I made a previous post about manual hubs and having a noise of some sort.

I found out today it is only when they are locked and with 4x4 off or on. Previously, i thought the noise was coming from the front passenger side hub but if i keep trying to listen to it, it kind of sounds like it is coming from under the truck i am guessing on the passenger side, like maybe underneath the front seat kind of or somewherer on the passenger side of the truck.

i would not call it a grinding noise. more of like a brushing noise in my opinion.

does the driveshaft perform different when the hubs are locked?

thanks

jr..

p.s. - i am sure i will think of more qestions here soon.

 

how do u lock the hubs and what are 'hubs' on older rangers? i just turn a switch cross my fringers and hope it works...

 

how do i lock them = turn each front hub to lock

 

lockout hubs on '97 and older are what engages the front axle....they dont have a live axle.......

Jeremy........the driveshaft will spin freely when the hubs are locked........and it will turn the parts inside the transfer case, but it will not be getting power from the engine because the transfer case is in 2wd mode....

 

sorry for not being more mechanically inclined, but are the only possible problems the ones you posted in my other post?

 

no but those are most likely......you may also have something broke off in your transfer case.....does your 4wd work properly?

 

i stopped at my mechanic today and told him about the problem....he asked if the 4x4 works fine and i said the same thing to him....it works great.

 

By brushing sound do you maybe mean like a humming sound. If you hear/feel it on your passenger side I don't think it would be your driveshaft becuz your front driveshaft is right under your feet on the driverside. By the sound of what your are saying is happening you spindle bearing might be bad.

Your spindle bearing is what your front axle shafts ride on when you are in 4wd or have the hubs locked, its makes a noisy humming sound that will travel through your suspension and frame, so depending on what side the noise is coming from is usually the side that is bad.

 

thanks for the info man, yes more of a humming noise then a grinding noise., where can i find this spindle bearing at my getting under truck and looking up at suspension/axle.

also, what would i look for to notice it is bad.

 

To find the bearing you have to take: the tire, hub, caliper, rotor(wheel bearings are in side the rotor), and last the spindle it self off. The bearing will be inside the spindle, the bearing needs to be pressed out and a new one pressed in.

This is also a good time to replace your wheel bearings and there is a seal on you outer axle shaft that should be replaced. When that seal goes bad it allows dirt to get in the spindle which will inturn make the bearing go bad.

If you get a Hayes or Chilton repair manual for your truck it will show you everything about you truck and how to fix it. For this if you don't usually work on cars it be better to have someone help you that does or take it to a local shop.

 

I don't think it is your bearings. If it was your bearings you would heard the noise all the time not just when the hubs are locked.

I would jack up the front end and spin each wheel, with and without the hubs locked. B4 you jack it up I would crawl under the truck and spin the front driveshaft, tug on the driveshaft make sure it is good and tight, I believe you cna tug on the passenger side axle shaft too, much sure that is good and tight and u-joint look good. Than jack up the front of the truck and see if you can hear the noise when you spin the wheel. I'm guessing that you will only hear the noise when the hub is locked. Make sure you leave the transfercase in 2wd. Good luck

 

not if it is the bearings inside the diff....those will not spin until the hubs are locked....he doesn't have the live axle like in the newer rangers...

 

Both newer and older rangers have the bearings in the diff. But what STRUCK is talking about is that there is a inner bearing that the axle shaft rides on.....I didn't think about.....I didn't think there was a bearing that it rode on...but thinking about it, there most be one. I need an assembly drawing of that.
Either way I still think that doing what I suggested will get him closer to finding the problem.

 

no there is not.....there is an inner and outter wheel bearing, but that is it.....take off the hub and rotor and you can pull the axle shaft out of the diff....

not the best picture, but you get the jist...

 

Okay so there is no bearing supporting the axle shaft. So then it can't be the bearings (inner and outter) because it only makes the nosie when the hubs are locked. The bearings are turning with or w/o hubs locked.

That just shows the suspension i'm looking for the axles and bearings assembly.

 

It's the SPINDLE BEARING my truck made the same noise and i replaced them and the noise is nolonger. If you go under and tug on either axles they WILL move becuz of the c-clip holding the outer shaft from pulling in through the spindle. It won't make the noise when the hubs are not locked cuz the axle is not spining.

Jeremy if I lived closer i'd be more than happy to come help you out, hope this info helps you.


-Mike

 

hold on hold on, STRUCK is correct on this, and lifted97ranger if you ever get bored and doubt me tear down one side of your front end to the point where you actually have the spindle removed (you have to remove the spindle to get the axleshaft out anyway) and look inside the spindle. there is most definitly a bearing in there that goes bad quite frequently. when you have the hub unlocked you would never know it was bad because the axle shaft does not spin with the hubs unlocked and the truck in 2wd and spindle itself doesnt spin. the inner and outter wheel bearings spin all the time the truck is in moton and they ride on the outside of the spindle, but yes there is a spindle bearing actually inside the spindle that the axle shaft rides on. if you are only getting a noise when the hub is locked in then there could be a very very good chance that this is the part that has gone wrong.

if you want to try and tell which side the noise is coming from, unlock one hub and go see if the noise is still there, then try it the other way and which ever hub is locked when the noise is there, pull that side apart and physically see what is wrong in there. I helped someone do all of his front bearings once, and when he pulled off one of his spindles the rollers in the spindle bearing fell out to the ground along with all of the rust in there. please do not say weather or not a part is there unless you have physically had it apart, or seen pictures detailing that area exactly. drawing in repair manuals are often misleading or even completely wrong, it has been found that many times the drawings and diagrams between a chiltons and a haynes contradict eachother and show different things, and if you want to rely on a drawing to answer a question, at least find one that shows the parts in question.

 

that bolded part of your quote is a bunch of bull****.....you dont have to take the spindle off to get the axle shaft out...... Scott(big04ranger), Gumby(Gumby) and myself had my whole front suspension out not that long ago to install my 4.56's.........you pop the hub off, take the spindle nuts off(which attach to the axle shaft by the way......), pull the rotor off, and pull the axle out....there is a hole there that is just large enough for the axle to slide through.......

and by the way.....THERE IS ONLY 2 BEARINGS ON EACH SIDE! THE ONLY OTHER BEARINGS ARE INSIDE THE DIFF.......

BUDDY I REPLACED THE 2 BEARINGS ON MY TRUCK....AND BOTH ARE IN THE ROTOR! i think you need to get YOUR stuff correct......

if you dont believe me there is only 2 bearings, call up your local dealer and ask them......or better yet, start a new thread asking people here........

why dont you get your story straight TireIron........come back and talk to me when you have a clue what you are talking about.......(or just stay on that other site were you have people convinced that you know what you are talking about)

I HAVE HAD MY FRONT END APART! GO F*** YOURSELF....

HERE IS A PIC TO PROVE IT.....

 

ooooo an by the way.....the "spindle" on a TTB ranger IS the axle.....if it wasn't, what would the hub have to lock to? it wouldn't serve any purpose......

 

now come on, lets stop the arguing......i am about to leave this problem until it breaks for good, or until winter is over here, which will be in a long time.

 

you only have 2 bearings on each side jeremy........

i would check to see if there is anything loose in the hub....you may have a tooth on the spline that is messed up....

 

the spline is the inside of the hub correct, which has all the teeth on it?

gonna be hard to see with all the grease in there.

 

well lifted97ranger, it sounds to me like you dont have the seal on your axleshafts if you can just pul them right out through the spindle. you tend to get mud and water in your hubs alot?

oh and if there isnt a spindle bearing and you want to use diagrams to compare things, then what is the "spindle seal" and "spindle needle bearing" in this diagram?

 

Thank you TireIron!!! Not to prolong this anymore but, lifted97ranger in your pic you can see that you have to take the spindle off to pull the axle out. It is impossible to pull the axle out without taking the spindle off. There are 3 bearings to a side(2 wheel bearings and 1 spindle bearing) After you pull the rotor off there are 5 bolts that hold the spindle on to the knuckle, did you forget that part?

Anyway the next time you have it apart look inside the back of your spinlde and I guarantee there is a bearing in there. If you don't see one go to a parts store and ask for a spindle bearing and they will give you one.

TireIron that exploded pic is perfect to show everything- TheRangerstation.com your ultimate INFORMATION STATION!!

-Mike

 

Awesome great infor, thanks for the drawing that clears things up for me!