# Help please



## exmark (Apr 24, 2007)

So my new truck has lock outs on the hubs. Yesterday was our first plowable snow storm. My truck would only be in four wheel drive with the lock outs locked and the ground floor shifted into 4x4. Now if just the floor shifter was in four wheel drive I would not have four wheel drive, now if the lock outs where in by themselves I would not have four wheel drive. The only way my truck was in four wheel drive was when both the floor shifter was locked into four wheel drive and the lock outs where locked into place. My question is, is this the way it is suppose to be. Do I have to have both the lock outs and the floor shifter in place to have four wheel drive. I already have called my dealer a couple times and have had different answers each time, I have even taken it in there. My sales man told me I can shift on the fly with it. One guy there told me I have to be moving. One guy said put it in neutral and shift it into 4x4 not moving. Ive tried it all none works besides have both lock outs and having it shifted into 4x4. Any one with this same truck or system please help me out. Thanks


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

i hope this is a joke


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## chasity2682 (Sep 10, 2009)

ok i am assuming the lockout your talking about are the hub locks.
The way it work is your hubs have to be locked and your floor shifter in 4x4 to get 4x4. You can drive around with your hubs locked in 2x4 but you cannot drive in 4x4 with the hubs not locked you will screw your trann or diff i can remember. as for shifting into 4x4 you should be doing 5-8 km an hour if you put it in neutral it will grind. All of this is in your manual under 4x4 or off road driving.Thumbs Up


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## exmark (Apr 24, 2007)

chasity2682;1150988 said:


> ok i am assuming the lockout your talking about are the hub locks.
> The way it work is your hubs have to be locked and your floor shifter in 4x4 to get 4x4. You can drive around with your hubs locked in 2x4 but you cannot drive in 4x4 with the hubs not locked you will screw your trann or diff i can remember. as for shifting into 4x4 you should be doing 5-8 km an hour if you put it in neutral it will grind. All of this is in your manual under 4x4 or off road driving.Thumbs Up


 Thanks. I read threw the book as well. Now I was told when I bought the truck that the hub locks where only to be used if the 4x4 went out, and I am not to be driving around with them locked in. Its just to get you from where your 4x4 went out to the dealership to get fixed. The only thing I should be using is the floor shift and just put that into 4x4 and you should have 4x4. Now I thank you for the help im going to the dealer for an oil change today so ill talk to them and ask them why none of them know this and ask them why they all feed me crap and didn't know what they were talking about.


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## exmark (Apr 24, 2007)

clark lawn;1150985 said:


> i hope this is a joke


No its not a joke you ******.


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## h8to wrk (Dec 12, 2009)

for 4WD both the hub locks and the floor shifter will have to be in the 4WD position. Simple as that.

Hub locks lock the wheels to the axle shafts in the Axle

The 4WD shifter engages the Front aspect of the transfer case to engage drive to the front shaft.


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## exmark (Apr 24, 2007)

h8to wrk;1151068 said:


> for 4WD both the hub locks and the floor shifter will have to be in the 4WD position. Simple as that.
> 
> Hub locks lock the wheels to the axle shafts in the Axle
> 
> The 4WD shifter engages the Front aspect of the transfer case to engage drive to the front shaft.


 Thanks man I appreciate it. Like I said above this is my first super duty Ive always ran chevy's. And the dealer has been no help, they didn't say one thing about the hubs except for if the 4x4 went out there used for back up only situations to get you to where you need to get the 4x4 fixed. Ive heard 3 different things from them and none of witch worked. This whole things really got me pissed because from what ive heard I could have done some damage to the truck.


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## Pinky Demon (Jan 6, 2010)

clark lawn;1150985 said:


> i hope this is a joke


Sorry, I'm with Clark. This is all material covered in the manual. Hubs must be locked in order to engage 4wd, unless you have the ****** vacuum operated ESOF system which is a switch on the dash. If you have a shifter on the floor, you do not have it.


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## hydro_37 (Sep 10, 2006)

you do NOT have ESOF
you must lock in the hubs AND oukk the lever on the floor
leave the hubs locked in all winter.....not gonna hurt anything but gas mileage

but why have a 4X4 if you have no idea how to use it>


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## drp (Oct 12, 2009)

They have described the ESOF system to you, not the manual floor shift you have.

You must lock your hubs then shift the shifter to 4wd to have 4wd.

If your hubs are already locked in you can shift from 2 to 4wd at any time or speed. however high speed shifts are not recommended.


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## exmark (Apr 24, 2007)

I know how to use four wheel drive on a truck. This is my first ford and my first time ever using or having locks on the hubs. The problem is I didn't read the manual and I was told different things from the same dealership. Like I said above My salesman told me one thing and then two different tech guys told me different things and even today when I asked a tech guy he didn't know at all, so I read the manual and im going to go by the book and keep the hub locks on all winter. Thanks for the help.


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## tjctransport (Nov 22, 2008)

exmark;1151002 said:


> . Now I was told when I bought the truck that the hub locks where only to be used if the 4x4 went out, and I am not to be driving around with them locked in. Its just to get you from where your 4x4 went out to the dealership to get fixed. The only thing I should be using is the floor shift and just put that into 4x4 and you should have 4x4
> .


you need to tell the person that told you this fantastic story they
#1: should not reproduce.
#2: they should stop giving out false info, cause they don't have a freakin clue what they are talking about. and
#3: they should find a very tall bridge and jump off it without a parachute.

i only lock my front hubs when plowing or i know there is a chance i will need 4 wheel drive. for normal driving i leave the hubs unlocked

the floor shifted puts the transfer case in gear. 
the front locking hubs do just that, they lock and unlock the hubs. 
you need both engaged for 4 wheel. 
you also need to be moving to engage the t-case if you have an auto trans in 4 high, and you need to be in 4 high and stopped to put it in 4 low.


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## chasity2682 (Sep 10, 2009)

drp;1151438 said:


> They have described the ESOF system to you, not the manual floor shift you have.
> 
> You must lock your hubs then shift the shifter to 4wd to have 4wd.
> 
> If your hubs are already locked in you can shift from 2 to 4wd at any time or speed. however high speed shifts are not recommended.


No you cannot shift at any speed, it tells you in the manual that they are not shift on the fly if you have a manual system. And yes we did explain they manual system to him more than once before your post.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

If your hubs lock and unlock easily I would unlock them if you don't need 4X4. In 2 wheel drive with the hubs locked, your turning all the parts. The U-joints on the shafts and bearings are turning. It adds resistance to forward motion and wear on the parts. With weight over the rear wheels most times you really don't need 4X4 on most snow covered roads. Shifting into 4 low you have to be stopped. If you are going onto the highway shift into 4 high before you get on. If you have problems with 4x4 dis-engaging try backing up 10 foot in a straight line. They try it.


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## 01lariat (Feb 29, 2008)

With your manual hubs locked you can shift into 4x4 (HI) via floor lever at any speed. Just let off the gas before you pull the lever. It will slide right in. Low range your going to have to stop first.


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## chasity2682 (Sep 10, 2009)

01lariat;1153508 said:


> With your manual hubs locked you can shift into 4x4 (HI) via floor lever at any speed. Just let off the gas before you pull the lever. It will slide right in. Low range your going to have to stop first.


ok this is the last time i will say it, In the manual it says if you have the push button on the dash it is called electronic shift on the fly, If you have the manual floor leaver you must be doing less than* 3MPH*
It is not shift on the fly to go to 4x4 h, you should be moving but not fast, For 4x4L first shift to 4x4 h than put it in neutral and shift to 4x4L than put it in gear.


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## drp (Oct 12, 2009)

chasity2682
No you cannot shift at any speed, it tells you in the manual that they are not shift on the fly if you have a manual system. And yes we did explain they manual system to him more than once before your post.

Do you have a manual shift system? Have you ever used one? I suspect not.
If the hubs are locked all part5s are up to speed already and it will shift into 4x4 with no problem.

I have done this hundreds of times at speeds of upto 60mph with never an issue.

Been plowing now for 25yrs plus driven many different vehicles and equipment.

If you can only quote the manuels you don't know or understand the system.


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## vt properties (Jan 28, 2010)

Ive heard mixed things about keeping the hubs locked in 4x2 . I have always unlocked the hubs but it is a pain in the rear. Will it damage anything by keeping them locked in 2 wheel drive. For example sometimes while traveling I dont need it ect..anymore info would be great


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## drp (Oct 12, 2009)

chasity2682

I must apologize.

All right lets refer to the 2010 manual on p286 and 287 it does say shift at stop or up to *5mph* depending on which page one refers to.

However any other system I have used over the years you can shift on the fly easily. I have a hard time believing in a 2010 you cannot still do this. But I could be wrong.

The write up in the owners manual changed in 2006 and now calls the system manual shift on stop.


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## chasity2682 (Sep 10, 2009)

DRP
You are probably right that in 2010 you can still shift on the fly, but im not qouting the manual for the hell of it, I am more concerned about telling him he can and something happens to his transfer case or Tranny and when he takes it to the dealer flipping out and says "ya I dropped it into 4x4 at 80mph cause a guy told me i could" i cant see the warrenty covering that. especially after ford tells you not to.

But i do understand your point, it should have stayed as SOTF, technology is supposed to get better not worse.


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## linckeil (Sep 18, 2007)

it's amazing (scary really) what little people who use their vehicles to make a living know about them. I'm not saying you need to know how to rebuild a transmission or setup a ring & pinion, but if you own a plow truck (and use it to make money) you should know how 4wd works. having an understanding of how these things work will not only save you on mechanic bills, but you'll go easier on your equipment under certain situations and make it last a lot longer.


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## drp (Oct 12, 2009)

I don't think you really hurt anything by having your hubs locked in 2wd. I have traveled thousands of miles on highways over the years with hubs locked and never had a problem with the 4wd system, not even a u-joint. Lost a few axle u-joints from not using and rust up.


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## tjctransport (Nov 22, 2008)

linckeil;1155471 said:


> it's amazing (scary really) what little people who use their vehicles to make a living know about them. I'm not saying you need to know how to rebuild a transmission or setup a ring & pinion, but if you own a plow truck (and use it to make money) you should know how 4wd works. having an understanding of how these things work will not only save you on mechanic bills, but you'll go easier on your equipment under certain situations and make it last a lot longer.


if you reread the op's posts, he is fully aware on how four wheel drive works. in the chevys he is used to.... 
he is asking these questions so he knows how the ford system works, so he does not have any problems, because the dealer could not give him a straight answer.


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## eric02038 (Oct 1, 2010)

exmark;1151439 said:


> I know how to use four wheel drive on a truck. This is my first ford and my first time ever using or having locks on the hubs. The problem is I didn't read the manual and I was told different things from the same dealership. Like I said above My salesman told me one thing and then two different tech guys told me different things and even today when I asked a tech guy he didn't know at all, so I read the manual and im going to go by the book and keep the hub locks on all winter. Thanks for the help.


No, you really don't know how to use 4x4. I don't care what manufacture you have or have had in the past, this is pretty elementary. Lock the Hubs, then engage 4x4. How could you possible have anymore questions?


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

i think the dealer was laughing about it also. chevys have locking hubs, at least when chevy made real trucks. locking hubs have been around as long as there have been 4x4's


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## tjctransport (Nov 22, 2008)

every chevy i have seen has used auto hubs since 1988, and i can't remember the last time i saw a dodge with locking hubs made after 1972


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## clark lawn (Oct 7, 2005)

thats why i said when chevys were real trucks


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