So i had my front axle worked on a while ago when i was hearing a cluncking and it ended up being my sway bar bushings. and last winter my 4x4 was working completely fine but ever since then its been funky i have ESOF not manual but it seems that when i try engaging it thorugh the switch i hear and feel it engage but i doesnt feel like its in 4x4 after i feel it initially engage. im not sure if it an issue with the ESOF or something mechanical like the hubs but if it is the hubs is there a repair kit that i could get and take a wack at using? what i just tried in my drive way bc there was fresh snow fromt his morning was spinning the wheels in 2wd then switching using the ESOF i heard it "engage" and i tried spinning the wheels but only the rear did same went for locking the hubs, i then locked the hubs and turned the ESOF onto 4wd high and only the rear wheels wpun but there was a like clunk and slight jerking when turning hard i figured it was normal but when i try using the ESOF or just the locked hubs theres no resistance when i try and turn which i know is abnormal because there is usually some resistance.

Sorry for the long post but i would really like to get this fixed by not taking it to the dealer the mechanic i usually go to is out of idea because he does not know alot about the 4x4 system. Any info/help you guys have is greatly appreciated!!!

 

I would suspect you have a hub that is not locking , you could jack up each front wheel and manualy lock the hub then spin the wheel and see if the front axle shaft is spinning. If not you should be able to tell which hub is bad. On mine I got rid of the factory hubs and went with warn hubs , you will lose the convenience of the esof but you always know that when you lock those hubs it will work.

 

Yeah true it was my hubs I took the truck out locked the hubs turned the switch and 4x4the is normal so a hub is bad and I have to manually lock with the esof to make it work. Atleast I can get away with manual lock for the winter :-)

 

Mine has done that at the beach a few times. When your hubs act goofy does you A/C go to defrost? That's what mine sometimes does. Anytime the hubs act up the a/c always goes to defrost. I intend on finding the vacuum bug one day but we don't have winter here so I'm not going into and out of 4 wheel drive a lot. I go to the national seashore and manually lock the hubs since I know I'm driving 60 or 70 miles straight in the sand.

 

If you had someone working around your front end, the most likely problem is that they knocked a vacuum line loose or busted one. Follow the vacuum line from the solenoid down to the front axle where it T's and goes to the hubs. Look for a disconnected or damaged line.

 

I didn't try the a/c but if I lock the hubs and switch the 4x4 on and it worked fine so that can get me through the winter I thiught they were completely shot but manual still works, ill have to investigate further Sunday its gonna snow tomorrow. Where abouts are the vaccum lines?

 

On the passenger side of the engine compartment is a small device with a 3 wire electrical connector and 2 vacuum lines. This is the Pulse Vacuum Hublock solenoid that controls the hubs. One of the vacuum lines goes to the vacuum canister, the other line goes down to the axle where it splits and goes to each hub.

 

Awesome thanks! Ill have to check it out tomorrow morning before the snow flies.

 

loss of vac, will make your heater default to defrost if this happens you will have to find the vac leak to get floor heat back

 

All my vents are working fine so does that mean there is no vac leak?

 

So you had A/C on while toying with the 4x4 and everything was fine? Hubs locked in and A/C kept blowing from vent. Because you want to do it at the same time. Have the A/C (I say that because I'm in San Antonio and that's all we know is A/C) or heat and then go in and out of 4 hi and see if your vents start acting flaky. Your vents may work fine if the vacuum leak is on the front axle. It will only act goofy when your innitiating the vacuum leak then the pump has to keep up with the vents and the leak.

 

Lol ok, yeah I don't really wanna crank the a/c Because its 20 degrees out but I have to go out soon so I will throw the heat on while in 4wd hi and see if it acts fine then post back.

 

Put the heat on the floor, then switch to 4WD. What happens is the PVH solenoid opens up and applies vacuum to the hubs for about 30 seconds to lock them. If there is a serious vacuum leak in the lines going to the hubs, or in the hubs themselves, this will drain enough vacuum off of the system to allow the air direction doors to return to their default position, which is recirculated air through the defrost ducts.

If this happens (air doors revert to default), you can be sure you have a big leak in those lines. Like I said earlier someone probably knocked one loose when they were working on your front end.

If it doesn't happen, it doesn't mean you DON'T have a leak. It just means it's not a big enough one to drain off enough vacuum to effect the doors.

 

I also forgot to mention that when I turn the passenger side hub between lock and auto dust or something comes out of it which made me believe that it was a hub issue.

 

Got it thanks sorry I don't know much about the system and I want to learn so I can fix it myself and not spend a crap load getting it fixed.