Got my first F250 superduty this past summer... 2000 supercab! LOVE It. I got a great price on it and I'm still giddy about it.

Yesterday we got some snow and I tried to get the 4x4 locked in and could not. I locked the hubs, put it in neutral and turned the switch, I could hear "click" but it would not lock in. I even tried this on the fly.

I have been doing some research, inside each of my front wheel wells there is a black rubber hose (about a 1/4"), this tube looks like it is supposed to attach to a "nipple" in the inside of the wheel. This hose is rotted and I can not get it back on. I noticed this hose this summer and never bothered to do anything as it ran just fune.

My question..... Is this a vacuum hose and is this why my 4x4 will not work? If so, Is it an easy fix?

Thanks in advance!

 

Yes, and Yes.

The hose is a vacuum hose for the 4X4 system. It uses vacuum to pull in a diaphragm in the auto hubs. If the hoses are shot, there no vacuum, no 4WD.

Replace the hoses and check all vacuum connections. You can still lock in 4WD manually by turning the hubs from "auto" to "lock".

Long term, do a bit of research and you'll find that the auto hubs on these trucks were the weak point in the 4WD system and a lot of people (myself included) change out the auto hubs for manual locking hubs, either Mile Marker or Warn.

 

hmmm... I know the line is not attached so I will take care of that.
I did get out and turned it to "lock" and them put it in 4x4 and still nothing. Still caused by that line?

 

No. If it didn't lock in after you turned them to lock, then the problem is in the hubs as well. There's a write up in the tech section about how to pull them apart to clean and lube them.

 

the tech folder is a very good resource for fixing issues like that. i too agree with barthel, you should remove ur auto hubs and buy some warm, or mile marker lock out hubs and install those. the bad thing is, u wont be able to shift on the fly without locking ur hubs. u will either have to get out and lock them, or drive around with them locked when it snows. the internal parts on the stock hubs are plastic i believe and will eventually go bad or have problems.

 

Did your 4X4 light come on on your dash when you turned the switch?

 

Yes, The light was on when it switched it over

 

I have an '04 Personally I would take the hubs apart an clean them, my "auto" doesn't work, but after cleaning them my "manual" does and I really can't see the point in switching to a warn or mile marker locking hub if the OEM "manual" still works, clean them it isn't a hard process. In your case the vacuum lines make take care of the problem altogether for the "auto" and shift on the fly will still work as long as your hubs are locked in to "manual"

 

With the hubs unlocked and the transfer case in 4x4, climb under the truck and try to turn the front driveshaft. This will physically confirm the transfer case is engaged.

Next, with the transfer case in 2wd and the hubs locked, try to turn the front axle at the U-joint right behind the hub on each side. This will tell you if you have a hub that isn't engaging.