Front end vibration PLEASE HELP!

[payne5757]

I just got back from a 3000mile round trip to TX and now sometimes after hitting a bump Ill start to get a vibration in the front end that wont stop till I come almost to a complete stop. Ive gotten under the truck a couple times and everything is tight so I jacked the truck up to see if I could get some play outta the ball joints or hub bearings. I couldnt get any play outta them but I noticed that if I grab the axle at the u-joint going into the right front hub, it has a more play side to side and there was a rubber ring that I assume is part of the seal just hanging around the axle shaft freely.

Please, if anyone has any experience with this or something similar, let me know what u did to solve the problem. Right now Im really leaning toward having to replace the hub bearing assembly. Ive already replaced the drivers side bearing so this one is gonna be due eventually anyways.

P.S. Come to think of it, this mustve started during the drive home. I recall getting a bad vibration for a few seconds more than once in the drive and I thought it was the pavement on the road. The vibration is exactly like when you drive over road that has the grooves cut into it. Almost like the warning grooves on the shoulder but not as extreme.

[SCUFFY828]

tracking bar or pan had bar as some call it is bad , i call that the death wobble , will not stop until you get all but stopped , ive seen it snap the gear box shaft off

[payne5757]

Its not a wobble or shake though, just a vibration. I just found this write-up and its looking exactly like my issue.....

1999 f250. trouble in the front end.

[payne5757]

Btw, can anyone tell me how hard it is to replace the hub seal?

[NoRalPh]

You've got to make s driver to install it and get the hub as clean as you can because it's got to drive from the outside, in, through the whole hub.

Get a 1-1/4in -> pipe flange, 8" nipple & cap then cut down the outside of the flange until it fits down inside the new seal (about 1/4in off the outside). The stub axle spline end goes into the pipe. Lube it up and give it a good shot to start it on (tapping won't do it) and drive it back where the original was (my '02 had a ring cut in the hub and when it was exposed, it was in right)

See my post below about Ft axle U-joint change..

[Dallas4x4]

I have the excact problem as you payne5757. The vibration and sound drives me nuts. Its the stub shafts moving around in the axle tube. You can grab the u joints in axle and shake the stubs around right? The only way to fix it is to rebuild it....

[NoRalPh]

Even though the hub bearings could be OK, the little needle bearings in the back of the hub , where the stub axle is supported with the hub unlocked, can make a heck of a racket !

That needle bearing is easy to install and about the cheapest fix to try first (guzzles page has a Great write-up on the how2)

There is not any support for the Front axle where it exits the tube, just a seal, so movement there isn't an indication of a problem especially when the hub is pulled.

[payne5757]

This is play right at the back of the hub where the stub shaft goes into it. im assuming that the spindle bearing is bad since the seal came apart due to the play. I think Im just gonna go ahead and replace the whole hub bearing assembly and the seal since from what Ive heard, these trucks weight is pretty hard on the front bearings.

[Tony V]

Did any of you try this and see if it helped your vibration? I've got the same problem I think.