Well I didn't get to look at anything yesterday. It was cold/raining/snowing. I will hopefully get a chance to look tonight. I have the manual hubs on my truck. The PO removed the ESOF hubs. As far as I know, the lines were capped, but I will have to look more closely.

Even though mine is a gas model, it still has the vacuum pump correct? My initial thought was only diesels had the pump.

 

Vacuum pump will still be there if OE ESOF system. It all ties into the HVAC system.

How do you like the Warn hubs?

 

Ok. I will have to take a look this week.

I actually have a factory set of manual hubs. I've always like manual hubs and I've never liked vacuum actuation lol. I don't mind getting out to lock them in. I like knowing that they are locked in. I did this write up on them last year. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...9-04-hubs.html

 

Ah, some reason I thought that was another Auto lube hub thread. Went to your first page and saw Warn Premium too. Ooops. Wonder how much those manual hubs run new?

 

Ohhhhh, I planned to switch them out at some point. But for the time being these ones are fine.

I imagine they were not cheap. The truck had been serviced by Ford for all of its life. I imagine the PO spent a pretty penny getting that fixed.

 

So i just ran out and checked. I still have rubber hoses going to my axles. Do autoparts stores sell plugs for these?

 

Answer. 1/8" NPT pipe plug with teflon tape

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...iscussion.html

 

Thanks Bently!

So I have found my vacuum leak. I stopped after work and got the variety pack of vacuum plugs. In the parking lot I pulled off my hoses for the ESOF and capped them. Nothing changed. Just for fun, I put the truck in 4x4 and my vents started working.... for less than a minute, then quit again. The culprit was the solenoid to engage the front hubs. Apparently they are known for cracking. I suppose mine is also in the boat.









With the little extra time I had, I got my holes drilled for the control box I will be mounting in the bed. i think I am going to hit it with a few coats of silver tonight and then start soldering.

 

I finally had the time to sit down and get some soldering done.

Re-painted trailer connector and bracket


Harness modification


The ground was tough because it appeared to be #10 or #8. It was almost too big for the soldering gun. I had to use clamps to hold it together.







Soldered up and put back together






The harness is ready to go back on the truck now. Next, I looked at wiring the push buttons. One change I made I put a screw terminal block in the wiring box to connect all the external wiring. The wire I am using is slightly too big for the switches.... the blades to solder to are quite tiny. I also didn't want to accidentally pull on a wire and rip a blade off of a switch.

Started


Finished


Heatshrunk




All buttoned up


Next I need to drill holes for the wiring, measure wiring length, and install connectors. The wheels are in motion now....

 

Looking good cant wait to see how this all looks installed!

 

Thanks I'll get there eventually

 

Reps sent for the wiring.

 

Much to my dismay, I did not get to finish the bed lights. I was able to get my new tires mounted Saturday.







The are slightly louder than the Firestone HTs I just took off. Then seem to be almost as smooth and rode nicely on the highway. I did discover that the fine people of Walmart only put 35 psi in a load range E tire.... which made the truck ride exceptionally smooth. I did up the pressure to 60 all around because at 35 I could tell they were low.

Here is where I am thinking of mounting the control box



The only bad thing is that I will have to modify the bed cover L channel to accommodate the new screws. We will see what I can get to this week.

 

How are you liking the tires. I am in the market for new tires, my current set are the Cooper Discoverer HTP LT265 /75 R16 123R E1, didn't like them. Looking for a different set.

 

I have them on my Ranger as well. They were fantastic last winter which is why I got a set for my F250. That combined with great rebates from Discount Tire Direct. After all the rebates and mounting and balancing, I have $600 in these tires.

If you use your truck in the snow or in any off road environment at all, I STRONGLY encourage an all terrain tire. My neighbor just replaced his highway tires on his Ranger because he could barely get up our hill in 4x4. There is no point in having a truck if it can't take you where you need to go. The fuel mileage gain from a highway tread tires is so minimal that I can't even think it is worth while.

Hope this helps