replacing stuck hubs

[ProGunProgressive]

Well, so far I've been loving my 2002 F340 4x4 PSD, but I noticed early on that my brakes were pulling pretty hard right.

Took it to my buddy's shop, and put her on the lift.

Turns out my hubs (with 99K on them) are frozen solid. Toast.

Tried breaking them loose, but to no avail. Priced out some new ones from CarQuest, $189 didn't seem too bad (I saw the SuperWinch ones online, but considering how little 4x4 duty this truck actually sees...do I really need to spring for those?).

My buddy's analysis is that the hubs being permanently locked was adding to my brake issues; under braking, it's adding a lot of unnecessary heat, and you're having to stop the torque being applied to that heavy drive shaft (probably not doing my xfer case any favors either, but I checked, my 4x4 function is fine).

I noticed that my left side brakes weren't being worn quite as much as the right side brakes. Seems that would jive with my truck pulling hard right.

I also noticed the steering dampener was worn pretty well. Hopefully the replacement I put on will kill the rattle I've been hearing over stutter bumps. The rest of my bushings seemed pretty tight.

Gonna get the rotors turned a bit and have my buddy clean the calipers up and grease em up. I greased all the fittings on the suspension with some fresh grease. Hopefully all this will square things away. We'll know tomorrow.

Other than that, I'm really digging my truck.

[super_stroke]

are those stock replacement's or after market like warn? either way do you have the part# for C.Q.? it's alway's easier if you have a part number at my local C.Q. thier kinda stooges but i trust cq part's.

[ProGunProgressive]

My buddy said he'd give them a look-see before we go to install them; I don't have the partnumber, but the desk guy at CQ recommended them. If they're not right, we'll drive 'em right back. I hope they got it right.

Hopefully the new dampener kills the rattle I felt going over stutter bumps, and greasing up the calipers and turning the rotors makes the brakes happy. I'll report back this afternoon...thks!

[dragr8cer]

I sprung for the Warn hubs on my 99. So far they have worked great, nice smooth operation. They are not that much more expensive than your stock replacements you have priced out.

[ProGunProgressive]

Turns out they were the Warn hubs, I got 'em for $189. Not bad I guess...

They move smoothly, and now that my front end isn't locked into position, the truck rides much, much more nicely. I replaced the steering dampener, but I'm still getting a rattle up front. Time for some shocks up front I think. No big deal...up for some recommendations if there's a preferred vendor around here.

Greased up all my fittings, the steering is nice and smooth now, and my buddy worked over the calipers with some fresh grease and replaced my rotors, so between that and my hubs the brakes don't pull anymore.

Other than the defective passenger airbag light, I'm doing great. Lovin my truck...

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by ProGunProgressive

Turns out they were the Warn hubs, I got 'em for $189. Not bad I guess...

They move smoothly, and now that my front end isn't locked into position, the truck rides much, much more nicely. I replaced the steering dampener, but I'm still getting a rattle up front. Time for some shocks up front I think. No big deal...up for some recommendations if there's a preferred vendor around here.

Greased up all my fittings, the steering is nice and smooth now, and my buddy worked over the calipers with some fresh grease and replaced my rotors, so between that and my hubs the brakes don't pull anymore.

Other than the defective passenger airbag light, I'm doing great. Lovin my truck...

the rattle could be sway bar links as well

[SURVRES]

Another horror story - Auto hubs accidently left in auto mode worked a treat on the way in. Very steep terrain and loose gravel surface with big washouts! Great couple of days relaxing by the river! It appears that as the vaccume slowly leaks away the threshold for the hubs to release was reached. Since the switch was still in 4x4 mode the hubs didn't get a signal to reset on and the 2x4 drive left some impressive ruts in the washouts. I thought I had a little bit of steering feedback and put it down to poor tyres and no weight in the back, it wasn't until I saw the track damage that I realised what had happened. Always use manual lock!

[worksontrucks]

i have stock hubs with 370,000 and they've never locked up on me. my XLT came with manual locking hubs. locked or unlocked, no automatic. my XLT also came with a manual transfer case (stick shift out of the floor like old school) but i have an automatic transmission. its the best of both worlds because i always know if i'm in 4x4 or 2x4 and i know if my tires are spinnin up front. that was the main reason i bought the truck besides the fact i got for $12,500 last year with 160,000 miles on it.

[00f250]

I just put in the WARN hubs on Saturday. Took about 5 minutes to do each one. Used a pair of pliers to remove the snap ring on the stock hub and pulled it right out. The new ones went right in with no problem. The only hard part was figuring out how to install the new snap ring, but all installed. Plus the new WARN premium hubs look a lot better than the factory hubs.

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Last edited by 00f250 : 07-11-2006 at 05:26 AM.

[tocools]

I want to thank everyone the posted to this topic. Today I put my truck in 4 wheel drive but nothing happened I was stuck. As some of you know I have been having trouble with my hubs not locking.So today I went and bought WARN hubs Put them on and I now have 4 wheel drive when I need it no more guessing if it will work or not. Thanks again for this board and all the good advice