97 f250 ?

[surreyboy]

hey ppl , im just curious if 97(old body style) is a odd ball year ? i went looking for a manual(Chilton or Haynes)& could only find the newer body style or 96-94 ?
i have a 97 f250 HD , 4x4 ext cab 7.3l 5spd , older body style , i recently changed my upper & lower ball joints & since i had it apart , the seals , spindle bearings & universals on the front axles cleaned the wheel bearings & repacked them. before i did all this , i could hear a metal on metal grinding noise but only in 4x4, when i pulled the driver side hub out , the splines were dry & had surface rust on them , i wire brushed them real good & greased the crap out of them but noticed that on the inside of the driver side hub , where the snap ring is , the nylon or what ever it is , was worn a bit & the inner spline part of the hub was not as mobile as the passenger side , could this be making the metal on metal sound ? it is still there , there is bearings inside the hubs right ?

thanx to every one

 

[Patrick Feeley]

I can't comment on the 4x4 stuff as I've haven't wrenched on my 97's stuff yet (I'm in the process of redoing the front brakes now). The 97 OBS PSD's aren't really oddball. The problem is that they had the Light Duty 250's in that model year too. If you want a good manual for the truck, forget the Chilton/Haynes stuff and get the factory manuals from Helm Inc. They're not cheap, but they are thorough and cover pretty much everything. Cheers!

 

[BJS]

the '97 trucks are a bit oddball in that they overlapped the light duty F250 also. If you're looking for Haynes manuals then the 94-96 will work well since the drivetrain of the '96 & '97 are the same. though you'll have to sort through the differences between the F150 & the F250 vs F350.

There is a 3/4" or so roller bearing in the hub but you should have seen that if you took it apart and greased the wheel bearings as those carry all the weight the roller bearing I'm referring to only holds the stub shaft when the hub is disengaged and really doesn't turn much.

When are you getting the metal on metal grinding noise? in 4wd, 2wd hi or lo on the t-case. Speed.

If the noise is related to the 4wd components you should not hear it when in 4wd since the front driveshaft & axleshafts should not be turning.

Is it possible that you're hearing the axle pivot bushings that may be toast and metal on metal?