Help...I only have 3 wheel drive!!!

[GetItMuddy]

Well, I WAS having brake issues....Took the truck down to a local shop and had them take care of the rear brakes and pressure bleed the system. Still no parking brakes but at least I can stop....well could.
Yesterday, picked up the truck from the shop.
It was snowing, the roads were horrible, people were morons and the city was sitting on its fat a$$ instead of plowing and salting. As such, had to use the 4 wheel drive.
Well, got out, locked her in , jumped back in, shifted to 4Hi....It didn't seem to engage. Shifted into gear, Held the transfer shifter in 4hi and let off the clutch and got a "clunk". Well, my 250 does that so...
Went to driving and heard like a clicking that sounded like front drivers (but Im not so certain now). The clicking seemed to speed with the truck and the transfer case would not stay engaged
Well, after a few miles and bunch of minutes, I got on the highway. Pulled off on the entrance ramp, unlocked the front hubs (Cuz the highways looked good) and put her back in 2WD.
Well, I got about 3 miles down the road and the front passenger wheel fell off. Rotor and all.
Couple guys tell me that the bearing locked up and the hub blew apart.
Ive got her home but havent had the chance to get a good look at her. Its been between 9* and 22* and I have no shop/garage, so she will sit until it warms up enough to get her taken care of. Until then, I will order my chiltons and get the parts together for the repair. Might as well do both sides...
What is it going to take to fix this thing?
Any and ALL advice is appreciated.
Someone talk me out of setting this B!t(h on fire!

 

[GetItMuddy]

Sorry, this should be in the 4X4 section....My fault. Can it be moved?

 

[cvar]

Yikes! Your locking nut must have loosened up, and unscrewed itself.

Thankfully easy enough to fix, if your steering knuckle didn't get mangled. You still have all your hub pieces? Your caliper & bracket & backing plate are toast. Yah, it'll be great fun wrenching at the JY, collecting those few parts. It's only money.

I sympathize. This happened to us too, back in late 1970's; I stopped at a light but 1 wheel passed us by & kept on going 100' further than us, and seconds later our axle went THUD & SCREECH. Mama was NOT happy.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Sorry, this should be in the 4X4 section....My fault. Can it be moved?

Done

 

[GetItMuddy]

Thanks Floored. That was my fault. Should have paid more attention.

 

[GetItMuddy]

Ok guys,
What brand would y'all recommend for parts? Im trying to do this as cheaply as possible without having parts fall apart in another week.
I like Motorcraft and try to buy all parts from them but I need this thing back on the road and don't know crap about front hub parts

 

[ab_slack]

Ouch, that hurts.

For future reference, in general, I do not get in and out of car and lock and unlock my hubs when switching from 2WD to 4WD. If there is a chance I will want 4WD I lock the hubs and drive that way. I can then switch in and out of 4WD by pulling the lever.

You can run on dry pavement with hubs locked as long as you leave it in 2WD. It is just like having a live axle that the later rangers have. I does spin more metal so some wear on that front end drivetrain and cost a small bit of fuel economy.

If your front drivetrain is in good condition, there may be a little extra noise with the only thing really noticeable is in very tight turns (near the limit) you may hear some extra noise and feel it in the wheel. You can even go highway speeds without noticing.

Bad u-joints and, balance and other problems will show as vibrations and other significant noises. So a good way of checking things out and exercising things on occasion even if you don't go into 4WD.

If it wouldn't stay in 4HI that may have to do with the, forget the term, the plate that sets the pattern for the transfer case shifter. This is external to the transfer case. If that is out of position you might not be able to get it into 4HI. For example on mine it would barely get into 4Hi and it would fall out. To get it into 4HI I had to push the lever to the side like I would to go into 4LO and pull it back just slightly, not quite to the N position and it would be fully into 4HI. Adjustment of the plate solved that problem.

 

[bobbywalter]

Yikes! Your locking nut must have loosened up, and unscrewed itself.

Thankfully easy enough to fix, if your steering knuckle didn't get mangled. You still have all your hub pieces? Your caliper & bracket & backing plate are toast. Yah, it'll be great fun wrenching at the JY, collecting those few parts. It's only money.

I sympathize. This happened to us too, back in late 1970's; I stopped at a light but 1 wheel passed us by & kept on going 100' further than us, and seconds later our axle went THUD & SCREECH. Mama was NOT happy.

no.....that side will roll back tight.


hopefully lesson learned

 

[don4331]

What an opportunity to do a Dana 44 knuckle swap...

Sounds like you have 2 issues:

1. Transfer case out of adjustment. I'll leave that for now.

2. Knuckle. If it was my truck and I needed it back on road soon (always the case). I would scour the local junkyard for replacement knuckle. And I would undo the 2 ball joints, the tie rod, the brake hose and take everything that comes with it (knuckle, hub, brake, rotor, axle, etc.) Then you simply bolt the new in, bleed brakes and you are running (wheel alignment is good idea at this point).

When its nice outside; you have time; etc, replace seals, bearing, and such.

My $0.02.

 

[bobbywalter]

What an opportunity to do a Dana 44 knuckle swap...

Sounds like you have 2 issues:

1. Transfer case out of adjustment. I'll leave that for now.

2. Knuckle. If it was my truck and I needed it back on road soon (always the case). I would scour the local junkyard for replacement knuckle. And I would undo the 2 ball joints, the tie rod, the brake hose and take everything that comes with it (knuckle, hub, brake, rotor, axle, etc.) Then you simply bolt the new in, bleed brakes and you are running (wheel alignment is good idea at this point).

When its nice outside; you have time; etc, replace seals, bearing, and such.

My $0.02.

this is clearly a dana 28. where he lives it could be a 20 dollar fix as there are 15 of them at the closes pick and pull junkyard. or he is screwed cause there are none. so a ttb 44 knuckle swap is not a choice. a d35 swap for sure. but that will require a shortened shaft if you dont lift it 4 plus depending on the donor scenarios.

when i run a ttb....i always have knuckles complete and ready.....

 

[GetItMuddy]

Talk to me about this D35 swap.....There are 100 exploders in the junk yard but only 2 or 3 gen 1 rangers/broncoII. There are more than a few gen 2 and 3 rangers though.
Also, the truck DOES have a 4" lift on it already.....

 

[bobbywalter]

well....looking at your picture, i dont see anything wrong outside of you neglecting what your truck was telling you when the handling was erratic. i just see a failed bearing and the rotor walked off after the caliper failed, likely once you pull it apart the rest of the way the inner race of the outer bearing that failed may be cooked on and the spindle may be toast. unless the beam got twisted, it does not look like it from the one pic though.


if you can get the race off with a partial cut and pop off with a chisel because its not totally welded on, and its not under cut too bad... a set of bearings and races with some "bearing mount" and possibly some dimpling to the outer bearing race area will keep ya on the road.

hell it may all just come right off and pop some new bearings and races in the rotors and be a 1/2 hour 35 dollar deal for the bearings and another 20-30 for a loaded caliper...


.

from the picture....i would have had it back on the road in an hour if the parts store was close...and drove it home from where it skidded to a stop.

of course, i dont think that would happen to me either.


the d35 swap has context, direct comparison to what you have now. cursory measurements and actual drivetrain lengths dictate specific needs. generally if the t cases are similar or the same in actual placement, the front driveshaft, and axle with steering componants simply bolt in....fit up the brakes, bleed and go have the alignment done. it can be a literal bolt in and go.


but, there are many potential pitfalls, depending on your specific setup and the style the actual donor has come from.

 

[bobbywalter]

i do regret not being more specific in your brake thread. i think it will be a great example of what people should expect, i do take some things for granted as common sense, but if one has little experience with the mechanical side of things its tough to judge unknowns.