First snow day of the year here in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and I've got a bit of a problem with my truck. Its 4WD has not been working for some months (don't have the money to have it looked at). Essentially, 4WD-High does not work at all. When I do put it in 4-Low, it gets stuck. That is to say, it'll engage and work normally, but I can't get it back out of 4-Low. Which is quite the problem when you're limited to 5-10MPH on a freeway.

Is there anyway I can crawl underneath and force it out somehow? Any tips that might help disengage 4-Low? At this point I'd rather be stuck with 2WD than this.

Its a 1990 F-150 XLT Lariat 4x4 with the E40D and the 5.8L.

 

Push button 4wd or lever?

 

Lever with manual hubs. And its worth noting that I can in fact pull the lever back into 4-High and 2WD, but that doesn't disengage it. Which seems to suggest there is some sort of disconnect going on between where the lever is and what the transfer case is doing.

 

I had a 87 F250 4 x 4 Dually and the sun visor stated that you had to put it in reverse and back up 10-20 feet to release the clutches after unlocking the hubs.

Look at your sun visor and see if you have these instructions. Or just try it.

Good Luck!

Boon

 

That is for Autolock hubs. My 89 did this a while back. The main shift fork broke which let the main shaft spin. When it did it locked the low fork in low. You could move the lever and it felt like it was shifting but that was the detents.
You are going to need to take the tcase out and apart. You will probably need 2 forks and a pump. The parts are not that expensive and if you are handy and careful, you can do this yourself.
Good luck.

 

Sounds like you need a transfer case then

 

Damn it. Even if its just the shift fork? I'm not familiar at all with transfer cases, as I've never had any problems with this one or my other Fords, but if it is just a replacement of the shift fork, wouldn't that be it?

Or is there potential for other damages?

 

Yea, there could be other damage. A used tcase shouldn't be that expensive. And they are easy to install.

 

Hello and good morning.

Actually, my hubs were Warn Manual Locking.

Take care

Boon

 

For 100-150 you can buy a used t-case and swap it out in an hour

 

Brad's experienced 1 hour = most people's 3 hours, lots of busted knuckles, some choice words, and at least one bump on the head.

 

Even if it takes 3 or 4 hours, just take it slow and pay attention. You are not on anybody's clock. You can do the little things that most shops cannot afford to do timewise speaking. Get it in, enjoy how it works, and beat on your chest .

 

Oh yeah. I wasn't saying don't do it, just don't expect it to take an hour. Everybody should at least try doing there own work. Even if you don't have a clue, get a buddy who does and do it together. Have fun doing it. And yes, beat on your chest when you are done!

 

Hello and good afternoon

This is not the right thread but I just wanted to reply. I will be starting a big modification; removing the exhaust manifolds and installing some shorty headers. This is routine for most of the members but nonetheless a challenge for me.

Thanks

Boon

 

I generally do my own work if I deem it easy enough for me. So no engine or rear end swaps (risk factor too high). Like I mentioned, I really have had no problems with F-Series transfer cases before, so I know nothing about them. I assumed they were more expensive/harder to install, but I'll definitely look more into it after the input in this topic.

Thanks for the tips everyone, much appreciated!