I recently bought a 95 f150 with pushbutton four wheel drive and I was excited to finally not have to get out of the truck to lock in the four wheel, since whenever I need the fourwheel I am either buried in mud or snow. Well first time I took it mudding I figured out the four wheel drive didn't work when I had to get pulled out by a toyota tocoma, embarassing. I narrowed the problem down to one of the automatic lockouts, I would really like to keep them auto, just extremely convenient especially if my wife would ever need to use it. I called the dealership and they are 350 bucks per side just for parts, ridiculous. Nobody makes any aftermarket ones that I can find, I was hoping someone could help point me in a direction to either find cheaper ones or is there something I can do to fix them myself? Thanks guys look forward to your responses

 

That's because nobody replaces their hubs with autos...ever. You should be engaging them before you need them, not during or after! I had the same issue a few days ago. I went with some Warn Standards. It's nice to know that the 4wd is going to work when you want it to.

 

I understand most people do not trust automatic hubs, but my dad has a 96 with 180,000 and the four wheel drive always works when you need it, I was hoping for some help with the automatics, if I cannot get any I guess I will have to switch to manual, thank you for your response, but again I am looking for help with autos not just a bunch of people telling me to switch to manual.

 

I'm not telling you to switch to manual, just that the ford auto locking system is very unreliable. I know that Warn manufactured the originals. You might want to try the junk yard but odds are those are trashed too. What you need to do is pull them apart and see where the real problem lies. There should be a 4 pronged washer inside the hub that meshes with the auto locker. If that is not there, then the auto lockers don't work. Also, if there are any tabs broken off from the auto locker, they won't work. A bunch of people are going to tell you to switch to manual because it's the only logical choice.

 

switch over to manual lockers bush!
ok,i think you know your options then anyway.either bend over and pay ford,or hit the salvage yard and try finding a decent pair.
if your wondering if they can be repaired,then the answer is no.very doubtful anyway.they made 'em very light duty and they mangle up in there.im sure the wife can handle turning a couple dials on the wheels when the roads turn slick in LA.

 

I guess I already kind of new I was going to have to switch, I was hoping the right person might see this and know something I have been missing, it is worth a shot. And for the record I am in the military, that is the only reason I am in LA, I plan on moving back to the north country as soon as possible. Thanks guys

 

ahh.well it takes just a min to show the wife what to do,and inform her to lock them BEFORE entering slippery conditions.likely she'll just be driving on road anyway right?
so just show her to turn the dials (and stress the importance of during them both to match.) realistically,it just takes pulling over for 30 seconds if it starts getting bad to lock them in before she hits the 4wd button on the dash.teach her that in 1 minute,and you'll know she'll always be able to go instead of risk getting stranded with them cheaply built auto lockers.you and her really will be happier with 'em.
it sounds good to be able to just push a button and go.but really,after 2-3 times manually locking them in,your over the slight inconvenience and used to the reliability.
there sold just about everywhere.tell the parts guy your converting from the auto lockers and that you'll also need to manual locking lock nut setup.he'll get ya what you need.

 

fine I give up but now I can't get the damn hub apart, the wheel retaining ring appears to need a special tool to get out, the book says there is a ring holding it in but I don't see a damn thing, help me out

 

you need a small screw driver.the ring is recessed in the hub but their is a part of the ring that has an opening shimmy the small screwdriver in there and with another small flat head get under ut and work your way around and out comes the locking ring.
if you havent gotten the hubs yet i think i have a pair floating around here message me if ur interested you can have the pair for like 65 bucks........+ shipping

 

can get you a pair of manuals for around the same price.....

 

google: d44 spindle nut socket.
oh,your not quite there yet.but you'll need that socket eventually.found at most auto stores.

 

The ring is hidden Behing a small tab that you take out with needle nose pliers. You will then see the two ends of the ring. Squeeze them together with the pliers and while you still have them squeezed together pull out the hub.

 

Hey guys thanks for all the help, I posted a new thread for the wheel retaing ring to try to get the right help, but I ended up using a screwdriver and a hammer and unscrewing it that way, should have known I would have to use a hammer somewhere in this project. I got the manuals on and its good to go. To be more specific about what I am talking about:

First I removed cap, then found the tiny damn retaining ring and had to buy a pick set to get that out, after that the large part of the auto hubs came off

Next I had to remove 2 washers, then another retaining clip, then the cam or whatever it is called, had some plastic, a spring, and some catches for the outside part of the auto hub

Then I was down to the wheel retaining ring, book said it was different on a 95 than a 94 or older, said there was a clip holding it in, figured out it was screwed on there, there were notches all around so after cussing it out good I used a screw driver and a hammer to tap it and unscrew it.

Lastly, you need a conversion kit, there is a nut with a pin goes in first, then a locking washer that has holes to lock into that pin, then another washer to keep it all in. After that I just had to slide the lockout in and put that outer retaing clip back in and put the cap on.

It was a bit of a headache, so I am hoping anyone else searching the internet with this problem in the future finds this helpful, thanks again for the rest of the FTE community help and input

 

oh and I forgot to mention for the nuts on the conversion kit you need the d44 spindle nut socket that fordf250hdxlt mentioned earlier, it wont get that wheel retaining ring out though, I already had one from my previous vehicle, 93 bronco with manual hubs

 

i hope you did some cleaning and regreasing whilst you were in their
no fun doing it all over again should looked at bearings and such too :P