I have a 2002 ford f-250 with the auto vacuum 4x4 and i've had nothing but problems with it. right now the 4x4 still works but when i turn a corner left the right hub will engage on its own and pulls the truck all over the place and you have to jerk the wheel hard to unluck the hub and it does the same if i turn a right corner. has anyone else had this problem the hubs are only a year old brand new from ford???

 

I don't think that is your hubs locking. I have never heard of auto hubs doing this. Check you ball joints and hubs.

Welcome to FTE.

 

not the 4x4 hubs. check the main hub bearing assembly. its probably at fault. they all go bad.

 

no it is the 4x4 hub cause if i don't jerk the wheel to unluck it i can stop in the grass or gravel and the front wheel will spin. its a canadian truck so i don't know if that makes a difference with the salt and corrosion compared to the southern trucks

 

If the tire spins then your transfer case is still engadged. With the key in the on position with truck not running, turn the **** to 4x4 and listen for the motor engadging the transfer case. If you don't hear the motor you might be stuck in 4x4. If you have a vacuum leak that could cause the hubs not to release. Does the 4x4 lite when you turn the **** to 4x4?

 

Hubs, locked or unlocked will not affect the trucks steering or handling, unless the tranfer case is also engaged. One problem I have heard of recently is the transfer case bolts becoming loose and causing it to bind. Also, do as Rick said and make sure your tranfer motor is not stuck. Your hubs could be stuck in lock but that's not what causing the jerking.

 

Yea the 4x4 lite goes on when i put it in 4x4. my mechanic says he thinks that the hubs are sticking and there half engaged so when i turn the one hub will engage and thats why when i push the gas it will pull the truck to the one side cause the one front wheel is driving.

 

You can lock both front auto hubs and not have the transfer case in 4x4 and you will not feel anything different. The front end is an open design, not like the LS on the rear. Even in full 4x4 both front tires will not spin. I have had one of my auto hubs locked and the other not and no way to tell by driving.

Good luck.

 

Do this, put your auto hubs in auto and switch in 2wd. Get under the truck and you should be able to turn the front drive shaft by hand. If you can't turn the drive shaft, go to each wheel and turn the yoke for each front wheel. You might have to use a long screwdriver to get it to start turning. If it turns free start looking elsewhere.

 

I have had a similar issue with an '04 F350. I actually heard a loud bang when using the 4wd. The engagement of the 4wd then became sparactic. My mechanic replaced the driver's side hub at $500 and everything was fine. Two weeks later, the same thing happened with the passenger side. It too was replaced and things were back to normal operation. It has since been two months and the driver's side hub is now hanging up just as you described. Mine especially hangs up when in reverse and when it grabs it pulls the truck to the left. It also makes a loud "ratcheting" noise. I realize this is not a solution, but I just wanted to let you know that you are not the only one with this problem and frustration. Good luck.....

 

K i did what you said and the axle won't spin its locked and the front hub won't spin either?? so is that good or bad?

 

Have you tried turning the wheel all the way to one side and slowly start moving to see if the front is binding? If it is binding then your transfer case is still in 4x4. If it is not binding do this. click here


I did mine a couple weeks ago. Very easy after the first time. Take your time and follow the steps.

 

I just wanted to say the above is true if the hubs are like this from a stop. However if a hub were to randomly engage, especially going around a turn, I would think the sudden extra resistance spinning up the half shaft would be able to feel for at least a second and could potentially pull on the wheel around a corner.

 

This is not entirely true. It will feel the same up until the time you make a sharp turn. With the front hubs locked, you are locked to the front axle, so when you make a sharp turn you will still feel the bind from the U joints at the wheel binding up a bit (the steering wheel will try to straighten out a bit to get past the bind).

 

Please post the fix once you get it fixed. I would like to know what is going on with your hubs. Like I said, I never ran across this problem, but would like to know the fix.

Good luck.

EDIT: I just went out and locked my hubs and made sharp turns in the parking lot. I could not feel any binding at all. I knew it wouldn't because it is an open style front end. You may have a transfer case problem.