I pulled the transmission out of the truck Tonight as it was pretty seized together And I got the engine running it runs really well it’s just very loud as there is no exhaust, so for my preparation of driving Can someone tell me the basics of owning a 60s ford 4x4 as this is my first 4x4 truck I’ve owned I’m wondering how the locking hubs work and do the hubs require gear oil? And am I able to drive with the transfer case in 2 high or should it be in neutral while I’m driving And I’m sure there’s more I forgot and I was wondering what is the factory tire size or should I go a little bigger to fill the wheel well up? and I found out when the transfer case is in neutral when I shift to second gear it’s in the way and they hit each other and won’t allow me to shift so maybe try a different shifter I have several 60s new process transmissions with different shift levers so I can try one of another transmission possibly?

 

Driving down the good roads you'd want the truck in 2H which only drives the rear wheels. On dry pavement or other unforgiving surface you never want it in 4L or 4H since if you go to turn there is nothing to allow slippage and something is likely to break. The owners manuals for these trucks went into some detail about operation as does a 1959 Ford Service publication. However, neither goes into the optional Warn locking hubs. For that you would want the 1961 Shop Manual, which works great for you since it is a 1961 truck. If you pick one up make sure it is for 100 through 800 series. The 850 through 1100 supplement wouldn't do you much good. The Ford & Mercury is actually a Canadian publication and the Ford only publication is identical except for the Canadian specific decode information.

You might be able to see the picture well enough below to suit the need. You can hopefully see you turn the center dial clockwise for Lock and counterclockwise for Free running. You engage the hubs prior to shifting the stick in the truck to either 4H or 4L. 4H is direct 1:1 so the gearing is the same as in 2H. But, 4L is the low range of the Dana 24 and you will find you can pull stumps in this range.

Both of these books go into the rebuilding of the transfer case and the live front axle, but only the 1961 shop manual goes into details about the Warn hubs. You'd want to look at your locking hubs and make sure they have 8 Allen screws holding the hub body like in the picture. That would indicate the original style M4 hubs used from 1959-1965. If yours only have 6 Allen screws they are a newer model. But, I think they look like the older M4 style. Warn was a local company up here in Washington back in the day. They have since moved to Portland.

 

Oh, and on the transmission. The output shaft is the short flanged variety for the 4x4 trucks since they had to have the coupling shaft between it and the transfer case. They were fairly common in 2WD trucks as well. Coupling shaft probably looks more or less like this.



What is ideal is if the transmission has the mounting bosses on the drivers side for the transfer case shift lever bracket. Would look sort of like this picture below. But there are ways to fab something up for that, too.

 

yes the shaft looks just like that and the 4x4 selector is mounted on the drivers side 2 bolts one goes to the transmission crossmember then one mounts on the transmission and connects to the bell housing