locking hubs?
 

why do they put locking hubs on trucks if you can turn the in cab knob to 4wd high on the fly. I have always thought until today that you needed to lock the hubs in and then turn the in cab knob to 4wd? Today due to my sticking lockout i found i cna leave the hub to auto and just switch the knob to 4wd. no getting out of the truck its great! This is like my 3rd f250/ex i have had i feel a little dumb...... :-X20

If this is your third and you have not had an auto hub issue then your lucky. I and others have swapped out the auto hubs for manual locking hubs. My auto hubs were frozen in the locked position for almost a year.

I must say that I would like the auto hub for the wife but for me it doesn't matter. After all it takes all but 20 seconds to lock in both hubs the old fashion way.

mine dont even have the option to manually lock them in. they are auto only.....

I don't even have auto. Mine are Free and Lock.

downriver, at least you won't get stuck without 4x4. if mine don't engauge, i am screwed. i cant even lock them in manually. i am going to replace them with a set of premium manuall hubs from warn.

How much would it cost to swap those out? I have a 2001 EX 4X4 and they are locked open. I can't move them. Any advice?

John
7.3 PSD

Milemarker Stainless steel ones are $148 with free shipping at Summit Racing. Or, the Warns are around $190. Warn #38826. Can't remember the MM part# offhand. I went with the Milemarkers and will be installing them tomorrow. In SoCal I could care less about shifting on the fly. And the manual hubs are a lot stronger and more reliable.

I just think that if I cannot get them unlocked or locked, then I am sure it could be hurting my performance and milage.

John

Milemarker part number is 449SS and they ROCK! Got mine from Summit too but no free shipping:-huh Total was $158

Normal position for the hubs with ESOF off is unlocked. To check, with ESOF off, reach under the vehicle and rotate the stub axles. If they rotate your hubs are unlocked and not hurting mileage or performance. If one of the stub axles does not rotate than that side is locked. Then there is a problem.

I realize this is an old thread but I came upon it when doing a google search. My hubs are froze in Auto. I found this out last night when trying to lock the hubs in. I worked today and got the passenger side freed up but the drives side is still stuck. Actually ended up breaking a piece of the turning mechanism while trying to free it up. One question is: Will I have any trouble with the 4x4 working with both hubs stuck in auto? My other question is: Will I have problems with the plastic I broke letting moisture in and stuff?

Here is a couple of links that helped me with my hubs. Mine were frozen in Auto on one side and lock on the other side. I broke the plastic turning tabs off mine too, after I got them off and played with them for awhile, they finally freed up some but I didn't want to have to worry about the holes I created in the tabs, so I replaced mine with the Mile Markers described in the following links.

Mile Marker hubs

Then I disconnected all the vacuum lines and capped them off.

ESOF modification

It really didn't take more than a 1/2 hour to replace both sides and disconnect the vacuum lines. I got the vacuum caps at AutoZone but I don't remember the size.

I just had the same issue with mine - They would engage but would not unlock. I installed the Mile Markers and capped the vacuum lines. The fittings you'll need to cap are 3/16".

And if you feel adventurous and find new plastic tabs, here is another route to rebuild the hub assemblies. I wasn't that brave to tackle this.

Welcome to guzzle's 4x4 Autolock Hub Lubrication Maintenance Web Page

im a bit of a noob on the 4x4 issue. but i have the manual ones on each wheel and also the in door switch to switch them. whats the point to have both of them?

Thanks to everyone for the quick responses! They've been a great help in figuring out my problem!