Just rotated my tires today on my 2008 ford f150 lariat 4wd. I noticed when the truck was lifted that the driver side front wheel would spin freely, where as the passenger side front wheel would only move a couple inches in ether direction and stop. The truck was off in park and in 2wd. It drives fine at all speeds and makes no sounds that i can notice. Just seeing if this is normal or not?
No, it is not normal. Both should rotate easily if only the front tires were off the ground and the wheel on the other side of the axle should not rotate when one side is turned.
It leads me to think the actuator that disconnects the axles in 2WD mode has not un-locked the pass side axle. Look underneath and have someone turn the pass side wheel and see if the front driveshaft turns a small bit and stops. It shouldn’t. If it does, the axle actuator has failed or the un-locking collar has frozen up.
I had all the tires off the ground, but yes it does move a little bit like you were saying just not much. And when you spin the driver side tire it rotates the front drive shaft fine. I had someone else look at it and thats when i saw that but neither of us had the knowledge to know why. But that makes since. It doesn’t seem to affect the truck when driving though?
A small amount of drag from a brake caliper can stop a wheel from spinning freely. Clean and lubricate the brake caliper slides/pins.
That is that is supposed to happen and would have been useful information if you’d posted it. Now my answer changes because I didn’t have all the information - remember that the next time you take your truck in for service, tell the mechanic EVERYthing up front.
Something between the driveshaft and the pass side wheel is sticking. @Nevada_545 is right, could be the brake caliper. It could be something in the pass side wheel bearing as well.