Good morning all, looking for a little clarification relating to the 4x systems in these rigs (haven't jumped in the pool yet, looking to do so late this calendar year). I've strayed from the blue oval for a few years, so the last time I dealt with a Ford 4x system was in an 85' F-150 (great truck BTW...could do everything on my own...miss that), this truck had manual lock-outs, nothing auto about it...you were locked in if you needed 4x4, and had to use the floor shift.

My question is, if the hubs are in Auto, and I flip the dial in the cab to 4-high, will I get 4-high...or do I need to have the hubs in Lock?

I'm thinking that if I am in Auto, I will get 4x if the dial is rotated, but must be able to move forward to engage the transfer case. If the hubs are in Lock, and I turn the dial to 4-high, I will receive instant (or nearly instant) engagement of the transfer case without forward movement (buried in a snowbank on my way out to the fish house where I cannot move all four wheels forward, and do not want to spin the rears as this will mess the x-fer case up).

Am I correct in the rationale or flawed? Tried the search function, but nothing lays this out like I am looking for, and the owners manual online doesn't do much...close but no cigar...figured I'd ask the best.

Thanks all,

 

I too have strayed a bit. My last Ford truck was a 1986 F150 with the manual locking hubs. Very simple and robust. From what I can determine from my limited experience with this system is that when you click the 4H, it signals a solenoid to do what we did manually on our older Fords. You still need some forward motion to engage the hardware and lock the hubs. I think I remember reading once in my F150 manual something about being in 4WD before you actually need it. I think the same holds true for these systems. The folks here who have a heck of lot more experience with the system can confirm or correct me.

 

Thanks Marauder! Did you have the 302 in your 86? I had the 300 straight 6...that thing ran forever. Good trucks.

 

In "auto" the hubs will lock and unlock by themselves as you command 4x4 and 2WD. It's all automatic and no manual locking of the hubs is necessary.

In "lock" the hubs are locked the entire time which is only useful in the event they don't lock by themselves as they should. It's a nice override in case of a vacuum problem, but is never needed if the system is functioning correctly.

 

Ah ha! Thanks Crazy!

 

Good question. It was an 8 and I am sure I would have bought the largest 8 they had at that time. I will see if I can find the original window sticker. I used to keep them. Just hope the wife hasn't thrown them out.

 

It was the 351 CID HO Windsor V8. Had a thundering 210 hp and 305 lb·ft of torque!

 

Ooooo, had a 351 Windsor in an 88' 250...no 4x4 as I purchased it used in the early 90's. there were 3 351's if I remember correctly, Windsor, Cleveland, and "Mixed" (M). That Windsor was a banshee. We certainly have come a long way in terms of output utilization!

 

I think the "Windsor" came from Windsor, Ontario. The truck was rock solid and I understand from the guy I sold it to, that it is still on the road today!

 

the "M" was "Modified", not "Mixed", I believe. the W was a small block, the C was a big block. I had a 351M in my 78 F150. It was also a big block.

not to derail... just adding some info

 

You are right.

In auto the vacuum pump takes time to pull the hubs into 4x4. In manual the hubs are already locked so no need to wait for the vacuum pump to pull them in. The only thing you are waiting on at that point is for the transfer case.

I have broken a set of the auto/ manual hubs before, thought the hubs where pulled in and they really weren't. So I put on the manual hubs after that never had a problem again.

I leave mine in the manual setting all winter as the system reacts faster that way vs auto mode. No real mpg loss that I have seen either.

 

Good add, thanks f

 

Good add, thanks for the classification. Still loved that Windsor.

 

Ah ha! Exactly what I was looking for, thank you for this sledhead!

Leaving the hubs engaged during the winter shouldn't pose any premature wear issues? I suppose not, just another turning shaft or two. I like the "on demand" nature of the locked lock-outs. Thanks again!

 

So the '11 automatic hubs are still vacuum operated?