I bought my 2005 f250 super duty last week for only $1800.00 and it only has 34,000 miles on it, but it will not engage in 4 high or 4 low. it drives fine with the rear wheels, but the fronts don't seem to work. I can engage the lockouts, and turn the front wheels by hand, and see the axle and drive shaft turn.
is there a common thing I should look for with the transfer case, such as a vacuum leak or low fluid level that may cause this issue?


my truck has the manual shifter on the floor instead of the electronic push buttons, so I don't think I have an electrical problem. my truck has the 5.4 liter engine if that matters too.

 

Ill go ahead and add another zero to your purchase price...lol! If you have manual shift and your hubs are locked in you should be in 4wd. What is telling you your not in 4wd? Have you read the owners manual yet. Check it out if not.

 

Not trying to sound funny, but are you sure it's not a shift linkage problem with your Tcase shifter? Maybe it's something simple. I'm not an expert on the chain drive Tcases, but my thoughts are if it's actually shifted into 4 and the front output shaft still spins freely with the front shaft out, then it's time to tear down the Tcase.

 

no need to add another zero. I only paid 1800 for this truck. I won it in an auction where my wife works. it was her companies plow truck at the nursing home she works for. it only left the facility to get gas. they bought a brand new truck because the 4wd quit working, and the truck was 10 years old.


the shift linkage seems to be working fine. nothing feels loose, and it is shifting. I can place it in the neutral position and if not set in gear right you can hear the gears grind some in each selection. I took this truck down to my brothers body shop and tried flooring it from a complete stop in the gravel in every gear (4h, 4l, and 2wd) and only the rear wheels will spin, and yes that is with the hubs locked too. the shifter setup in this truck isn't much different from my chevy truck, so I know I'm doing it right.


I think something that drives the front drive shaft is bad but not sure what to look for.

 

could be a broken chain or bad spline or shifting fork. can you put it on a lift and see if turning the rear shaft spins the front when in 4wd

 

Is it rotted? If not you stole this truck! Even if it needs a new xfer case your still thousands ahead. What Leon said. On a lift with the xfer case shifted into 4 HI the front shaft should be locked with the drive train and spin with the rear shaft regardless if the hubs are locked in. If not its not spinnin its an internal problem with the xfer case... chain... shift fork etc...Pull the drain plug and get in there with a light and magnet. Ill bet you find chunks or see the chain laying down. Some dumbazz likely beat the hell out of it on dry pavement??? Dont drive it until you identify the problem to avoid catastrophic damage.

 

34,000 plowed miles is a lot of miles. That's like 340,000 of normal every day driving. Let's hope it's not something bad

 

I'll post you some diagnostics later after the internet gets back from
is little snit fit.

EDIT : I have a set that I have to re-size and will post later that had
how to rebuild a transfer case in it.



Sean

 

yes this would be true if they used the p;ow. they used this truck with a salt spreader only. the bed is rusty in the tail end, and they removed the spreader because it broke one side of the beds frame. so this past winter they installed the plow for the first time in 10 years, and that's how they found out that the 4wd don't work. there is absolutely no rust on the frame and cab from the rear wheels forward. the only damage it has is little dents and scratches from doing landscaping around the facility. I would not have bid on this truck if I didn't know how it was treated over it's lifetime and if it was beat to death from plowing. every thing on the plow looks brand new and is tight as can be unlike my other truck that has been plowed with every season since 2000.


yeah I know I stole this truck even if I do have to put a transfer case in it. I'm gonna scrap the bed on it cuz there's place here in Cleveland that sells brand new beds that were removed from trucks being set up as tow trucks or what ever else they are used for. other than that this truck is really clean. I'm not worried about the bed at all. I just want to get the 4wd working, and replace the seat cuz it's all tore up.


thanks for posting those links. I will look at them.

 

Yep sounds like you got a decent deal. For that price you can afford both transfer case and bed. Close the loop here when you find out exactly whats up with the 4WD.

 

If you can manually shift it into 4wd and you know it's in and it doesn't engage the front axle, then the problem almost has to be inside the transfer case.

 

I got my current transfer case from a wrecking yard. I think I paid maybe $120. It's a simple swap, took me maybe 2 hours with pneumatic tools and a motorcycle jack.

All I am saying is I wouldn't bother rebuilding.

 

not gonna rebuild it.nly $10.00 I can get a brand new case that I know will


work and will last me a long time.


but...... i'm not gonna be working on anything for a while. i had an accident in my shop where i lost half of one finger, cut a second one 3/4 of the way through, and broke the second one.


i learned that i will never use a cut off wheel again for anything. i was using one to trim some plastic on a license plate frame for my wifes car. the cutoff wheel shattered and when it did it cut my finger off. felt like an m80 went off in my hand and my hand was at least 10 inches away from the blade too. thankfully the surgeon repaired my middle finger but half of my index couldn't be saved. so i'm out of commision for a while.

 

Crap, Get feeling better.
It could of been a lot worse. Those things tend to fly all over the place.
Been lucky and never had one go on me or a grinding wheel go BOOM.
Used to change about 4 wheels a month. Hold them on a screwdriver and give them
a little rap with a knuckle and if they did not ring they got dumped in the trash can
after being smashed. Even then on the first spin up the shields were set far out so
the wheel if it did go would not come flying out.

Any idea why the wheel took off like that?

Sean

 

Ouch!

My Dad was a mill worker, lost all but his thumb and pinky finger on his left hand ( he was a south paw) when I was in first grade. He built up his pinky so he still had the power to pull in the clutch on his old shovelhead.

Get better man, the cold is going to be hell on that hand for a few years.