ok guys, i seperated my thread, sorry watergate. i would just like somebody to explain to me what is actually happening if i engage four low with my shifter, but dont lock the hubs? am i actually in 4 wheel drive? thanks guys.

 

No you are not only 2wd.

You are taking the input of the engine through your tranny to the transfercase to your rear differential.
Only difference is you have chosen to use the low gear in the transfercase.
You can only do this if you are STOPPED first I mean STOPPED ,before you do this!
REASON BEING THE FRONT DRIVE SHAFTS ARE NOT SPINNING !
IT WILL A GRIND METAL OTHERWISE
With a 6 speed manual you have 5 more gears in that box.
as stated in the other post its used to move heavey loads slowly when you need to
Rich

 

thanks rich. it makes sense to me now.

 

The only difference is that the front drive shaft and axles are turning but they aren't connected to the front wheels.

This is one of the reasons some people with ESOF put a switch in the circuitry for the front auto hubs - so that they can get 2-wheel LOW range for maneuvering trailers and such.

I've recently switched out my auto hubs for Warns... best thing I ever did...

 

10Strokin,

Sorry about the delay in replying to your question from the "trouble with 4Low" thread. As the other two posters have stated, putting the transfer case in 4 Low with the hubs in the "free" position does not put you in 4 wheel drive but it can be handy for moving a load at very low speed. It is not recommended by truck manufacturers and I wouldn't try it with a heavy load on the truck. Turning the hubs to "Lock" basically moves a heavy steel ring with splines on the inside and outside into a position where it locks into both the splines on the axle shaft and the splines in the wheel hub. Simply put this locks the front axle to the front wheel. In the "Free" position the axle and hub can rotate independent of each other. Now to get on my soapbox. I would love for someone to point out to me the virtue of the electronic system. As I stated in the other thread problems with these systems are usually discovered at very inconvenient times. If I'm out in the stix and it appears the road is going to get bad I get out and spin the hubs. When the going gets tough I reach down and pop it into 4WD. No guessing about whether the transfer case shifted or the hubs engaged. And when I shift it I'm in 4WD, no time delays. Same with going to work. If it appears the highways are going to be snow packed I spin the hubs. If I'm doing 50 down the freeway and it gets ugly I reach down and I'm in 4WD. Again, no hoping it worked and no time delays. If I hit a patch of dry road I pop it back out without an ugly torque bind because the system took x amount of time to shift back out. Don't get me wrong, I think the ESOF system is wonderful. My mom has one. Happy Trails

 

Dorkdog .I hope you read my reponse to you in the other post by watergate/

"The virtue of esof"
I know I'm going to get flamed on this but here goes.LOL!
Its so MR Big doesn't have to get his big texas boots dirty on muddy backroads in Texas. But he does anyways cause it never works when he needs it.
Also Krewat living on LI ,can fit right in with all the soccer moms on the Island,when it snows. See if read Krewat's post above he has tried to be like us and reports of ways to correct the Esof by using a sw in to correct fords short comings on the ESOF system
Long live the MANUAL TRANSFERCASE !!!!!!and MANUAL HUBS
This was a Joke guys !
Rich

 

The soccer moms aren't out in 2.5 FEET of snow! I am The last few years on Long Island we've gotten FEET of snow at a time more than a few times each year - last year it was ice/snow on the roads for at least a full month.

As I've stated previously many times - if it wasn't for the fact that my V10 was on the dealer's lot and had the exact configuration I wanted being an SC SB, I would never have gotten ESOF.

I used to be one of those that said "using the ESOF monthly will help it keep working" - that lasted one winter... The next winter the hubs started not locking (or locking when in 2-wheel). One did have water in it, but the other side was brand-new looking and still didn't work right.

When the servo goes (or hopefully the entire transfer case) I'll be getting a MANUAL tranfer case and cutting a hole in the floor (or removing the cover if there is one).

Right now, my servo works nicely - I might take it off before the winter and make sure it's well lubed.

 

I'm tickled pink, Rich. Oh, my...my...my! My poor fingernails! LOL!

Truth be known I might as well have manual hubs and will get them when these go out. I use 2wLow much more than 4wLow because of the rugged ground I cover when towing heavy equipment. Like Krewat said, I isolate the hubs so that they won't lock when I twist the **** on the dash. With the V10 and Dual rear wheels I can go many places on muddy surfaces in 2wLow that single wheels can't, so unless its boggy mud I just leave it in 2wd.

Now, the REAL reason I got the ESOF: The truck was steal...and it came that way.

btw - thanks Rich for putting me in the sissy spotlight.

 

My last two trucks had ESOF because I got them off the lot. This one I ordered it, and for me I love the manual shift transfer case and best of all it is a no cost item.
I would pay 200 extra for a manual transfer case but it is free and you get a true neutral which allows your automatic trans truck to be towed, very important if you own a 6.0, not as necessary with a V10.

As I have stated in the past , Ford likes the ESOF because it is idiot proof and the truck can not roll away in the "park" position like it can if somebody screws up with the manual. Some newbies don't even realize that the manual is still shift on the fly. After all Ford won't call it MSOF.

As far as the "auto" and "lock" setting on the ESOF hubs , I always treated them just like "free" and "lock" on all my manual hubs. After getting stuck a few times in the "auto " setting , I simply did not trust it any more and only
felt good about the system when the hubs were manually locked in.

 

If you manually lock the hubs is it the same as a manual shift on the fly? What is the ESOF doing, locking the hubs or locking the transfer case? I have used my 4wheel drive several times, and have ESOF, but always get out and lock the hubs manually anyway. Is the switch on the dash locking the hubs, or the transfer case?

 

Yes ,other than hoping it works when you need it! LOL! sorry couldn't resist

Its doing both ,front hubs are locked via vacum (if set in auto)
Electric shift motor moving the internal cam for 4h/4lo

Locking hubs manually insures that they are locked ,when you need them

This subject has been beat to death ,to each his own on it
Ford ends up making more money on the system in the long run.

Rich

 

Forty Fords is right and it is good that Ford gives us a choice because a lot of vehicles out there are not available with the manual system.

The ESOF is fine for most cases but remember that the hubs in the "auto" system do take a little wheel rotation to lock , even when the system is working 100%. Here is a little story why Ford has the "auto" and "lock" settings on their hubs.

When my 2000 F350 PSD 4X4 was new, I took my kids skiing up Mount Washington. The parking lot was glare ice and as I was backing up to park the truck, my rear wheels dropped into a hole . The truck would not move 1 inch forward or 1 inch back so when I turned the ESOF on............nothing,

There you sit in your 50000 dollar pickup , stuck in the middle of a ski resort parking lot. You can almost here the orgasmic groans from the Yota , Dodge and Nissan vehicles moving around you. You get out of your pickup, your face crimson red, and lock your hubs in manually . You get in your truck and you pop out of that hole real quick, but after that you always have your hubs locked in manually before you start up the mountain.

 

Why not leave them locked all the time? To prevent unnecessary driveshaft and front end wear? You could still SOF Id think. Same thing as it locking them in automatically when you SOF. Only difference would be in LOCK the axles and parts would be going all the time. I guess thats not the best thing. Ok answered my own question I think

 

Believe it or not, in the Superduty, you are putting MORE wear on the needle bearings where the axle rides in the wheel bearing with the hubs UNLOCKED as opposed to locked.

Everything else, if it's in 2WD, including the front diff and driveshaft u-joints will never ever be stressed or "worn out" by running with the hubs locked.

I can't even tell the difference on straight-line acceleration in my '01 with or without the hubs locked.

 

So you are saying you run with them LOCKED all the time. That would spin the axle, front end, and driveshaft all the time am I correct? The ESOF just engages it in the Tcase and since the hubs are locked you have no worries?

The front end or something HAS to be getting some wear or need lube changes more. The needle bearings wouldnt be getting wear because the axle is locked and not turning against the bearings?