My 06 F150 was recently totalled in a T-bone accident. I decided I needed to replace it with something bigger as I had been pushing it's limits towing my tractor, trencher, etc and I really needed 4WD. I just bought an 02 F350 4x4 crew cab with 7.3L powerstroke. I ought it from a Chevy dealer who had taken it in trade and he had no real info. Here are my questions.

1. The 4wd engages via a switch on the dash. However, there is a **** connected to a cable just to the right of the drivers seat. The cable runs down through the tranny tunnel and is connected to some kinf of switch/shifter on the side of the transmission. Exactly what does this operate?

2. The truck has a DPtuner installed. Does anyone know how I can determine how this thing is set up. I know it can have multiple settings.

Thanks in advance for any input.

Rusty

 

Question #1, could that be a PTO?

 

switch on the dash prolly dose the hubs in and out that cabel **** thing is likely to shift the t case in and out .....try the dp web site for the info on that tuner....

 

My guess was a PTO also cause it bolts to the trans. I thought that was where they usually are on the SD. I may be wrong though.

 

Guess I'll have to check it out. Don't see any place for a PTO hookup. The switch on the dash reads 4 high and 4 low so I assumed all shifting for the 4wd was done there.

 

I'm thinking pto also but on that new ofa truck the pump was on the motor hay anything is possible pull it and see
The 4wd is all located in dash to go into low put in neutral and press the break and you should hear it engage

 

Moved to the 1999 - 2003 7.3L Powerstroke Diesel forum.

 

I have taken pics of the control **** and the part attached to the transmission. Any way that I can attach them to a post to let you folks see if you can identify it?

 

I found an exploded drawing of the tranny and did some more searching. The ****/cable connects to a "Manual control lever" on the side of the transmission. This lever has attached to it a "Transmission Range sensor" which is also called a "Manual Lever position sensor" or MPLS. Now all I need to know is exactly what this "Manual control lever" controls. I guess if nobody here knows I'll swing by the service at one of the local Ford dealers and see if any of their people have seen this before.

 

Rusty, maybe see if you can find any info on the previous owner (Carfax, etc) and then contact DP Tuner to see what that owner had burned to that chip?

 

unfortunately Carfax doesn't give owner info. They just show when it was retitled. Maybe I can find something from DPS.

 

I was chasing the wrong cable. What I described before is the shift linkage. I found the cable coming from the unknown **** and it goes to a collar around the driveshaft just ahead of the u-joint on the rear differential. Looks like it is on a spline. Any ideas what it is?

 

That my friend is for towing your truck. People install those to pull behind motor homes and r.v.'s. That way the drive shaft does not turn inside the transmission when the engine is turned off. Engine turns torque convertor which turns transmission oil pump.......................you get the idea.

 

The clunk that you hear when you 'engage' the 4wd is the transfer case going in. The 'auto' hub locks engage by a vacum line. If a seal has a leak in it at the hubs the hub will most likely not engage. If this happens and you know that your hubs are not locked in, you can loch them in manuelly at the hub.

 

Awesome. That makes perfect sense since there is a frame mounted base plate for a tow bar on the front. Mystery solved, thanks. Now I just need to find out how the DPtuner is set up. I guess the folks there are busy getting all their stuff out the door before the holidays since I've had no response from them.