Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and 
Buggyman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2007
- Messages
- 134
- Vehicle Year
- 1998
- Transmission
- Manual
Hey folks,
Over the weekend I manually engaged my hubs on my 98' Ranger and it did great... Until I drove for 30+ miles, now my front axle on the passenger side (the passenger side hub had allot of rust in it btw) is separating from the hub. As of now its slid out about 1" and is grinding while I drive. I went on and removed the spring from the hub so that it is disengaged, but its still grinding. Any thoughts on repairing this? I currently have another 75+ miles to drive before I am able to get home. What is evolved in replacing the hub and axle? I looked in my service manual and it seem very complicated (requiring specialized tools), is this a matter of unbolting the axle and hub and bolting a new one in? I also thought about going on and buying new axles and hubs for a 95' or new Explorer and bolting it in, will everything match up? Also... Could I buy the Explorer hubs and axles new from a dealership or Partsamarica.com? I also went to the Ford dealership this afternoon and the parts department said that all Explorers after 95' have vacuum hubs, is this really the case? Is it a good idea to buy used hubs and axle parts from a junkyard?
At this point it appears as though I will need a new hub, axle and barring assembly, will the Explorer hubs and axles fit into the ranger barring assembly?
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for any pointers.
-Philip
Over the weekend I manually engaged my hubs on my 98' Ranger and it did great... Until I drove for 30+ miles, now my front axle on the passenger side (the passenger side hub had allot of rust in it btw) is separating from the hub. As of now its slid out about 1" and is grinding while I drive. I went on and removed the spring from the hub so that it is disengaged, but its still grinding. Any thoughts on repairing this? I currently have another 75+ miles to drive before I am able to get home. What is evolved in replacing the hub and axle? I looked in my service manual and it seem very complicated (requiring specialized tools), is this a matter of unbolting the axle and hub and bolting a new one in? I also thought about going on and buying new axles and hubs for a 95' or new Explorer and bolting it in, will everything match up? Also... Could I buy the Explorer hubs and axles new from a dealership or Partsamarica.com? I also went to the Ford dealership this afternoon and the parts department said that all Explorers after 95' have vacuum hubs, is this really the case? Is it a good idea to buy used hubs and axle parts from a junkyard?
At this point it appears as though I will need a new hub, axle and barring assembly, will the Explorer hubs and axles fit into the ranger barring assembly?
Sorry for all the questions and thanks for any pointers.
-Philip
Last edited:
