I bought a 2001 F-150 4x4 off-road last summer. I have gone many winters wallering around in the snow, ice, mud and sleet in Northern Missouri in a couple of 2wd Ford pickups, and decided that it was time to get one with 4wd. Really couldn't afford one of the new ones, but found this really nice low mileage new ones at a local Ford dealer. When I was shopping around for one, most I seen had this automatic "shift on the fly" 4x4 engagements. I really wanted one that was manually engaged (going with the theory that less electronics - less problems), but was assured by most Ford dealers that the autos were trouble free. Since I have owned it, I turned the switch to 4wd, and lo and behold the the 4x4 light would light up on the dashboard, and I felt the world was fine. Of course this was done on dry gravel roads on the way home from work, so there was no real way of foreseeing any problems. When the first snow came last Wednesday, it decided to drop about 7 inches of the wet sloppy snow that tends to make driving interesting. No worries, just flip the switch, and all will be fine. I drive on secondary paved roads for the most part, and they were a real mess. After about five minutes of driving, I determined that the 4wd was not engaged, though the light on the dashboard said it was. I made it home, pulled into the yard (which had about 5 inches of snow in it), asked my wife to watch the front wheels as I tried to make the 4wd work. My wife confirmed my findings, the front wheels were not pulling. To say the least, I was a little disappointed that a truck that was less than five months old to me was not operating properly. An immediate phone call was placed to the dealership where I bought the truck to ascertain how and when they were going to fix this problem. I spoke with the "salesman's supervisor" and described the problem. The individual stated that it sounded like a servo had gone bad and that it was a common problem. This was the wrong thing to say. I then stated that the salesman who I bought the truck from assured me that the automatic "shift on the fly" was trouble free. The supervisor said he would take care of it. I have a date for this Monday to see if they can fix this "trouble free" system. Any one else had this problem? I'll let all know how this turns out, and if I can, what broke.

 

Usually the solenoids on the firewall can stick. As a rule of thumb, after it is repaired, engage it once a month just to keep everything working. I have a 2001 OffRoad myself and I have done this every since I got it and it has always worked.

 

For future buyers such as myself. (Hope to buy a 97 F150 4x4 scab xlt next weekend and retire the 95) what is a good way to test the 4x4 on a test drive or inspection. I will be buying the truck from a private party not a dealer with a warranty?

Chris

 

Thanks for the reply LxMan1. I'll be sure to mention something to the dealership when I see them tomorrow. I am sure it will be interesting, considering the truck was out of warranty when I bought it (About 50 miles out of warranty), and I fully expect them to make good on this. Time will tell. I'll try to get a message out after it is repaired to report what broke, so others may have an idea when this "trouble free" system has a problem.

 

Well to tell the end of the story. I went to the Ford dealership where I bought the truck on Monday. I wheeled the truck into the service bay for my appointment. I found the salesman and he conferred with the service manager to fix the truck. A service tech raised the truck, turned the 4x4 switch and put the truck in drive. The rear wheels spun, but the front were idle. The service tech checked a few lower end components, then lowered the truck to the ground and popped the hood. After a few minutes of inspection, he closed the hood, rolled the truck off the rack, and took it outside for a spin around the lot. He came back into the building and declared the truck was fixed. As the service manager, salesman and his supervisor were "conferencing", I asked the service tech to show me what broke. He showed me that the two vacuum lines from the solenoids located on the fire wall which activate the hub lock-outs were disconnected. Probably had been that way since I bought the truck, considering they are usually very hard to disconnect. The salesman and service manager agreed there would be no charge, and did not have much to say after that. I guess I should have questioned there quality inspection procedures on used trucks. Hopefully this is helpful to someone who has a similar situation.

 

I just had a similar problem with my '97. The transfer case would engage but the front wheels wouldnt pull. I found that the vacuum lines were dry & brittle where they plug together over the right fender well and that one of them had broken. I had been stressing over this for two weeks and was relieved to find that repair only took about 5 minutes and cost me nothing.

 

Hey all I also had this happen to my '97 SC Lariat wound up finding that one of the lines had melted.... Of course this was after searching in all types of terrain and water and very deep mud looking for an airplane that fell out of the sky... The Chevy guys wouldn't go most of the places that needed looked at Guess they didn't want to walk

 

I have found the Wrangler RT/S shoes tend to be the limiting factor on how far through the "muck" the truck will go. What are the opinions out there for a good tire that will see 80% hard surface road miles and 20% gravel,field access road, and off-road miles. I have been looking at Bridgestone Duellers, but have not settled on them.