Soon my lease on my F-150 will end. It's time to move up the scale to a F-250! My question is this: In all of your collective experiences, which choice do you recommend? An electric transfer case shift or the manual shift. Seems that most of the vehicles I see on the dealers lot are manual shift TC's. This usually is a hint that this might be the way to go.

Thanks! Great Forum!

 

If your talking like manual, floor mounted 4x4 engagement lever with manual hubs. That is the way to go, they are sooo much more reliable.

however, i dont know where your from but im from San Antonio TX area and it took me months to find the truck i wanted(color,eng,subercab) with Manual lever and hubs, seemed to me at the time 99.9% of the trucks in the XLT and Lariet come with shift on the fly....

so for me it was the other way around, hard to find manual...
anyway if your willing to get out and engauge the hubs(which youll proably have to do with your SOF setup too) then the manual is the way to go...

2 of the 8 SD's i test drove the SOF 4x4 didnt even work, dealers said, "vacume hose, fuse, etc etc, no prolem to fix" i was likeProfanity Removed, no thanks

Jetjock16

 

I'm very happy with my ESOF --- 32,000 miles so far without problems. Others have had mechanical problems, and for that reason don't like it. I will say that more guys have had trouble-free ESOF than people who have had issues.

Without starting another ESOF war (anybody else remember "As the Ford Turns"?), all I will say is that manual windows & stick shifts are also inherently less problematic than electric windows and automatic transmissions. You want convenience? You gotta' pay the price. I got my truck with an extended warrantee and a guarantee from the dealership that I get a free loaner for any repairs that require me to wait more than half an hour. ESOF problems? Bring it on!

 

I'm with haroutd. (quickly crawling back into fox hole before the barrage hits)

Waxy

 

haroutd has a good point, but if my power windows stop working, I can open the door, if ESOF fails when your stuck then what?
My application( lots of snow plowing), I like to have a system that is less likely to have a electrical problem when depended upon.
I can take the 7 seconds out of my day to manualy lock my hubs, which by the way, most ESOF owners end up doing anyhow due to some vaccum leak.

I like levers!

 

Admit it Yeti, you just like grabbing things that fit in your fist and jerking them into position

I will add that if I intended to use my truck for serious plowing duty as Yeti does, I might also be inclined to stick with a manual T-case. I still think my truck does its fair share on the front line (32,000 miles in less than a year has to say something), but for my needs ESOF is the way to go. I have no regrets there.

Waxy: Someone call the media -- we agree on something!

 

Well when it's that big and hard, sometimes you just gotta grab it.

You guys just have lever envy!!!

 

Lever envy? Not me, I CHOSE to have a lever... two, actually. One for the tranny and one for the transfer case. ESOF sucks! (ducking now)

-IKE

 

FXDL: It all depends on what you're plan on doing with your new truck. If you ever plan on adding a lot of lift, it might be better to get the ESOF. You can add body lift with a spring lift and go up 12". Mine is a ESOF 91,000 miles on it with no problems but I have not really needed it. I lock it in once a month or so just to make sure it works. I did need it 3 weeks ago I tried to turn around on hwy, crewcab,long bed,wet ditch Had to lock it in to back out. Tires were slipping on hwy, used high range. I wanted the manual but I think over time and resale value on a lariet it's best to get the ESOF. All of my previous 4x4s were manuals.

 

As I well expected it seems there's pros and cons for both systems so far. I would like to clarify my particular scenario. First off, I live in Michigan where winters can be either mild, or as it was this year, rather severe. I don't expect to be using 4 wheel drive all that often. Just those days when the weather warrants it, and perhaps some 2 tracking during the summer. Secondly, it seems that for resale purposes in this area, 4 wheel drive on a pick-up is a "must have" in most poeples minds. (I'm glad I leased my 2 wheel drive F-150!) It seems to be an important option to people in these parts. Perhaps I should have phrased my original question as "what would be recommended for occasional use?"

Thanks again all!

Ron

 

Either one will be fine for occasional use. ESOF would be a better option for your needs, my opinion. Here's the pro's and con's of each.

ESOF:
Pros: Convenience. No need to lock the hubs manually from outside. You don't get your shoes muddy or snow in your boots from having to walk around the vehicle to engage the hubs.
Cons: More complicated parts means more of a chance of failure. If you have vacuum leaks, you can easily engage them manually anyway. If you have electronic problems with the switch or motor, you're stuck until you get service. Then again, your window switch could also break during a rainstorm.

Manual:
Pros: Simpler system, less chance of failure. Things can still go wrong, but there are less parts there that can potentially fail.
Cons: Less convenience. Stop the truck, walk outside, engage the hubs, get back in, pull the lever, then go. Not a huge pain, but something the "occasional user" may want to avoid. I should note, however, that some guys just leave the hubs locked 24/7 when they anticipate they might need it. Then just engage/disengage using the lever. Some have argued this is not good for the truck, although no one has had any proof of it, and the people who do this have reported to ill side-effects.

That's as objective as I can be. You figure out what's right for you.

 

Get the ESOF .... I had the manual hubs and now have the ESOF. There have been more times lately than I can count where I've had a wheel unloaded and simply reached over to activate the 4x4. During the winter a lot of manual guys leave their hubs locked for months at a time - I used to also because you never knew when you might need it. Now I don't worry about it because it's a flick if the **** away and the rest of the time I'm getting better mileage and minimal drag from my front axle.

As for the comment that if the ESOF doesn't engage then what.... then you get out and manually lock your hubs - there are two positions AUTO/LOCK. Manually turning them to lock does exactly what it says it will, then just flip the switch to 4HI or LO and away you go.

I like my lever - my girlfriend likes my lever - now I just play with my ****

Mombo

 

FXDL My truck is less than 2 months old and I thought I was going to order it but found one on the lot with only three things I didn't want, Reverse sensors (which I like now), 6 disc (because I knew I was going to upgrade the HU) and ESOF . I had posted a poll on this site asking people how well their ESOF worked and most responses were no problem. The poll got wiped out when FTE changed the forum format awhile ago. If it ever happens that the transfer case does not engage when I REALLY need it I will regret I ever bought the truck off the lot. As said before, you can always lock the hubs in but not the Tcase. My buddies 2001 with 40K and ESOF has had no problems. If you want the manual and can find a truck you like with it, then buy it. These trucks are too new, but it will be interesting when a bunch of ESOF trucks have 200K miles or so how well the system has held up.

 

You like the reverse sensors too? I will tell you I HATED them when I saw them but they were already on the truck - at a cost of 245.00 ....... a thousand miles later and parallel parking jobs too numerous to mention downtown I can say I really like them. Definitely money well spent even if I would have never gotten them in the first place...

Now those silly adjustable pedals? as if my girlfriend will EVER drive my truck

 

Hey MobeyDick, i was just wondering why you would want ESOF more if you were going to lift your truck, SUSPENSION lift will have no effect on the engaugement of the 4x4, only need extened driveshafts, body lift on the other hand will have adverse effects on the engaugement of manual and ESOF, manual will effect the height and movement of the lever, ESOF will stretch the many vacume hoses and elec lines which fail all the time anyway, cant imagine it would help that cause.