Diagnosing automatic locking hub problems | Page 3 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Diagnosing automatic locking hub problems

NOT mechanically inclined...

I have a 92 explorer Eddie Bauer, when engaging the 4x4 button, I hear a grinding sound, to disengage I click off the 4x4 the put in reverse for a couple of ft, then it works great in 2wd. Am I looking at a lot of money to fix or should I try the suggestion above? is it the same issue?
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I have a 92 explorer Eddie Bauer, when engaging the 4x4 button, I hear a grinding sound, to disengage I click off the 4x4 the put in reverse for a couple of ft, then it works great in 2wd. Am I looking at a lot of money to fix or should I try the suggestion above? is it the same issue?

I had this same issue. The cause of my problem was the little flat spring underneath the piece with the three "wings" had apparently squished over time which means it doesn't have enough strength to align the pieces properly. I had my buddy machine me some specifically sized washers to fit just underneath the three wing piece to take up the slack. My hubs work like they are brand new after that.

2011-07-06_11-11-42_823.jpg
 






Automatic Locking Hubs Service

I have a 1994 Ford Explorer XLT w/ Auto Locking Hubs. I was servicing my hubs and noticed that the bearing in my hub was bad and that there were no thrust spacers between the cam and adjusting nut. I replaced the bearing but cannot find a specific part number for the spacers. Is there such a number? I have found kits with P/Ns: F6TZ-3N105-A, F6TZ-3N105-AA, and F6TZ-3N105-BB; however, none of these comes with a description of whats included or what vehicle that they are made for. Can anyone help me out with this?

:exp:
 






I went through this recently, and didn't find any information here on doing this, so after working it out on my own, I thought I would post this.

First off: How to check that your locking hubs are working correctly.

  1. Put your truck in park. Make sure it is in 2WD high. Set the parking brake.
  2. Jack left front wheel off the ground.
  3. Find the front driveshaft - it's the round bar (about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) going from the transfer case (behind the transmission) to the front differential (the big round thing in the middle of the front wheels).
  4. Turn the front driveshaft. It should turn freely. You should see the half shaft (the shaft connecting the front differential to the wheel) of the raised wheel turn as you turn the driveshaft.
  5. Within one or two turns, the hub in the wheel should lock up, and the wheel should start turning, either forwards or backwards (depending on which way you are turning the shaft).
  6. Hold onto the driveshaft to try to prevent it from turning. Try to rotate the wheel in the same direction it was just turning. It should turn the driveshaft you are hanging onto as you turn the wheel.
  7. Hold onto the driveshaft to prevent it from turning. Rotate the wheel in the opposite direction. You should feel the hub unlock, and the wheel should spin freely without turning the driveshaft.
  8. Turn the front driveshaft in the opposite direction you did before. You should see the half shaft (the shaft connecting the front differential to the wheel) of the raised wheel turn as you turn the driveshaft.
  9. Within one or two turns, the hub in the wheel should lock up, and the wheel should start turning, the opposite way than it did before.
  10. Hold onto the driveshaft to try to prevent it from turning. Try to rotate the wheel in the same direction it was just turning. It should turn the driveshaft you are hanging onto as you turn the wheel.
  11. Hold onto the driveshaft to prevent it from turning. Rotate the wheel in the opposite direction. You should feel the hub unlock, and the wheel should spin freely without turning the driveshaft.
  12. Lower the wheel, jack up the opposite wheel, and repeat the tests.

If everything happens as described above, your hubs are operating correctly. If not, chances are your hubs are dirty and/or full of grease.


[/LIST]


I tried this and my tires don't move at all. When I turn the driveshaft both sides of the axle turned but no response from either tire.

As backstory, I've been having bad steering problems with the explorer pulling to the right.

Also the 4x4 hasn't been working for years and I've never looked at why.

Just noticed the right side locking hub is slightly bent about 1/8 of an inch away from being flush when bolted on.

So my questions would be:

1) Does this mean my 4x4 is engaged? And how do I disengage it? Can I just remove the guts of the locking hub to go back to 2wd? could this be a cause of the steering problem?

2) Could the bent locking hub cause or contribute the steering problems by throwing out the alignment?


Any insight APPRECIATED:D


Cheers
 






...
So my questions would be:

1) Does this mean my 4x4 is engaged? And how do I disengage it? Can I just remove the guts of the locking hub to go back to 2wd? could this be a cause of the steering problem?

2) Could the bent locking hub cause or contribute the steering problems by throwing out the alignment?...

Take a peek at the Diagnosing 4x4 issues thread if you haven't already (it has lots of good info).

Answers:

1) No..If you rotate the axle shaft for several revolutions and it just keeps free spinning (the wheel doesn't move) then the hub is blown (not doing it's job of locking the axle to the wheel).

2) Not really.. Since both of your Hubs are blown (not able to lock onto the shaft) then it wouldn't even contribute an additional drag...
 






Take a peek at the Diagnosing 4x4 issues thread if you haven't already (it has lots of good info).

Answers:

1) No..If you rotate the axle shaft for several revolutions and it just keeps free spinning (the wheel doesn't move) then the hub is blown (not doing it's job of locking the axle to the wheel).

2) Not really.. Since both of your Hubs are blown (not able to lock onto the shaft) then it wouldn't even contribute an additional drag...


re: 1) I couldn't get the axle shaft to even make a full rotation. What does that mean?:(


here are some videos of my wheels in action on blocks:

http://s1128.photobucket.com/albums/m500/explorerprobs/?start=all

you can see how the shaft seems to be turning when i steer the wheels back and forth and they hit a resistance of some sort?

thx
 






Over the past week I have been having a problem with my 4x4 and I'm not sure if the hubs are the culprit ( I hope they are). It seems whenever I have a decent amount of torque going to the front end, i get a bang. Sounds like I break a spider gear or axle joint or something evertime this happens. Yesterday was alot worse. When I was attempting to get up a rock ledge, it let out a bang and the front end stopped working in forward motion. Then I went for reverse and it did work, so I tried forward again, it wortked and let out the same bang, went for reverse and the front end wasnt working. i started to saw the steering wheel and as soon as I turned left it seemed like something grabbed and propelled my truck backwards. Now I had to back out of the trail since i tried a k-turn and 4 wheel was not not working in forward gears. in reverse I was able to back all of the way out oif the rocky terrain. I know from reading that most hub problems seem to ratchet or grind, this isn't either. Yesterday before I hit the trail, I jacked up the front end and manually locked the hubs and they seemed to work just fine. I pulled the hub off and there were no chunks of metal or anything, plus the splines of the axles seemed ok as well. By the way most of the issues seem to be on the driver side. has anyone had a hub do this to them?
 






front drive shaft not turning half shaft
 






no engagement at differential is normal
 






when should front drive shaft and half shafts engage in differential
 






rondi: You would probably do better posting your question in either the 2nd gen forum or the transmission forum. 1st gens use hubs at the wheel. Your '95 will have a completely different type of front end, and those who are familiar with the 2nd gen front end will be better able to help you.
 






i took off my hubs and cleaned then, i can move the mechanism inside the locking cap with a hook tool but do not hear or feel any kind of spring mechanism nor does it lock into place, both sides are like this...I didnt think there was an issue till i read here about a spring mechanism...all parts look in good condition.
 






I took my truck (91 explorer xlt) to the ford garage to have the FWD system checked over. They said my switch is the dash was bad, so I replaced it. The button lights up when I run the dash lights (previously they did not), however my 4X4 still will not engage (there is no change is steering and the orange indicator light remains off). Is there a way to test the switch with a multi meter? What should my next step be?
 






I took my truck (91 explorer xlt) to the ford garage to have the FWD system checked over. They said my switch is the dash was bad, so I replaced it. The button lights up when I run the dash lights (previously they did not), however my 4X4 still will not engage (there is no change is steering and the orange indicator light remains off). Is there a way to test the switch with a multi meter? What should my next step be?

Bethy, this thread is very old and your questions is somewhat off topic. You would get a better response by starting a new thread with you question. The light in these switches often go bad. More info would be helpful, did you purchase a new switch or junkyard? When you push the 4x4 button, do you hear a click? How fast are you driving when switching? Do you have auto or manual hubs? You can actually try to switch into 4x4 Lo by following owners manual and you will know if you go in. Your 4x4 may actually be engaged right now but the light isn't working. You need to have someone look at the drive shaft while you slowly move forward or backwards and make sure its not moving. Sometimes the motor on the T-case gets stuck. Other times the hubs are busted and the driveshaft is actually spinning. Start a new thread and you should get your questions answered
 






Back
Top