The othe day Idecided to try out the 4 wheel drive again just to make sure it was working fine... 2003 F150 FX4 5.4l MOTOR ( cREWCAB ) Ok so I am in the parking lot at Lowes I put the truck in 4 low and it worked fine ..But it disenguages with a clunck .. Also when I turn there is this horrible vibration.. So I put it back in 2 wheel drive and start driving home , All of a sudden when I hit the brakes the whole truck starts bouncing,, Then to make matters even worseMy right front tire is starting to cup really bad ( I noticed this when I got home... I am thinking I need to replace the front hub bearing assembly ( about 150.00 per side ) Is this going to be a hard Job ??? Also my ABS light has been on for about 2 weeks now... I have heard a whirring sound in the front end and it sounds like a train ... So I guess I need to start looking into this as someone told me if the bearing is bad my wheel could come off ..

 

before you go buying parts you need to find the problem or PROBLEMS. how old are your tie-rods and ball joints start there. How many miles are on your truck, any offroading, lifted, bigger tires? I doubt your hubs are going bad just yet. I ran 36's on mine for almost a year and offroaded every weekend and mine never went out.

Hows all the pulleys on the motor hows the belt. Something small like a pulley that is not spinning properly can cause a noise. My alternator was LOUD as hell when it started going out.

How are the Brakes? The brakes arent dragging? Check the shocks lately. that can cause abnormal wear on tires aswell.

another BIG issue is engaging the 4x4 on pavement. Really bad to engage 4x4 on dry pavement. the system requires some slip to get into gear under perfect traction situations you will not get desired slip which will result in horrid noices and ultimately damage to the t-case if you consistantly do this.

Have you ever changed the diff fluid?

 

The truck has 146000 miles on it .. I know it needs shocks. also I did notice that there was a open vac line by the firewall where the 4x4 engagers are.. but there is nowhere to hook it too... I will get pic ..

 

yeah id just look into the little stuff first

 

Like trimble said, driving 4x4 on dry pavement is a big no no. My dial got turned accidently once, and when I backed out of the parking space i was in it felt like the whole front end was gonna rip off the front of the truck.

 

Here is a photo and also I changed out the belt tensioner and had the alternator rebuilt about a week ago .. The vac line in the photo I cant find a port for I thought about getting a T and putting vac to it .. I tried to trace it but it is wrapped tight with a bunch of others

 

im not sure what that is. possibly the breather tube for the front axle?

 

try pluggin it up and see if the truck runs any different

 

Ok I plugged it up to a t and nothing .. Oh well ..I think I am going to buy a hayes manual todaY

 

if i had mine id try looking it but its in my truck.

 

Now you say its bad to drive 4x4 hi or low on pavement?? What if you are just wanting to engage it and drive like a couple hundred feet just to keep it from locking up and etc would that be a problem? I know the feeling of when my truck is in 4HI bc of the popping noise and the feel of it when turning

 

oK I did some reading and since the ABS light has been on 2 weeks and the trucks front passenger tire only has 4000 miles on it and is cupping bad .. I think it may just be the wheel bearing assm... So here is the jewel from ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-...mZ220441461425


Now the big ????? Is this going to be a pain in the Mule to put on ????

 

its bad to engage 4x4 on dry pavement period. you can engage it offroad and drive on the road and thats STILL bad for it. Theres info on it in the owners manual. If you have a manual shift 4x4 you would know immediately how bad it is. Really feels like the t-case is gonna come though the floor


wish i knew, ive never done one on these trucks. couldnt be that hard.

contact member LOST CAUSE i believe is his name... he was just in Top Truck of the Month. He just replaced his after his tire came off

 

edit. trimble beat me to it

 

Well I have about gone to every shop in town and they all say that it's the hub assembly.. There prices are all way to high for the part.. My brother in law says buy the cheapest assembly you can find because they are made in China anyway.. I have been told to replace both side , the I was told to replace just the side that is messing up/.. I went out and drove it around a little today and its whirring on the passenger side front, it also rummbles when I turn either left are right , when I slow down it sounds like the brakes are rubbing on that side and it bounces when i hit the brakes.. I lifted it up and there is not any play in the wheel but there is a vibration on that side as well when i am driving... Well I guess I am gonna order the assembly ..