I have a 2006 f150 4 wheel drive and am trying to replace the wheel bearing hub on the front passenger side. The bearing hub fits and is the right size, but once I tighten everything up it doesn't turn the axle as it should. You can hear the gears grinding against one another and the bearing hub itself spins, but not the axle. The old bearings were completely decimated and literally crumbled apart when I took the old hub off. Could this have damaged the axle assembly? Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong or do I need to replace the entire axle assembly as well?

 

I believe it takes vacuum to engage the front hubs

 

Pat,

Actually, it takes vacuum to disengage the IWE. That would explain the issue.

Tom

 

Thanks. Figured it out. The actuator was completely destroyed (probabaly locked up when it failed) and caused my wheel bearings to crumble. Replaced it and everything is working great now.