I hope this is the right forum for this, I'm sure someone will redirect me if not. I recently purchased a 2000 f250 powerstroke. It has a grinding noise on the left front wheel. I removed the wheel, auto locker. found the spindle nut, behind the snap ring loose, it is not on any threads. You can move the spindle shaft up, down, side to side. Don't the bearing directly associate with the spindle shaft and that nut. Is there supposed to be that much play? does any one have a exploded view, or the dismantle reassemble procedure for this part. I don't have a manual that covers this type of 4 wheel drive, I am lookin for a good comprehensive manual for this truck. Any suggestions?

 

OK I just did this a couple days ago...

if you removed the auto hub, then there is a snap ring followed by three thrust washers (keep them in order, round>hex>round)

there is no nut, just the axel shaft.

if the axel shaft is wobbly, the needle bearings are probably bad...

NOTE: that may not be the only thing bad, read on...

you will have to remove the hub bearing assembly.

first remove the two bolts holding the caliper bracket (not the calipers, the whole brake assembly)

gently lift off assembly, roll it over and lay it on top the leaf spring. (you dont have to remove brake lines)

turn the wheel all the way in one direction to get access to two of the 4 nuts holding on the hub assembly, turn wheel opposite direction to get at other two nuts.

grab a hammer and tap on the hub assembly to get it to free up for removal.

slide hub assy part way out, notice the heatshield may either stick to the hub assy or stay on the truck, watch for a large washer to fall out while continuing to remove the hub assy...

ok you got the hub assy out, heatshield off, and possibly the washer... if you dont have the washer look up in the hole or on the back of the hub assy.

find a flat place to lay the hub assy. you will see the hub assy is 2 parts. there is also a bearing that is pressed into the back of the hub assy.

this is the most important part of the check

with the hub flat, see if you can wobble the big outer collar of the hub assy.

if it is rock solid you are in luck! all you have to do is pull the little bearing on the back of the hub and replace it. be sure to check the axel shaft for scoring and polish with emery cloth if needed.

if it wobbles, get your wallet out!!! you're talking $380-$450 for a ford factory replacement. you can get a cheaper aftermaket one but remember you might just get what you paying for... I chose the factory hub assy because I know it is a high quality timken bearing, not some cheap POS "made who knows where?"

OH! I found this link on the forums http://guzzle.rbmicro.com/nblube.html

also read these threads

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...-pointers.html

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...aring+assembly

good luck!

 

Thanks for those awesome instructions. I don't think you left out any details. Thanks again.

 

You're welcome!

I just sent you an email with some pics and stuff from the Ford factory CD that I figured out how to paste into MS Word. when I try to paste it here I get the following GobbleyGook...

<?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype class=inlineimg id=_x0000_t75 title=\"Stick Out Tongue\" stroked=\"f\" filled=\"f\" path=\"m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe\" src="http://images.ford-trucks.com/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif" alt="" border="0" o<img></v:shapetype>referrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><Vath o:connecttype="rect" gradientshapeok="t" o:extrusionok="f"></Vath>fficeffice" /><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[img] /><o:lock aspectratio=[/img]</o:lock><v:shape id=_x0000_i1025 style="WIDTH: 431.25pt; HEIGHT: 324pt" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata class=inlineimg title="Big Grin" o:title='\"\"' src="file:///C<img src=" alt="" border="0" biggrin.gif? smilies images forums images.ford-trucks.com http:></v:imagedata>OCUME~1P00001~1LOCALS~1Tempmsohtml1\01 clip_image001.png"></v:shape>
<v:shape style="WIDTH: 431.25pt; HEIGHT: 324pt" type="#_x0000_t75"></v:shape>
<v:shape style="WIDTH: 431.25pt; HEIGHT: 324pt" type="#_x0000_t75">I wish there was an easier way?</v:shape>

 

Great job with the write up. Rep points given.

The only way I can get around that junk you're complaining about is to select "preview post" or "go advanced". Then you can see and delete all those things. The easier method (if available to you) is to convert it to a pdf file and simply attach it.

 

Thanks for the info and points Chris.

I just want to give something back for all the times FTE has saved my butt and my bank account...

as far as the message and GobblyGook, I left that mess there so others, like you, could see what I was talking about... I dont have any way to convert to a pdf file... I did want to NOTE something I dont understand? in the posting rules at the bottom of the page, I see this...

You may post new threads
You may post replies
You may not post attachments
You may edit your posts

How come I can not post attachments? is that a FTE Supporter thing?

 

Maybe it is a supporter thing. Mine says I can post attachments. I started doing it that way when all the gobblygook started showing up. I think it's trying to interpret the paragraph settings (tabs, margins, etc) from the word processor and not doing a good job. I've seen several posts with that stuff in there and even done a few myself until I figured out what they were.

 

Tom does it grind all the time or just when you push on the throttle, I have the same problem. you can here a grinding on left front when I throttle it up to 30 mile an hour.When I let off the throttle the sound goes away. I had it checked by a mechanic and he said my bearings were good and when he put it on the rack he run it up to 50mph said he heard a noise from the rear end. He thought it was ring and pinion

 

Super Job! Glad to have folks like you around here. Rep points left and I am sure many more to come.

 

this is what happened to me.... and some of the info here is a result of multiple issues...

it all started with a clunk and some vibrations. I looked on FTE and figured it was the lack of lube in the spline shaft of the driveshaft assembly. I crawled under the truck and tried twisting the driveshaft back and forth, listening for any noise in the spline area.

what I found...

the driveshaft support bearing (carrier bearing) was shot, my driveshaft just sorta flopped around in there. (a good one will slightly deflect a little) called the parts store, they said there's like 4 different sizes, didnt know which one, couldnt really measure, conflicting sizes... a few more days go by vibration is getting worse! starts at about 30 mph, gets louder, loudest at 55-60, smooths back out at 70... hmm? maybe a tire out of bal too?

decided to ballance all 4 tires and rotate them... noticed some feathering on the tires that came off the front... went ahead and did a front end alignment since I had the time...

next day...

driving to work, 75mph (running late of course) suddenly start getting a shimmy which quickly turns into shaking added with a loud buzzing noise, the whole thing sounded like driving on a constant rumble strip, steering wheel shaking, scared $#ITless, all over the road....

it all stops when I get down to about 30 mph...

needless to say, I dropped driveshaft, replaced bearing, greased spline with high dollar grease with teflon, hi temp, high speed....

I found a bad U joint, I dont mess around, bought the heavy duty, greaseable types and just replace all 3 sets of U joints...

still got a vibration, feels like its in the front, read FTE forums for hours, got some ideas and went out to the garage...

put truck on neighbor's lift (SWEET!) start looking everywhere and found the following...

torque bar bushings shot, steering drag link bad, steering damper leaking, front axel on drivers side wobbly....

well, I end up replacing all of the above parts and deciding what to do about the axel wobble...

I decided to go ahead and pull hub assembly bearing... the axel bearing was shot, some of the needles were broken and turned sideways, the hub assembly bearing was wobbly too... again, I decided not to mess around, so I pulled the one on the passenger side and replaced both sides.

hub assembly bearing $416 ea $832
torque bar $120
steering link $140
steering damper $ 80
carrier bearing $ 55
u joints $ 30 ea $ 90
specialty grease $ 25

Grand total $ 1342.00 in parts


RIDES LIKE A F#@%ING! CADILLAC!!


BTW... WHILE MY TRUCK WAS ON THE LIFT FOR 2 DAYS, MY WIFE'S DODGE DURANGO DECIDED TO PUKE THE TRANSMISSION. I WONDER HOW MUCH THAT IS GONNA COST ME??

NOT TO MENTION THE RENTAL CAR WHILE REPAIRS ARE BEING MADE...

ITS BEEN A ROUGH WEEK

 

Boy howdy, You make me feel lucky. I thought I had it bad! Kinda sounds like what my truck is starting to do. I'm all over it!

 

Scott

your problem could be a few things...

tracking where a sound is coming from is really a PITA! especially with a noisy diesel clacking away... (it can really fool you sometimes)

"use the force Luke... trust your feelings...ahhh, the force is strong in this one"

the following are the most common causes and issues for what you seem to be having ...

if its definately in the front, you should "feel" it in the steering wheel, check your hub assembly and axel bearing.

if you "feel" it more in the seat of your pants....

if it only does it on takeoff, it is more than likely its your driveshaft angle. many of us have shimmed down the carrier bearing to better straighten the thrust angle.

if it starts at 30 mph then goes away at a higher speed, try getting it up to speed, shifting to neutral, and listen/feel for it... it may be a bad u-joint.

checking mine on the truck, they all seemed fine... but when I dropped the driveshaft, the rear-most u-joint was bad. one of the bearing caps was frozen solid. once I pried it off, I dumped out a pile of dust that used to be the needle bearings....

check your carrier bearing (driveshaft support bearing) push up on it and side-to-side, it is supposed to give a little, maybe 1/4" but not much more...

mine moved all over the place! about an inch or more up and down...

when on the throttle, the rear end is trying to run forward. the spine shaft on the rear half of the driveshaft is "supposed" to move in-and-out to help compensate for all that energy used to move a heavy truck forward (intertia)... the carrier bearing is supposed to help dampen some of that force while keeping both driveshafts inline... (the spine shaft is poorly greased from factory,a common symptom is a clank or clunk when going from reverse to forward or visa-versa)

the driveshafts are already at a pretty good angle on a stock truck, if the carrier bearing is bad, the driveshafts will drive upward towards the bottom of the truck, increasing that angle even more, putting the u-joints into even more of a bind, increasing the stress... I'm sure you get the idea

thats another reason why to shim the carrier bearing, put all that force and energy into as much of a straight line as possible...

well, its 2AM and I'm rambling on... I hope this helps you find your problem.

good luck!

 

I'm fixin to get out the fine tooth comb. I'll find the problem, I hope!

 

OK, I'm at another wall. I have the hub assembly off, it all looks fine and tight. Needs a little grease, but other than that it looks good. Outer axle shaft looks good, race and all. Seal on back of knuckle is crap, seal on axle housing is crap. Gonna replace both of those, but is there supposed to be a bearing in the axle housing behind the seal? I don't see one, surely it doesn't just float in the seal, or does it. Any diagrams on this. I bought a haynes manual in a pinch, hoping for some diagrams. I learned, don't buy haynes manuals. Waiting on reply from a fella on ebay for one of those CD's, still in limbo on literature.
t

 

Well I got it all tore apart, apparently there is no bearing in the axle housing. What holds the outer axle rigid?