Just got a '00 F350 4x4, the front hubs have the black plastic cover...should say the whole thing is black plastic, and any indication of which way to turn the hub for free and lock are all gone.

Which way do you turn the driver side and which way do you turn the passenger side to be able to put it into four wheel drive??

Thanks for any help you can offer

Josh

 

On a manual hub, turning it to the LEFT will LOCK it, and turning to the RIGHT will UNLOCK it.
On an automatic hub, turning it to the LEFT is LOCK, turning it to the RIGHT is AUTO.

Both sides work the same.

 

Thanks for the reply, I'm pretty sure it's a manual hub. The driver side i can faintly see the word "lock", but the passenger side is all gone.

I take it the 4x systems in these trucks are vacuum actuated? I was replacing pads and shocks this morning and noticed a vaccum line just flooping in the breeze on the passenger side and a fitting with a nipple on the knuckle. Pulled the fitting out and drilled/cleaned it out and had to cut the vacuum line to fit since it was tore, seems to hold tight now, but I've yet to try and engague 4x4 mode yet.

Will the 4x4 light in the dash come on only if both hubs are engagued? How long does it typically take for it to engauge? I ask cuz we've got plow season coming up and I know how the first chevies and their vacuum stuff did'nt work so hot, took forever to engauge.

 

Yes, the hubs are vacuum operated.

The sensor for the 4x4 dash light is in the transfer case, the light will not tell you if the hubs are locked or not.

Per Ford's TSB, on the ESOF 4x4 systems it can take up to a whoping 2 minutes for the 4x4 system to fully engage (depends on the situation at the time). For the most part, it should fully engage within a few seconds.