Big front end problems!

[Jgreemo]

Driving home the other day, I heard a pop up front and the truck swerved a bit, as if the front end was coming loose and the wheel was falling off. Next thing, heard a grinding noise and several loud clunks coming from the front left hub. The steering wheel also hangs to the right now.
Took me a couple of days to get it to the mechanic and on the way over, the brakes failed. I had also noticed a pool of fluid on the ground, in the middle front of the engine compartment. Mechanic checked it and said the proportioning valve had burst, the rear cylinders were leaking and the rear circuit on the master cylinder had failed.
So after fixing all those things and me being skeptical about that being the only problem, I go to pick it up yesterday, or at least try to. Mechanic lost my keys and had to call a locksmith. So today I pick it up and brakes are bad (some grinding and very soft pedal) and the original hub noise (grinding and occasional clunking sounds) are still present. The noises do fade a bit when the brakes are applied but the wheel still hangs to the right and the front end still feels very unsettled. Apparently the mechanic missed these symptoms with his test drive through the parking lot.

So besides having a lousy mechanic, in whom I ripped a new one this morning, any ideas? I am suspecting a blown bearing, but why brakes and bearing at the same time? I've got the Warner auto hubs and was wondering if anything could have let go in there? Used 4x4 over the winter a few times and didn't have any problems with operation or disengaging.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Also a job that gives me a couple extra days off a week so I can do the work myself would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks for all the help.
Jon

[grape]

well, if a wheel bearing failed.....that means that wheel was being held in place by the brake caliper.

[gmctd]

If he "lost" your keys, it would behoove you to immediately get down to PEP BOYS, or some such, to get new door and ign switch cylinders and keys.

That is, if you like your truck.

[Jgreemo]

Thanks for the response guys.

As for the wheel being held on by the caliper, I was under the impression that on leaf spring front ends, there are two sets of bearings, held on by a large adjusting nut. If the nut is still on, shouldn't the wheel still be held on, though a bit loose? I'm wondering if the blown proportioning valve could be related to the front calipers not tracking correctly on the disc. I'm also wondering if the mechanic should just tow it back now.

I had the same idea about replacing the locks. Frankly, losing the keys is a major no-no and doesn't give me much confidence in the quality of their service.

Thanks,
Jon

[gmctd]

Don't know how a failed master cylinder section could 'blow' a proportioning valve - no pressure from failed circuit would result in prop valve sealing the failed brake circuit.

Correct - those are full-floating hubs on the front - likely you lost a wheel bearing.

The rear ff hubs are lubricated by diff lube - the front is wheel bearing greased, requires repacking at regular service intervals.

Rear seal failure is noted by grease stains on wheel and tire - front just dries out and fails.

You should commit serious thought to serious action on the locks, including tailgate - police are difficult to deal with when missing vehicle report turns up no broken glass at scene.

[Jgreemo]

Well, my mechanic tore into the front hub and just as I had told him, found a broken bearing. Now he says my Warner auto hub has broken along with the bearing.

Are the Warner hubs still available? If not, is switching over to Warn or Mile Marker manual hubs that much of a problem?

I don't do heavy off roading, rather quite a bit of snow and mud. The auto feature is nice, but I never figured it to be the most reliable setup. Any ideas?

Thanks again,
Jon

[DmaxMaverick]

I switched my '85 to Spicer/Perfect Circle manual hubs. They are all metal (unlike most others) and are a direct replacement for the auto's. They have been flawless for years. IIRC, they were about half the cost, compared to the OEM auto's.

I've heard that the Warn hubs are good, but they use plastic threads for the engagement (not the splines). Probably OK, but I just didn't like the idea of the plastic.

The advantage of having manuals over auto is the certainty. When they are locked, they are locked, and when they are unlocked, they are unlocked. No guessing. No waiting. No backing up to disengage. No problem.

[Jgreemo]

Thanks for the info DmaxMaverick. I was wondering where both the Spicers and the OEM hubs are available? Seems like everyone on the web is selling either Warn or Mile Marker and I have yet to see much of anything else.

Thanks again for the help.
Jon

[DmaxMaverick]

Your finer 4 X 4 specialty shops should be able to provide whatever you need, including sound advice. There should be plenty of those guys in your area.

If you have a mfg part #, Autozone can get just about anything you need. They may even have them in their catalog.