I aint got four-wheel
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 79
Likes: 0
From: backwoods
I aint got four-wheel
last week I was at the dunes and realized I didn't have four wheel drive, as my rear tires dug deeper in the sand. I can't think of anything that would have gone wrong or bad. I own a '96 F-150 with a 4" lift, 33's, straight-six with 100,000mi. I recently had a new clutch put in and am wondering if the shop screwed up. I only go wheeling once a month or so. I know the fluids are up and fresh, and I do have low-range. The light also comes on fine. I have automatic hubs, and dislike them a lot. Could that be the problem? Any help is appreciated. I'll be taking it all apart soon.
Posting Guru
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 1,586
Likes: 0
From: Linwood, N.J. USA!
I aint got four-wheel
Many people with auto hubs have changed to the manual style. It seems that just about everyone that has changed over have used Warn manual hubs. Good luck.
Jakegypsum // Ford fleet, soup to nuts.
Jakegypsum // Ford fleet, soup to nuts.
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
I aint got four-wheel
Do you have push-button 4wd? If so, best way to check is note the position of your front driveshaft, put your truck in 4wd, drive a few feet in a straight line and see if the driveshaft has changed position. If it has then your transfer case is shifting properly. Next turn the truck off while it's still in 4wd and jack up one tire while the other is on the ground, the tire should not turn if the hub is locked. You can try the other side too because if one hubs bad you still won't have 4wd. From what folks say on the BB, often times the auto hubs just need cleaning and regreasing (go easy on the grease). If you change to warn manuals you'll need a conversion kit (that warn sells) Good luck
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,968
Likes: 3
From: So Cal
I aint got four-wheel
I was just reading your post out of curiosity since I have a 250 with manual hubs, so I can't speak from experience, but...
If you do decide to change to manual hubs from automatic, I would expect it to be extremely easy. If the hub setup is similar to the Dana 50 on my truck, I think yours has a Dana 44 which should be similar, any decent shadetree mechanic should be able to do the job.
On an F250 there are only 2 clips holding the guts of the hub in the wheel assembly. One is an obvious C clip on the axle shaft. The other is not so obvious and very easy to miss. The easy to miss one is a thin giant size C clip that sits inside a groove on the inside of the wheel hub. A screw driver will get it out of it's groove enough that you can work it out. Looks kind of like a piston ring.
Once the rings are out the hub just slides in and out of the wheel assembly. BTW if it hasn't been done lately, now is a good time to grease your wheel bearings. Easy to do too once you know what to do, see a manual.
Good Luck.
Jim Henderson
If you do decide to change to manual hubs from automatic, I would expect it to be extremely easy. If the hub setup is similar to the Dana 50 on my truck, I think yours has a Dana 44 which should be similar, any decent shadetree mechanic should be able to do the job.
On an F250 there are only 2 clips holding the guts of the hub in the wheel assembly. One is an obvious C clip on the axle shaft. The other is not so obvious and very easy to miss. The easy to miss one is a thin giant size C clip that sits inside a groove on the inside of the wheel hub. A screw driver will get it out of it's groove enough that you can work it out. Looks kind of like a piston ring.
Once the rings are out the hub just slides in and out of the wheel assembly. BTW if it hasn't been done lately, now is a good time to grease your wheel bearings. Easy to do too once you know what to do, see a manual.
Good Luck.
Jim Henderson
