Was yours a traditional Lock / Free set up or the Ford Auto style hubs with vacuum actuator?

Did you run them in Lock or Auto mode.

Thanks

 

Mine was the full manual setup, with "Lock/Free" hubs and a manual shifter. I left the hubs in Lock.

 

That is way bizarre on the hood setup... Someone will have to post up on whether that collects a lot of water or not. Sometimes the angle of the picture is decieving.

Otherwise, very nice truck!!! Congrats...

 

Manual or otherwise the front hubs should be turned in a run at least 10 miles every month. The grease in the front axle U Joints needs to be stirred up. If the axle shafts are static for too long a period unusual wear starts to set in and the seals also start to harden from only single direction movement, every time you turn the steering wheel. In day of old you would notice this if you didn't turn the hubs in all summer and then the first time in the fall or winter the u-joints would yank the steering wheel until the grease got circulated over the dried out spots. So everybody, turn in your hubs and let them warm up monthly.

If you think about it years ago very few trucks had lockable hubs. No one wanted them because it was felt they would fail when you needed them the most. Some did which were never taken care of. Now many people feel the same way about shift on the fly technology but their numbers are decreasing.

 

The picture is deceiving, it flattens out towards the front of the hood and will not hold water.

 

Aside from the joints in the axle and driveshafts, can prolonged periods of the hubs being locked cause undue wear or failure to the front diff?

I've always been under the impression that the front side was not set up to the same tolerances as the rear.

 

Yeah that's a trip, especially after seeing the same lever forever. I hope those lower cup holders are standard
Congrats on the truck!!

 

Wow, that truck is a beast. Loving it!

 

Glad the photo is deceiving. I like esof. If you lose vacuum you can manually lock the hubs in. In fact mine our all winter long, since I use 4wd a lot and no sense in taking chances I won't have it. I've heard in extreme cold the auto lock can fail.

 

The lights do appear to be LED

 

Nah, Manual T-case are tried and true. Google "failed ESOF" to make you feel better. Some demand the manual t-case to have an extra low range in 2wd for towing equipment in certain circumstances.

 

Yes you can tow in low range and not lock in the hubs but the flip side is the tremendous torque which low range puts on the drive line. It would be better to have the front wheels pulling as well if you need that deep of a reduction to tow.

 

Easy enough to add a switch to break the circuit for the vacuum solenoid. I occasionally use 2 wheel low to back up into my driveway (with 19K of toy hauler)

 

2 depressions with the deep part towards the center line, making all the more difficult to clean out the dirt that was always there after the water dried up

Will be interesting to see, especially if parking on a hilly driveway.

 

Thanks, appreciate it.

No need to worry at all about the front diff. Its a Dana 60, used as a rear diff in plenty of vehicles (and therefore turning at all times). Its a massive diff and you can't kill it. You could disconnect the rear driveshaft of your dually, put it in 4Hi, and drive around for years in front wheel drive with no issues.