Grinding gears
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2004
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Grinding gears
Hello, I have this condition when I am at low speed, I get vibrations that give the sensation that there are gears grinding up front. I get the vibration when I am at low speed going forward and when I turn the steering wheel. The vibrations are intermittent. I don't know if it is the steering gearbox or if it is the four wheel gearbox. My intuition says it is the four wheel gearbox. Does anybody have any suggestions or a starting point to look for? Thanks.
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2006
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I think Cdy1 and I are on the same wavelenght. If you have auto hubs, probubly one of them is not unlocking. It is possible to have one locked and the other unlocked. If this happens, you must jack up the locked wheel and unlock it by hand by spining it oppisite the way its locked. This is kind of hard to explain. You have to understand how they lock. The best solution is to replace the hubs with manual hubs.
If you have manual hubs. It could be a kid was playing with your hub **** or the hub is just not working so great. You can crawl under the truck and turn the driveshaft and see if the axles are turning free from the wheels.
If you have manual hubs. It could be a kid was playing with your hub **** or the hub is just not working so great. You can crawl under the truck and turn the driveshaft and see if the axles are turning free from the wheels.
Posting Guru
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Let me explane this more clearly. Auto hubs lock in one direction (forward or reverse) They unlock oppisite the way they locked. Assuming you locked them going forward, you would unlock them by shifting out of 4x4 and backing up straight line 20 or 30 feet. If you happen to turn while backing up or your hubs arnt working perfect, you can unlock only one or unlock both and lock one in reverse. When you drive forward it will unlock, but the other may lock in forward at the same time. Visous circle. Then you must jack up the wheel and unlock by hand. You can see why I recomend manual hubs. (They are much stronger also)
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Gateway to the West
The swap to manual hubs is pretty straight forward. Remove the bolts holding the autos in place and put the manuals in place of them. It's not quite that rudimentary but the instructions that come with manual hubs are going to be quite sufficient to accomplish the project in a fairly short amount of time.
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Thanks. I jacked the truck and spun both tires. I did not feel any resistance or shifting when I spun the tires both back and forward, but I did notice the difference when I test drove afterward. I wish all problems were so easy to fix.
Where can I purchase the manual hub change outs?
Where can I purchase the manual hub change outs?
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2006
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It doesnt matter whether you shift in to 4x4 stationary or moving. They lock up the direction you move after pushing the button. But if one is locked allready, it will just stay locked whatever direction it was locked.
Thers lots of places to buy manuals. I recomend the Warn that locks with a quarter turn. Some require 3/4 turn.
Thers lots of places to buy manuals. I recomend the Warn that locks with a quarter turn. Some require 3/4 turn.
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 9,182
Likes: 12
From: Gateway to the West
They lock once they get rotary motion from the axles. With an open differential, if one axle spins forward the other must spin backward or at best remain still which would amount to moving backward if the truck is moving forward. This is why if one is locked forward and the other is unlocked, if you have an open differential in the front (and most folks do), the opposite axle will spin the opposite direction and keep trying to lock up the other hub.
Many folks swear by the Warn Premium manual hubs. I personally prefer the Mile Marker all-stainless units. I've had far too many of the plastic hub ***** get brittle and crack from exposure to the elements.
Many folks swear by the Warn Premium manual hubs. I personally prefer the Mile Marker all-stainless units. I've had far too many of the plastic hub ***** get brittle and crack from exposure to the elements.
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