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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

4X4 not locking in

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Old Feb 1, 2006 | 10:11 PM
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4X4 not locking in

I just purchased a 1986 F-150 it has manual trans 4 speed np208 tranfer case and manual locking hubs. My question is when I put it in 4 wheel drive the front tires won't spin the t/c seems to be working becuase when in 4 wheel drive i cannot turn front drive line to front axle but I don't know if the problem is in the locking hubs or differential, I have the hubs turned to locked, how do I tell what my problem is the hubs or diferential. any help would be greatly apreciated thanks.
 
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Old Feb 2, 2006 | 06:20 AM
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Old Feb 2, 2006 | 09:43 AM
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i had the same problem when i first bought my truck. It turned out to be the hubs. If it was the dif im sure you would hear some nasty noises. Try locking the front wheels in with the truck in the air and check if the axles move with the tire. If not its your lockers. I took mine apart and they worked for a couple of minutes but they pretty much crapped out after that.
 
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Old Feb 2, 2006 | 08:14 PM
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With the truck in the air and the hubs locked, when I turn the axles the right front tire dont move but the left front does, but when I turn the front drive line from the t/c it don't turn the left front axle, but turns the right front axle what could this be. thanks for any suggestions.
 
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Old Feb 2, 2006 | 08:21 PM
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So I think the right front hub is trash for sure but the left front is locked and won't come unlocked, even when i have it in free wheel the tire still moves the axle. this is really puzzleing to me this is my first project truck. Any help is greatly apreciated.
 
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Old Feb 2, 2006 | 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Raptorjac
So I think the right front hub is trash for sure but the left front is locked and won't come unlocked, even when i have it in free wheel the tire still moves the axle. this is really puzzleing to me this is my first project truck. Any help is greatly apreciated.
The easiest thing to do would be to just go and buy some new hubs instead of bothering to repair them (preferably warn premium hubs which have a lifetime warranty). My hubs worked randomly at the worst time (ie when having to pull someone out of a mud pit . Its really easy to replace them. Pick up a service manual which will have easy step by step instructions. The main tools you need are snap ring pliers and allan keys to remove the housing of the hub. The new hubs will have instructions as well on how to remove and install the new hubs (but you still should have a service manual which will come in handy).
 
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Old Feb 13, 2006 | 03:34 PM
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Napa shows WARN 30 spline hubs for $164.99, and Warn Premium hubs for $93.00 but they don't state if they are 30 spline or 19 spline. I have a HD with the Dana 50 front so I think I need the 30?

How hard are these to swap out. The Autozone pix make it look easy?
 
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Old Feb 15, 2006 | 04:33 PM
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It is a 5 minutes job per hub. Hardest part is getting the stupid little ring clip off that runs around the outside of the hub.

Just remove the outer hubs by taking out the 6 or 8 allen sscrews.

Then get that dumb ring off. You will have to fight it with a very small screw driver or a pick. Sometimes it is easier to use two at a time. It runs around the outer edge and tends to slide around as you try to get under it to lift it out. It is really the hardest part of the job. Sometimes I can get it in 2 seconds and sometimes I fight it for 10-15 minutes. Mine is now easy as I filed the edge to make it easy for me to get under it but the first time I had a heck of a time getting it out.

Anyway, once you get that out, next you take some snap ring pliers and remove the C-clip from the axle end.

Now just grab the inner hub gears and pull the whole thing out.

Clean all that old grease out and put in fresh and reverse the process to re-install.

It is an easy job other than that outer ring.

Good Luck,

Lee
 
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