4WD both plainly DO "help one bit on ice" as well as virtually every other bad road condition, w/o being "stuck". Snow tires also definitely "help" being compounded of different rubber to enhance winter traction. Pickups driven in 2WD have a pathetic reputation for traction, unless well loaded, anything will "help" them. Don't let the FL 40 fool you, I've driven on loads of ice with RWD, FWD & 4WD.

The sermon readers need to pay attention to is: "to NEVER use 4WD" on hard dry pavement.

Suggest you drive a Subaru for awhile & discover how AWD is superior to RWD.

Try preaching to solo wilderness trailblazers, where winches/jacks might not help & getting stuck can be life threatening. Stay clear of ice racers.