I wasgoing down the road and my truck started to vibrate like I was driving on rumble strips. I got out of the truck and walked over to the passanger front end and it smelled hot! For awile before this happened, the truck has pulled to the left when brakes were applied. I jacked the front up and I had to realy put some effort into it to get the tire to spin. I took the tire off and checked the brakes. plenty of pads and my rotors are in good shape. I was told it was the U-Joint or could be wheel bearrings. I am at lost Here. We are supposed to get a big snow storm this weekend and I need the truck to move snow. Mechanic is swamped. Any help would be Appreciated. Trying to save money in this economy. Thanks

 

Did you check your unit bearings to see if you had any play in them?

 

Did the tire have any play in it? Could be a hub bearing going south on you.

Clay was reading my mind..........

 

Welcome to FTE, what these guys said. Sounds like a front bearing issue.

 

No I didnt

 

No the tire didnt have any play in it

 

Thanks Ill tear it a part and see what i have

 

X3 on the unit bearing/wheel bearing and a possible on sticking caliper pins causing the brake to heat up.....as far as u joint, if you where in 2wd with the hub unlocked that would not be an issue unless you have a bad locking hub that is staying locked in.

I was going to post a link to some caliper pin threads but the search function froze but the more I think about it I would lean more towards the unit bearing. If you can jack up the front end check the tire/wheel for any play...grab the top an bottom of the tire at the same time and look for any back and forth slop indicating a bad unit bearing.

The units are non serviceable and must be purchased as an assembly....around $400 from ford iirc. I have never checked price from a parts house so I cant comment there.

 

What part of PA do you live in? I have recent experience in tearing the frontend of my truck apart. I might be able to lend a hand if you are close. I also have the special made "hub seal tool" for getting the hub seal to mount correctly.

I would also agree with the hub assembly bearing as the culprit but would not rule out a bad hub lockout as well.

If you are going to replace the hub assembly bearing you will more than likely need a new hub seal. Mine was no longer a single unit but rather two pieces, luckily I have the manual option to exchange my 4x4 so I did not notice the hub wasn't sealing. If you have the ESOF this seal is crucial for the vacuum of the hubs as I understand it.

Let me know if I can be of assistance and welcome to the Botherhood of FTE.

 

The guys have you going in the right direction.
Here is Guzzles writeup, it will be a huge help:
Welcome to guzzle's 4x4 Needle Bearing Maintenance Web Page
his version is just for lubing, but the steps are the same for replacement.
Last time I did one, I bought a parts house hub. Ran around $250 IIRC.

 

Thank you! I am glad that I found this site. I jacked the front end up and there was no play at all. I am thinking it is a bad hub lock. I couldnt even spin the tire. My mechanic called me and said he would take care of it. I wish I would have just done it myself now. That way I would have known how to do it. All well if its the hub lock I will be glad I didnt mess with it. This is a cool site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

aww schucks, ya should have stuck with it!!!

I understand though, sometimes time is more important than money. Let us know what finally fixed it!!

 

Would be a heck of a thing if it was just your caliper slide pins like mentioned above, wouldn't even cost you anything, just pull out, clean up, regrease and put back in, good luck..

 

I had the same problem once, turned out to be bad locking hubs

Try removing them and take it for a test drive.

Easy fix if it is just your locking hubs.

Instructions on how to remove them - http://www.guzzle7pt3.com/allube.php

 

Well were to start???? I called my mechanic, He ended up not being able to get to my truck. So I tor into it myself. First I eliminated the locking hub, then I went to the brakes. Loosend up the caliper and then I could spin the rotor easy. There was the problem. The caliper waas froze up!!!!! While bleeding the line, I blew a rusted up rear brake line. Beter sitting there than on the road. I am glad I did it myself, and my Dads help. Thanks for everyones help. Just in time for The BIG SNOW STORM!!!!!!It sure is nice to have my truck on the road again!!!!!