4x4 not engaging, bad hubs?

[n0c7]

93 4WD XLT model w/ auto hubs. The 4x4 has never worked. When I take the front tires off and reposition them(the hub moves to a different position) I get a really loud whining noise that gets extremely progressively louder and will only stop following a THUMP or if I press 4x4. Comes and goes once and awhile, and I cannot engage 4x4 or 4lo. I regreased the bearings recently and they all looked just fine. How can I rule the out the bearings, hubs, etc.. The white plastic piece in the hub looks worn.

 

[cculter]

93 4WD XLT model w/ auto hubs. The 4x4 has never worked. When I take the front tires off and reposition them(the hub moves to a different position) I get a really loud whining noise that gets extremely progressively louder and will only stop following a THUMP or if I press 4x4. Comes and goes once and awhile, and I cannot engage 4x4 or 4lo. I regreased the bearings recently and they all looked just fine. How can I rule the out the bearings, hubs, etc.. The white plastic piece in the hub looks worn.

4lo will only engage in neutral and no motion of the veichle MPH=0. As for the auto hubs they are most likely junk. However it could be your transfer case motor. Do you hear clicking when you press the 4x4 button? If not then you might have a problem with you TC motor which can be rebuilt using a thread on the forum. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123542&highlight=Transfer+case+motor
The best way I found to check the hubs is to lift all four tires off the ground using jack stands and turn the 4x4 on and put the truck into gear. One front tire should spin, then carefully stop that tire and the other should catch and spin. If not then the hub is broken.

 

[n0c7]

Not a huge deal, we don't offroad. Just want to rule out bad bearings/hubs as I have play at 12 and 6 o clock and can't quite rule out if its ball joints. It's minimal play, less than 1/8 of an inch(rough guess) about equal both sides.

 

[wood1]

I suggest you do a search on the subject, you will have lots to read. I had a similar issue and had my hubs apart several times before I discovered that my front outer u-joints were seized. I would be driving along and one of my hubs would try to engage and make this horrible whining noise and then a loud thump. I also had to repair my transfer case shift motor that had the usual (and cheap to fix) failure but it wasn't related to the other problem...

let us know how you make out.

C.

 

[n0c7]

Been searching, finding too many hits for the newer generations, none the less will keep you posted.

 

[cculter]

Been searching, finding too many hits for the newer generations, none the less will keep you posted.

You can search in the 1991-1994 stock forum only if you want it will probabally be more helpful.

 

[mikeinri]

Definitely do a search, there's TONS of info here on this. As mentioned, there are a few culprits: hubs, u-joints, t-case motor...

Mike