Only moves in 4WD & Rear wheel falling off

[ScubaMedic]

My truck will only move when it is in 4WD. In 2WD I can be in gear and it well rev up but will not move. In 4WD I can go forward and reverse.

The rear passenger wheel is also coming off. It looks as though whatever holds the shaft in the rear end may have broken.

Does mean a new rear end? If so what are the best options? Or could it be something else?

Thanks.

[Close-Call]

Broken Axles Shaft. Right Rear. Pull Center Cover off (8 bolts?). Slide axle out. Replace with similar unit (Auto recycler?). You DO NOT have to remove the wheel. You should also fish the broken stub out of the diff. Check the axle tube and brake drum. The wheel should not be coming off even if the axle shaft is broken.

Open rear diff cover and inspect for visible damage. Also check driveline components for damage (U-Loints, Yokes, Bent driveline, etc.).

My biggest question would be "WHY is the axles shaft broken

[M.L.S.C.]

F350 means full-floater axle AFAIK, like Close-Call said with these even if the shaft broke the wheels shouldn't be coming off as they're held on the axle by two bearings and a huge retaining nut + other parts, the only thing the shaft does is transmitting power from the diff to the wheel. Now the hubs and stuff of these axles are just massive and thus very hard to break, so it really bothers me that your wheel tries to come off like that - something real bad must have happened to that axle to sustain a damage like that, do you remember hitting that wheel into something like a curb or a concrete fence?

[ScubaMedic]

About the only thing I can remember is slamming on the breaks to miss a deer about 2 days ago. Other than that I have not hit anything.

When I stopped last night a bunch of smoke was coming from the rear passenger brake area. Thats when I noticed the wheel was sitting at an angle and looked like it was out about half an inch.

How major a deal is this? Also money wise how bad is it?

Thanks for the replies.

[dcassill]

Originally Posted by ScubaMedic

About the only thing I can remember is slamming on the breaks to miss a deer about 2 days ago. Other than that I have not hit anything.

When I stopped last night a bunch of smoke was coming from the rear passenger break area. Thats when I noticed the wheel was sitting at an angle and looked like it was out about half an inch.

How major a deal is this? Also money wise how bad is it?

Thanks for the replies.

your wheel bearings came loose and broke the axle or retaining bolts. Salvage yard for parts and 100 to 150

[ScubaMedic]

I crawled under and found out I have a Sterling rear end.

Here are the numbers:
S122C
3 55
1002
3M15

Does this change any of the answers or shed any new light?

Thanks again.

[cdnsarguy]

check out this info...... for some valuable info/pics

www.thedieselstop.com/contents/getitems.php3?Axle%20Seal%20Replacement -

[roamer37]

If the hub bearing fails it pulls the axle shaft out with it after all its bolted to the hub with the 8 bolts every one is talking about... the nut may have backed out.. locker not installed correctly.. either way take the wheel off remove the axle shaft retaining bolts and pull the shaft out now you can see what is happening in there..

[arthurgoboom]

x2 for the bearing preload nut backing off.

[ScubaMedic]

Here is a picture of what it looks like.

[M.L.S.C.]

I assume all your studs are intact and lugnuts are tight? Then tis what all the folks said so far, bearing failed for whatever reason, and that took out the axle shaft - you can see all that oil on the edge of the drum, it don't belong there, it came from inside the axle. Time to pull the wheels and examine the carnage.

[ScubaMedic]

I think it's time to dive into it as well.

Does anyone have any of the service manual info that they can send to me?

Thanks.

[91diesel]

I dont have any manuals but...I tore into my 1956 grain trucks brake drum with no problems getting it all back together. Its not as complex as you might think. Just keep all the bolts and washers separate.

But onto what I wanted to say. Since theres oil on the drum, you are probably never going to be able to get it clean enough so that it will function properly. I would look at getting new brake shoes and a new drum. You might be able to get away with cleaning it with brake clean but I would be leery.

The axle shaft will come out if you take that outside retainer off. It is full floating and should slide right out. the retainer im talking about is about 3" diameter and has something like 15 bolts in it. Its visible with the hub caps off and is bolted to the part of the axle housing that goes through the middle of the tire rim.

I hope I didnt thoroughly confuse you

Anthony

[M.L.S.C.]

Twon (), me thinks the drum will be fine, brake cleaner usually takes care of the oil contaminants, if that don't work then straight brake fluid and then brake cleaner. New pads will be recommended, altho when I had an axle seal failure in my old C10 Chevy and it soaked one side in oil I never replaced the pads and truck still stopped scarey fast and didn't pull to either side.

[LMJD]

brake cleaner usually takes care of the oil contaminants, if that don't work then straight brake fluid and then brake cleaner

You can clean up the drum with no problem, but you'll require new shoes. Do NOT use brake fluid on the drum, use brake parts cleaner or B12. Once oil impregnates the shoes, there's no way to draw all of it out with cleaner. Later as you use the brakes and the shoes become hot, the oil comes to the surface time after time and will cause abnormal braking on that side.
Either you lost a wheel bearing or more likely someone didn't bend over the locking tab on the bearing adjusting nuts and they came loose. MAKE SURE YOU BEND THE TAB OR LOCK the nut depending on which style lock tab you have.