This is my first 4WD and I've got stuck twice. First time I had my toy hauler, ground was really soft I was in 4WD and had to turn around on a sketchy slippery road and the truck sank pretty quick pretty deep. Had someone pull me back on to main road and didn't worry about it too much thinking it was just the heavy truck and deep wet sand.

Then yesterday my daughter and I take the dirt bikes out for a day ride, we decide to go down this sandy trail everybody drives down, I had clicked to 4WD as soon as we were on dirt (1 mile before the sand). As we start through the sand the truck is starting to dig. Give it a little juice and we loose even more momentum and end up stuck. After some digging and a few attempts we are buried to the axle and need some help. At this point I'm thinking the F-250 is just too heavy to do anything off road. So we unload the bikes and find a guy with a SxS and a winch willing to help. As we are working it we realize the truck is not spinning the front wheels at all. I unscrew my Method caps, click the lockers from auto to lock and with minimal winch help the truck works it's way out of the holes.

My truck is a '21, I click 4H anytime I am on dirt and tested the auto locking once or twice in a parking lot to make sure it engages when I first bought the truck new. Are we not supposed to trust the auto system and get out and lock the hubs like it's a 1970's truck??? I will be inspecting and troubleshooting things this afternoon.

 

I've got a 2020 and same i have to lock my hubs for my 4x4 to work i have about 60k on mine now bought it with 50k and didnt work then. Havent really gone through figuring out why. My brother in law has a 19 and same thing auto hubs don't work. Sounds like a common issue the very little I looked into it.

 

You are basically living the experience many of us have had. I got stuck in snow on a logging road way back in the woods. It was spring and the road was regular two track with no snow, all hard dirt. About three miles in, there was a patch of snow that hadn't melted. It was probably 18" deep. I hit the 4wd switched and proceeded. We made it about half way through. Hit reverse and just buried it. Did the same as you, dug it out and tried reversing out of it. The icy snow was so slippery that the rear end just slid down into a ditch. Now we were totally F-d. No getting out. We were in bad. Like video on you tube bad. Did I mention that we didn't have a shovel and were all three in shorts and flip flops.

So, we walked a mile until we could get cell coverage and called for help. My buddies bailed on me and just walked the extra two miles out to the cabin, can't blame them. When the guy got there (husband of our real-estate agent as we'd just closed on the place and I knew no one), he was in a big a$$ dodge so he was loving it. He walks over to the front of the truck and flips the hubs to lock and says, "try it now." Even though we were stuck bad, she almost got out on her own. It just took a little winch to get us free.

That was the last time I relied on those piece of crap auto hubs.

 

Mine work fine. But I cycle them at least twice a week. Use it or lose it. Your ESOF will die next, if you continue ignoring maintenance.

We switch to manual Warn hubs when the autos leak, or freeze up. Manual hubs are the best 4x4 option out there. Leave them locked, if youre lazy.

 

Uh, they have both, auto and manual, so if your auto fails, you still have manual. I guess you could just get a set of Kenda tires and it will go anywhere and climb over anything and you wouldn't need 4wd at all.

 

What maintenance needs done to ESOF? I do cycle my hubs a couple times a year, but never had a problem with them working via ESOF.

 

It's just my opinion, but I feel like you need to turn them manually a few times a year to keep them from sticking. I'd also pull the hubs once a year and make sure they're lubed and check the vacuum lines at that time too. I also regularly turn the 4wd **** to 4 high at least once a week just to keep everything moving. I've never had issues with any of my auto shifting trucks doing this and have heard of people having issues that don't. Just my one sample size of 1 though and your mileage may vary.

I switched to the Warn manual hubs which are all metal and don't have the plastic parts that factory hubs have and also bolt on with 6 bolts instead of the factory 3.

 

I’m the OP thanks for all the input. Inspected and found a broken line on the drivers side.

ordered a silicone hose kit from Amazon, will be replacing both sides. https://a.co/d/7fcvhPg

 

It’s not the trucks fault
Be smarter than the conditions you are in- engage four wheel drive BEFORE you get into adverse conditions.

 

Not sure if that was a PSA or a response to those of us who got stuck relying on vacuum lock auto hubs? If the first option, yes, good PSA for sure. If the later, please go back and read the post for clarity.

 

They say you should engage the 4wd occasionally so the shift motor doesn't quit working. And it's a good idea to lock the hubs in a few times a year and drive with the front end spinning to circulate the gear oil and get it warm to burn off any condensation that might have accumulated.

 

Trust me- it was a PSA for the former. Far too many think shift on the fly is the “get me out of trouble switch.”
If you consider it as such your already in trouble.

 

Maybe. I lost traction backing up a snow covered grass hill, at a city park yesterday.

I was in 2wd because of the tight turns, and otherwise high traction in deep snow. Then again, I knew nothing was risky and 4wd would pull me out fine.

Id already be in 4wd for anything sketchy, or anything off road in a straight line.

 

Mine quit working about a year ago-ish. At maybe 55k. And I used the heck out of them. Usually weekly. Multiple times a week. Was randomly talking to a guy with a 17' or 19' at Costco and he had the same thing going on. Decided these things are junk. I leave mine locked in now.

 

So physically locked and just use the switch on the dash to engage?