I have a 1997 F350 with auto locking hubs and the 4wd has never worked since I purchased the vehicle back in April of last year. This has become a major problem, since we have had ice/snow storms back to back all winter this year.
I was told that all that it needed was to probably pull the auto hub apart and regrease it, because the grease gets old and cakes into the hub so badly that it won't engage. Therefore, this week I did exactly that, I pulled the hubs into pieces cleaned them thoroughly and then regreased them. However, in this process, I noted that one of the pieces in the hub appeared to have abnormal amounts of wear. I have been calling it a cam, but I'm not sure if that is the proper terminology since I cannot find a parts breakdown anywhere for this particular hub.
The way that I understand the hub works, this "cam" is rotating all the time when the hub is not locked and then when the front axle starts rotating, it will push this "cam" backwards and thus locking the hub. If you know ANYTHING about these hubs, please look at the attached pictures and let me know if this is abnormal wear. I can't imagine that the teeth on this gear would be unsupported like this. I believe that this cam is so badly worn that the when it moves backwards, it will not push the gear below it into place. I can make them lock by hand by pushing on it hard, but feels like the gears are only barely grabbing. Could this particular part be my problem?
Also, what are my options? I know that 90% of the people I talk to will recommend chunking the auto hubs and going with a set of Warn manual hubs. I may very well do that, but are there any other cheaper alternatives? I've also heard the suggestions of finding some auto hubs at a junk yard and pulling the parts out of them (hoping they are in better shape...). Any other ideas?
Thanks for any advice,
Mark
I was told that all that it needed was to probably pull the auto hub apart and regrease it, because the grease gets old and cakes into the hub so badly that it won't engage. Therefore, this week I did exactly that, I pulled the hubs into pieces cleaned them thoroughly and then regreased them. However, in this process, I noted that one of the pieces in the hub appeared to have abnormal amounts of wear. I have been calling it a cam, but I'm not sure if that is the proper terminology since I cannot find a parts breakdown anywhere for this particular hub.
The way that I understand the hub works, this "cam" is rotating all the time when the hub is not locked and then when the front axle starts rotating, it will push this "cam" backwards and thus locking the hub. If you know ANYTHING about these hubs, please look at the attached pictures and let me know if this is abnormal wear. I can't imagine that the teeth on this gear would be unsupported like this. I believe that this cam is so badly worn that the when it moves backwards, it will not push the gear below it into place. I can make them lock by hand by pushing on it hard, but feels like the gears are only barely grabbing. Could this particular part be my problem?
Also, what are my options? I know that 90% of the people I talk to will recommend chunking the auto hubs and going with a set of Warn manual hubs. I may very well do that, but are there any other cheaper alternatives? I've also heard the suggestions of finding some auto hubs at a junk yard and pulling the parts out of them (hoping they are in better shape...). Any other ideas?
Thanks for any advice,
Mark