I recently got my truck stuck in some gravel. When I tried to get out I put the truck in 4 wheel drive. I found one rear wheel turning and none of the others were moving. I know the rear should have a limited slip but I had no front wheels turning either. I went out and manually turned the hubs from auto to lock and the fronts engaged.
I was wondereing if they should engage in auto without my having to manually lock them in?

Just wondering.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 31-Dec-02 AT 03:35 PM (EST)]Usually you cant engage the 4x4 automatically while standing still unless you lock the hubs. A trick that always works for me is to put it in reverse then drive. That way if your stuck you can still get 4x4. Stock limited slips aren't that great and require tourqe from the spinning wheel to get the other one going. So if your wheel was spinning without much traction the other wheel wont have enough power to spin, but thats not saying it didnt have any power just not enough to break free.

Yes they will engage without you locking them, but like I said usually when moving. Why I dont know I am sure most tech savy guys could answer that.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 31-Dec-02 AT 03:40 PM (EST)]>I was wondereing if they should engage in auto without my
>having to manually lock them in?
>
>Just wondering.

Yes they should.
It is a good idea to engage 4wd.ocassionally to exercise the hubs.

This is a much discussed (beaten to death)topic here.

Thank goodness for the manual backup function.




P.S.
Don't be suprised if you get a lot of replies.;-)

 

Sounds like you have the curse of the vacuum operated hubs too. The wheels have to roll a few revolutions to get the hubs to engage. If you are stuck and hit the switch then nothing will happen cause the hubs can't turn to engage. By turning them manually then you have circumvented this. One of the bad things about ESOF. Oh damn, did I open a door that I shouldn't have??? Also, doesn't sound like your LS is working if you have it.

*Side Note*. Don't hit the ESOF switch while you are spinning the rears, might shear something if it should try and engage.

 

Good old ESOF! Wish I had a lever.

Seems the limited slips are limited in effectiveness. If your truck is equipped with one try this; feather the brakes a little when the wheels start to spin, this can "trick" the LS unit and get the other wheel moving sometimes.

Good luck with the truck!

 

They probably figure with the ESOF not engaging when you are stuck makes you get out of the truck and manually engage the hubs so that you can assess the situation better.

 

Ditto on using the brakes (old racing trick). Put light pressure on the brakes when only one tire is spinning, traction should increase to the other tire with L/S.

Yeah, it sure is TOUGH on a guy to have to manually lock is hubs in case his auto hubs don't engage

 

I've gotten my truck stuck in 2wd without being able to move numerous times and have never had a problem with the hubs not locking. As long as the trasfer case locks I don't see any reason why the wheels should have to turn for the hubs to lock since now the axles are turning.

 

I recently had to change out the left front hub assembly on my 2000 f350 4x4 and now ESOF will not engage the front axles. When I re-installed the locking hub, i did not notice that it had to installed in any particular alignment, but now i am wondering if it has to line up in a particular fashion...any comments/suggestions?

thx

 

It should tell you something that Ford put in a manual backup for when the vacuum assisted hubs don't work. The bean counters don't spend money on something like that unless they REALLY think you're going to need it if (when!) the hubs fail. I prefer manual hubs, three pedals, and two levers. I lock the hubs (in the garage) whenever snow is forecast and unlock them when the roads are all clear, that way, I don't have to bother getting out in bad weather to deal with it.