front diff is locking up

[rangerduude]

okay so i have a 93 3.0 4x4 with auto hubs so everyone knows. today i was driving down my street doing about 5 mph and i decided to engage the 4wd to remind it that it works because i havent used it in a while. Well is turns out that it doesnt work anymore lol something locked up and brought me to a stop. i then tried to start moving again and i pushed the 4x4 button to turn it off. i basically had to floor it to get it to start moving and there was a grinding sound coming from what i thought was the front passenger hub. i jacked it up and took the wheels and hub covers off and everything looked fine so im leaning towards the differential being the problem. i am not to knowledgable about front axles and hubs so and advice or ideas at all would really help thanks! oh and i checked the fluid on the front differential and its filled with bearing greese!!!!! iddk why but it is! i really dont wanna have to take my front end apart to get the cover off to clean that out so any ideas on how to get that stuff out would be great too!! thanks everybody

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

How long have you had the truck? Has the front axle ever worked?

You might jack up the front of the truck, pull the wheels and hubs off and see what turns and what doesn't by turning the front driveshaft by hand.

It shouldn't really lock up if you are not using it.

For the grease you are probably going to have to drop the center section out

 

[Andy D]

How long have you had this truck? I'm thinking the diff was run dry and the PO filled it with grease to quiet down the howling bearings. Either take the diff apart to get the cover off , Or figure out what the ratio is and get a used one.

 

[4x4mike2004]

No matter howya look at it the front end will have to get pulled apart. If its grinding its shot. You could probably rebuild it, but the cost of new gears and an master instal kit is pretty steep. I would start lookin for a used diff.

 

[rangerduude]

Ive had the truck about 4 months. and the front axle has been completely functional as far as i can tell. Ive been in 4wd about ten or fifteen times since i got the truck. its been about a month since Ive had it in 4wd though so thats why i tried it and thats when it locked up. and of course all of this happens when theres no truck money lol

 

[rangerduude]

btw i can still drive it normally in 2wd, idk if that was obvious or not lol