Looking for help on a 2003 F-150 4x4 Lauriet Supercab with all the goodies - 20 months old, 38.5K miles. Front hubs not engaging. I had the same issue on the replaced '94 Ranger (230k+ miles - with all service, except the last, done personally). Dealer repair is out of the question due to long history of extremely poor service at 4+ dealers (I won't bore with details). Truck is useless without 4x4 mode as I am in the Boston area (record snow this year). Are manual locking hubs adviseable? - this was done easily and cheaply on the Ranger after several attempts by dealer and others (incl myself) to get working consistently. Hope it don't offend, but its fixed quick or it goes for a Titan (long time Ford owner, 8 Mustangs and several trucks, but brand loyalty is not an issue here - it either works or it don't). Thanks in advance for any help offered.
Sorry guys (and gals) - did what I should have done earlier and searched for this issue - lots of info already here.
Question though - in (attempting to) fix the Ranger, 'professional' mechanics, both Ford and others, offered that this system was a common problem. Couldn't Ford offer manual hubs? I would have purchased manual transfer shift for the F-150 but they're hard to find and basically available only on the lower end models. I'd much prefer manual shift with manual hubs. One experience being stuck in a (new) 4x4 while 2 wheel drive (even rear wheel) cars pass you by makes the 'auto' system seem pretty silly. Not to mention the danger of being stuck in the road (my wife drives the F-150 a lot and this is just unacceptable)! If you're worried about getting your shoes dirty or getting cold, by all means get the auto system - and cross your fingers when you really need it.

 

Your truck does not have hubs. The disconnect point for the front axle is actually at your differential. Manual hub conversion with your set-up is a no-go.

Several different areas to check. The usual problem is the transfer case if you have the dash mounted switch. Check connectors if you have been through water (or high centered in snow). The transfer case has two motors one to shift and the other to spin the drive shaft up to speed. They get stuck on occasion and may have done so in the cold weather. Another area is the vacuum solenoids mounted on the passenger side fire wall. Audible clicks should be heard as you shift into 4hi from under the hood. The final area is the differential itself. The two items that jump out at me is the vacuum hoses/motor and the shift fork internal to the diff.

I know how frustrating it can be to buy something and expect it to work. Hopefully some one can assist you in the troubleshooting end a bit better than I.

-Kerry

 

Hi cjstang and welcome to the forum

Do the 4x4 lights on the dash come on in 4x4? If not then you could have a switch or transfer case motor problem like Kerry said.
I had one yesterday at work that the front axle wouldn't engage but the lights on the dash showed it should be in 4x4. It turned out to be the lever on the front axle was too stiff for the vacuum motor to move.
On the front diff is a black plastic cover with 3 bolts holding it on. Remove that and you will see the vacuum motor for the center axle disconnect. While watching that, with the engine running, have someone put it in and out of 4x4. The vacuum motor should pull the lever back when in 4x4 and push it in when in 4x2. If that doesn't happen then check for vacuum at the hoses in 4x2 and 4x4. One hose should have vacuum in 4x4 and the other should have vacuum in 4x2. If they do then take a pry bar and try moving the lever back and forth. If it's stiff just try moving it a few times in either direction to see if it frees up.
If you don't have vacuum to the motor then you could have a vacuum line problem, usually near the battery.

 

Thanks for the quick response guys. The indicator light does come on & the 'click' can be heard from the transfer case (why I suspected the axle engagement to start, not 'hubs' as I've been corrected). Based on previous posts I tried the following:
- I pulled the two electrical connectors and then the hard vac lines (two pair) from the solenoids. Tracing the lines I didn't see anything that seemed out of place, nor cracking. Started truck and plugging the two manifold (?) vac lines (one on each pair) with fingers there seemed to be adequate vac, I'd guess 18-20", so I didn't bother with the vac guage. No leaks heard.
- Put everything back and drove on the ice covered driveway - no dice (never know - maybe a bad electrical connection, although all looked clean).
- Back in the (dang cold) garage, I pulled the lines again and the first vac line disconnected caused a hiss - vac 'escaping' - giving a good indication that no leaks existed. (Are these lines on a vac canister?)
- Started truck and tried tapping the solenoids - sounded like maybe one engaged. In an effort to save time, and prevent frostbite, I moved on without a test drive.
- Cut two ~ 6" pieces of 'correct' size vac hose (clear, thin walled) and 'jumpered' the vac line pairs - just pushed them into the 'connectors' at the end of the hard lines.
- Test drive time - 4x4 is back working! Yee-haw!!
- So, a trip to the dealer on Monday for a couple of solenoids looks like the next step (?). I'll take another look tomorrow when maybe we'll reach 20+ degrees. Fortunately I get a good discount for being a long time and frequent customer - every bit helps.
I listed all this, not to try and appear 'expert' (a novice, maybe, on the specifics of these trucks), just thought it may be helpful to someone else with a similar problem. Also,
didn't mean to be 'jumpy'. I've just got too many other priorities now to be messin' with the daily drivers anymore. Hopefully them days will return before I'm too old to be under 'em . . .
Thanks again from the People's Republic Of Massachussetts (take no offense - I can have a little fun here, can't I). Hopefully I'll have a chance to offer something useful here.

 

Glad to here the problem is isolated to a component(s). Had a hard time following... but I think I understand. It's been a long week for me. One of the solenoids was not working (the one that places the front disconnect into lock) the other was working. If the solenoids are working, clicks can be heard from them (extra set of ears is helpful).

Glad you posted back. We get too few that don't post a result.

-Kerry (Not John)

 

kspilkinton,
Thanks for your response(s) - my apologies if the last post couldn't be followed.
I don't know which solenoid is which and I can't verify at this time whether one or both were working (heck, at this point, I'm hoping that I wasn't playing around with something totally unrelated and the 4x4 now working is just a coincidence!). If I understand right, one solenoid enagages the front diff? And the other is for? I think I read somewhere here that the solenoids were ~ $20 each? If so, it seems like a small price to be sure - i.e. replace 'em both. Also, its pretty clear its time to purchase a shop manual so I have at least some clue what I'm talking about on these vehicles!
Got to say, what a great forum. Why the heck haven't I accessed all this knowledge before?!! Again, hopefully I can add something helpful at some point.

 

If I remember correctly one engages the shift fork to lock in the differential to the front drive shaft and the other disengages it.

Try this post, it'll explain the operation (about 2/3rd to 3/4s of the way down) of the 4wd system on F150s '97 to current. Dave (Racerguy) posted it out of the Ford Repair Manual.
http://www.fordtrucks.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=309867

-Kerry