so here's the story, i was driving back from seeing my girlfriend this weekend, and all of a sudden the abs light came on and i couldnt steer the truck anymore.

here's what ford told me: Broken hub bearings, spindle, and U(?) joint.

does that sound right for $2100?

 

Oh you didnt pay yet I would go somwhere else

 

Well you don't have a spindle first of all... you have a steering knuckle.

If you hub bearing was seized then your wheel wouldn't turn I think.

If your u-joint was bad, that shouldn't affect your steering.

Hubs ARE expensive though. I have my old ones at home I'll sell you if you want. I'll say half of whatever Ford wants for one. I've also got one steering knuckle, though I can't remember off the top of my head which one it is.

 

doesnt the steering colunm have a ujoint for multiple shaft colunms???

and i thought the same thing about the hub bearing

 

don't go to ford. they always rape you.

 

 

Oh yes it does. I was thinking of the driveshaft u joints

 

FTW

i learned that last year when i repaired the steering system in my grandfathers dodge caravan

 

Unless it's under warranty...why you taking a vehicle to get fixed at the dealer?? That's a big nono

Go get a second opinion at a garage and compare diagnosis and prices.

 

way too much.

I have both spindles/steering knucles if you are in need of one

lower balljoints are cheap, uppers arent bad. hubs are 250 new.

 

alot you can do yourself but I dont understand y you lost steering.....
I know on my girlfriends mustang she experienced the same thing, but she had hydrostatic (SP) brakes and powersteering. So blowing a powersteering line she lost her brakes too. Not sure what year your truck is.... But the hub is easy to replace.

 

fizzzark stock! UPGRADE its way cheaper haha

 

From what you describe, it sounds like you had a severe wheel bearing failure? If so, it most likely destroyed the spindle, and posibly the stub axle, but they may be simply including the u joint if they saw it's in need of replacement while they are right there. I would also say that posibly a new hub and a new spindle may be needed.
The part I don't understand is why you lost steering?
Did the wheel lock up?
Did the front axle or spindle break?

From what you described, it more sounds like symptoms of a ball joint failure?
Did the wheel look funny or out of place when you stopped?
The ABS light is most likely caused by the sensor getting hit with debris, or the wheel stopping while the truck was moving, (loss of that wheels abs signal).
Either way, the cost sounds pretty high for just bearings, a u joint and spindle, but there may be other parts needed as well? There may be extra labor required to remove severely damaged parts like a seized bearing that can be fused to the spindle. Did that estimate include towing too?

Front end parts can be quite expensive, and most hard parts like spindles, steering knuckles, and hubs can be dealer only parts, at least until the aftermarket catches up if the demand is there.
The one advantage to going back to a Ford dealer is that the work is garranteed at any and all dealers. Not just at the servicing dealer. I would price the parts to see what the actually cost there is before going elswhere, especially since it sounds like it would require towing the truck home or to another shop. If it's an honest shop, they should gladly show you and explain what and why each item needs to be replaced.

Did they give you a written estimate?

 

Hey, now that's probably one of the best, informative, helpful and polite reply I've read on here in a while.
You get a Gold star!!

No, seriously. Just a bit off topic, but on the Ranger forms these days, replys have been mean and way out in left field. It's good to see that there are members out there that are still intelligent and willing to help.

Good on ya!!

 

wow, that was incredibly helpful, thank you.

Turns out they were giving me an estimate on another ranger that was there, they called and fixed it. It was considerably less than that estimate. But they did say i broke the spindle as well as a few other parts... but i was under the impression that 4wd trucks didn't have spindles?

 

4X4's have spindles, they just aren't an integral part of the steering knuckle. The spindle is the part that supports the wheel bearings. On a 4X2, the spindle and steering knuckle is all one piece, most simply refer to the whole part as a spindle. On most 4X4's, the spindle is removeable to gain access the drive axle, and is hollow to allow the axle to pass through the center of the hub to drive the wheel.

 

Please tell us how much is it this time? From Ford?