Hey guys! I just bought a 74 f250 highboy. The only other 4x4 i ever owned is my 98 f150. So yeah a lot of you will probably laugh at this but I have no clue as to how the whole hub lock thing works. Do i need to lock the hubs everytime i put her in 4wd? I also heard that on the older truck you have to drive in reverse for a short didtance to disengage? Will someone pls explain to me how this works? sorry for my ignorance to the subject. Also while driving my 4wd shifter does a little dancing and makes some noise. Nothing horrible just seems to be shakin around a little. Is there an adjustment that can be tightened or is this just loose linkage i need to replace? Thanks in advance

 

You pretty much got it.
When you want to put it in 4wd, then lock the hubs, then shift to 4 Hi or 4 Low, and that's it. When you want to take it out, just put the shifter to 2 hi, and if you don't plan on putting it back in 4wd, then unlock the hubs. With the hubs locked your front driveshaft will spin, but the front will not be engaged until you shift to 4wd.

It is good to back up a couple feet just to make sure it disengages.

The shifter has a bolt at the bottom where it bolts to the adapter between the tranny and t case, and it just sounds like it's loose, so go ahead at tighten it up, and it should be fine.