Yes.
Nope.

The switch on the dash does it all.


If for some reason your hubs don't function, then you can get out and lock them manually.

Clear?

 

The manual lever is only A backup incase the vaccum fails.

 

The "dial on the hubs", F250Wheels. Let's not confuse him with "lever" and such. This seems to be a hard enough system to understand as it is.

 

Big Orn, if I was gonna be out in a muddy, steep, rugged area all day and needed my 4x4 system guaranteed to work at all times.........shouldn't I just lock my hubs manually in the morning and unlock them at night just to be certain of guaranteed 4x4 performance at all times during the day? Why wait for the auto-hubs to fail?

 

Thanks big!

As I havn't got my new truck yet, what does the ford manual say about when to use the hubs?

 

Yes.................................

 

You only need to operate the hubs manualy if something fails in the automatic system.

 

I agree also.

 

7 Ford trucks with auto hubs since 1991, in all that time there was only 1 of the trucks that had a problem and that occured at over 100K. No it is not as easy as just flipping the switch to engage or disengage every time, is there wheel hop? Not disengaged! Put it in four wheel drive once in a while even when you don't need it, move those mechanical parts a little. No you can't ignore them until someday you need them, they need service too. If you are going to bury the hubs in water quite often or run in the elements every weekend, I think manual may be better but even they need a little TLC on a regular basis then, they use moving parts for engagement too and can stick. Oh when they don't work it may come to bite me again some day, but for the most part I for one have been okay with the auto feature on my trucks.

 

On the ESOF system, the hubs lock when the system is engaged. So when you feel the need to use 4WD....

Also, do not engage 4WD when on hard surfaces. (this is debatable as to why, but the main reason is wear and tear on the gearing and components) I have left my 4WD locked in on hard surfaces when occasional sheets of ice were on the pavement and had no ill effects.

Let me add that, as designed, the ESOF system is one unit. The hubs do not work independently of the switch on the dash...unless you manually lock them. When you lock the hubs you still will not get power to the front wheels unless ESOF system is engaged. The switch on the dash engages the system, which means it energizes the transfer case, which sends power to the front diff, which powers the wheels after the hubs are automatically locked.

If you turn the switch on the dash to 4WD (either High or Low) the hubs will (are designed to) lock at that moment. "At that moment" could mean up to 45 seconds depending on how often you exercise the system...and engaging this sort of setup is required fairly often if you want it to work when you turn the ****.

Hope this answers some questions.

I don't know if they've improved ESOF since '99, but if not, I would suggest going with the manual setup.

What's so bad about getting out and locking hubs?

Most of us got the ESOF because we couldn't pass up the deal on the truck. We then had to learn all the little headaches about it just to make it functional.

 

I couldn't agree more, All these problems with front hubs is caused by abuse, or lack of use.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. But, can someone please explain the vacuum that was mentioned? It was my understanding that the hubs were totally mechanical even with ESOF. That's why it didn't matter if you switched to manual hubs (like Warn). The difference would be that I'd need to get out and shift the hubs manually prior to switching the **** on the dash. The Warn technical rep. told me the axle was the same with ESOF or not. I wonder if I simply have a vacuum problem then? Where are the vacuum lines located if there are any?

 

It's not debatable, it's mechanical engineering and the principles of physics!

Your differential allows your left and right wheels to turn at different speeds, like when turning a corner and the outside wheel needs to turn faster than the inside wheel. Your front diff does the same thing. When you lock it in 4WD, the diffs still do their thing for mismatched speeds between left and right wheels... but there is no mechanism for dealing with mismatched speeds between front and back wheels. (AWD cars have a diff in the transfer case, but we're talking about our trucks, which don't.)

The mechanism that ends up dealing with that is the fact that you only use 4WD on slippery surfaces. So the front and back axles end up spinning at the same speeds by virtue of the fact that one set of wheels ends up getting pushed or dragged by the other, which it can do because the tires aren't locked well to the driving surface.

But when they are well-locked to the driving surface, like on a dry asphalt road, then it becomes a more evenly matched contest. *Something* has to give, to keep the axles spinning at the same speed. Maybe it will be the tire's grip on the pavement, maybe it will be one of your axle shafts, maybe it will be some gear teeth or a chain inside the transfer case. But something will give. And in those circumstances you simply can't depend on it being the grip of the tires on the surface.

(Ask any early Land Rover owner which gives in first: tire grip on asphalt, or axle shaft at the diff end...)

Duncan

 

A vacuum leak or failed vac. pump, which would also would affect your AC controls. The vacuum lines are right inside of the front wheels. from there i'm not sure.

 

Frobozz - I question your comment about being locked in 4 wheel drive and the differential still allowing the left and right wheels to rotate at their own pace. That maybe true is some instances on some surfaces but not all, as that is the reason for the suggestion to not drive in 4X4 on dry hard dry surfaces, wheel hop or whatever you want to call it suggests that the wheels at times can not rotate independent of the other i.e. while cornering. Maybe I misunderstood your comment.