Actually, they were engineered by Warn for Ford. It has nothing to do with 2' of mud, but a lot of times they fail to lock in AT ALL. Think of it more as buddies trying to save you the heart ache a lot of us have experienced.

 

While auto hubs are convenient, they are prone to failure. If you care AT ALL whether your 4wd works or not, don't use them.

But who are we to tell you anything... you thought we were dumb enough to believe your lie.

 

I don't think anyone has ever come up with a reliable automatic locking 4wd system whether it be Ford, GM, Dodge, or an import. Some are automatic hubs, and some are a center disconnect. Bottom line is they all seem to fail right when you need them the most and leave you stuck between a rock and a hard place. At least the hubs on my Super Duty (vacuum operated) have the option to manually lock them when (WHEN, not IF) the system fails.

My Polaris ATV has automatic locking hubs and even those are prone to failure.

 

At least you know on your super duty that if your heater is only working on defrost, that you will need to get out and manually lock the hubs!

 

Ok, I'm stumped here, by a couple things stated in this thread. My 92 has auto hubs, which are ALWAYS locked in. Statements seem to idicate they will fail unlocked.

Also, my ESOF 00 won't blow thru only the defroster when the 4wd is engaged, yet I have to lock the hubs every time for front axle engagement. Clearly marked auto n locked.

 

No no no. The auto hubs should not stay locked at all times, only when the front axles turn, if they are working correctly. The auto feature on the DIESEL superduties will not work if there is any sort of vacuum leak as diesels create very little vacuum. When there is a vacuum leak the climate control defaults to defrost for safety reasons.

 

No, they'll just plain fail. Why do you have them locked in all the time? Are they stuck? Or do you just never unlock them? You get a mileage penalty for driving with them locked.

You might still have a weak vacuum pump.

I sure wish my chevy s-10 did that. When I lived in Buffalo the defroster would have come in real handy.