1991 Explorer, hubs engage on their own

[iscar]

Hello,
I have a 91 Explorer, that seems to engage the front hubs on it's own.

I've owned for 7 years, recently while driving, I will slow down and make a fairly sharp turn, there will be a "thunk" and when I resume driving it makes the sound that is made when the front hubs are engaged. If I stop and back up and apply brakes it will disengage until next sharp turn.

It will do this on right or left turns, may be different hub engaging on different turns.

I pulled both front wheels off, checked to make sure brake caliper pins weren't missing (thought maybe the noise was a caliper moving )

Looked at inside of hub , and at end of spindle, didn't really see anything obvious.

My hubs are metal, I've seen where most were plastic, possibly mine are aftermarket ?

Any ideas would be appreciated !

 

[MrShorty]

How clean were the hubs? One of the first things we tend to recommend in similar cases is to make sure the hubs are reasonably clean and free of grease. What seems to happen is that, over the years, the hubs get filled with grease which interferes with normal operation.

 

[iscar]

Thank you !

Mr. Shorty,
There was grease inside the hubs, I assumed they were supposed to be greased, I'll clean out and see if that helps.

Iscar

 

[FIND]

heat up some tranny fluid in a disposable pan on your stove then pour that in to clean it out more once you get all the grease out you can. You can also use diesel fuel to clean them out. Once they are clean, pour some atf in to soak everything for lubricant.