Hello!
Just lost my 4wd. I gotta take her in and see if I can a bunch of other minor stuff fixed. My friend had the same problem. His ???solenoid??? and something by the hub got replaced. Mine in 2wd sounds like I am dragging a 10ft pipe under it. The bad part was last night I was pulling my snowmobiles up a hill, which where I live is up a .5 mile driveway, that had some ice and snow on it. WEll, BOOM, the 4wd kicked out.. What a treat that was to back down, a twisty hill with snow and ice. When its in 4wd, if I have enough speed, and let it spin, it kicks in (>20 mph) other then that, there is no 4wd. While she is spinning, every so often, it will BAMM kick in then go out, then BAMM kick in..
I am a HUGE Ford fan but this sure tests my loyalty for the 04 f150s.. If I could just get the MPG up to where it SHOULD be and this 4wd problem , I would have an AWESOME truck, the reason I bought it.

 

Auto or manual hubs?

 

Auto, hmmm my signature isnt working.. I have an 04 fx4 which I assumed all the newer f150's had auto.

How do you get your signature to post like yours does in the body? I have mine but you have to click on the signature in the upper right.

 

Signatures only show in posts for ClubFTE members. Auto hubs are an option, and a popular one at that. Not all have them though. Ford has never been great in the auto hub department. These newer hub designs are supposedly better. The hubs from years past (most notorious being 87-96) were pure crap. I am not holding my breath over the autos in my current truck. Once they die, I will be switching to manual hubs (my truck was a leftover purchase, so I wasnt able to choose).

 

I kinda am spoiled with them because I live when I need 4wd on frequent occasions and drive a lot which made it pure heck on my older F150. It's very unfortunate about this as I have Ford in my blood. My truck before this was a 01 silverado 5.3 Liter and it was down right awesome. I woulda bought another one but tend to crinkle a lot easier then the F150's. I bought it because of the comfort and fuel economy.. I averaged 17 mpg with it with a high of 21mpg on all highway. I then got an 04 f150 as a rental and it sold me totally adn I went back to Ford. Now, I bought one and it is nothing like the rental I had. I guess I shoulda waited till they got the glitched out since this was a new body style. I wouldn't have thought they would have changed EVERYTHING since it was a new body style so I thought I would chance it. Its the best looking truck I have ever seen, I love driving it, but with only 9000 miles on it, I am very aggravated at having to get things fixed and wondering if the fuel economy will ever get fixed.

 

I do not think manual hubs were offered as an option for F150's in 04?If they would have been, I certainly would have them.I have never trusted auto. hubs.

 

Auto hubs are not available on the XL or STX, but appear to be an option for the XLT, and standard for the FX4, Lariat, and King Ranch (At least the 05s. I dont have my 04 literature at arms length).

 

I am talking about manual hub locks.It sounds like you might be talking about 4WD auto. shift on the dash vs.manual shift(er) on the floor?I am curious now, so I am going to my files.I will post my findings.

 

Umm, yes, you are right. They arent an option. They would have been standard equipment on the XL, STX, and XLT models.

 

There have been several cases on this forum of front hubs going bad. I test drove a new Expedition with only 15 miles on it that started sounding like yours, only they were trying to engage without the 4wd being on.

The dealer will put a new hub on.

 

My friend had the same problem. They put a new hub on but he had to take it back because it was doing the same thing. The dealer then put on some sort of solenoid-- I guess what engages it.

 

I have an XL4X4 and it has the auto hubs. You might be talking about the ESOF, (Electronic Shift On the Fly), the dash selector switch vs the floor shifter.

 

I dont know what to think now then. I cant ever remember seeing auto hubs come from the factory with a stick. Then again, I also though I wouldnt see the day when you couldnt get a supercab with a long bed in a half ton....

 

WheelMA1 Moderator, I believe the reason you can't remember seeing auto hubs come from the factory with stick shift is because I do not think they have,at least in the past few years.Although,I think GM has had that set up for years?

 

My 99 F150 had auto hubs and a shifter, my dads 2000 Ram has auto hubs and a shifter. Manual hubs on a half ton disappeared back in the 90's, but the shifter is still around.