Doubt Incarnate
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 9, 2005
- Messages
- 531
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- "Franktucky", Ohio
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '99 Eddie Bauer
I've got a bigger badder 4x4 truck for the winter so i'm thinking of dropping the 4x4 parts from my X to save gas since it wouldn't be pulling snow duty. also there's a clunk up front i cant find, so maybe if the parts are out the noise will go with them.
as the title states, i want to know if i remove the axles from the front that the 4wd wheel bearings are strong enough to hold up on their own. it sounds like a stupid thought but if they are, why wouldnt ford have just used the 4x4 type of knuckle, bearing, rotor, ABS setup on all the 2 and 4x4's? instead of having to manufacture several different types of parts.
does the splined portion of the axle offer any rigidity or strength to the load bearing assembly? if i was to drop the 4x4 parts, would i have to switch to the 2wd front knuckle/spindles/etc or will it be fine with the original parts in place?
thanks in advance!
as the title states, i want to know if i remove the axles from the front that the 4wd wheel bearings are strong enough to hold up on their own. it sounds like a stupid thought but if they are, why wouldnt ford have just used the 4x4 type of knuckle, bearing, rotor, ABS setup on all the 2 and 4x4's? instead of having to manufacture several different types of parts.
does the splined portion of the axle offer any rigidity or strength to the load bearing assembly? if i was to drop the 4x4 parts, would i have to switch to the 2wd front knuckle/spindles/etc or will it be fine with the original parts in place?
thanks in advance!