I'm a newbie with 4wd, can someone help me out. The selector switch on my '98 truck confuses the heck out of me, the manuel doesn't help any... Okay, in order to switch into AWD I select the 1st position, easy enough. The next two positions confuse me. Do I put the truck out of gear into N, then turn the selector switch to 4h, then back into D??? I tried it but it didnt' seem to go??? Could someone please tell me, in simple terms, the procedure so I don't rip the tranny out of my truck? Okay, I'm dumb, but I admit it....:P

 

You ain't gonna believe how easy this is:

At any speed up to 55 mph (45 if the outside is temp is 32F or below), just switch from auto-4 wheel to 4-wheel HI. That's it. No slowing down, no switching the gearshift lever. Just turn the ****. You should hear a click and the "4HIGH" indicator light should come on in the gauge cluster. If you go beyond HI and accidentally hit LO, don't worry about it. There's a safety feature built in that prevents LO from being engaged while the vehicle's moving.

You might be confusing this with the 4LOW operation. To get into 4LOW, you have to be in 4HIGH first. Bring the vehicle to a COMPLETE stop, shift the transmission into neutral, then shift into 4LOW. Shift the tranny back into gear- again, the light will say 4LOW on the dash. When you drive forward, you'll know you're in low, trust me.

If you have any problems with this, just check back.

 

THANK YOU!!!

You should write the manuels for Ford!!! You explained it perfectly!!
The manuel is so confusing, seems they missed something there...

I was doing it wrong, that's why it wasn't going into 4LO.

I assume you do the opposite to take it out? Do I put it in neutral, turn the selector switch away from the 4LO, then back into drive again? Sound correct??

Again, many thanks for the help!!

Tim


>You ain't gonna believe how easy this is:
>
>At any speed up to 55 mph (45 if the outside is temp is 32F
>or below), just switch from auto-4 wheel to 4-wheel HI.
>That's it. No slowing down, no switching the gearshift
>lever. Just turn the ****. You should hear a click and the
>"4HIGH" indicator light should come on in the gauge cluster.
> If you go beyond HI and accidentally hit LO, don't worry
>about it. There's a safety feature built in that prevents
>LO from being engaged while the vehicle's moving.
>
>You might be confusing this with the 4LOW operation. To get
>into 4LOW, you have to be in 4HIGH first. Bring the vehicle
>to a COMPLETE stop, shift the transmission into neutral,
>then shift into 4LOW. Shift the tranny back into gear-
>again, the light will say 4LOW on the dash. When you drive
>forward, you'll know you're in low, trust me.
>
>If you have any problems with this, just check back.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 27-Dec-02 AT 06:36 PM (EST)]
>
>I assume you do the opposite to take it out? Do I put it in
>neutral, turn the selector switch away from the 4LO, then
>back into drive again? Sound correct??

You're exactly right, and I should have mentioned that in my first reply. You just reverse the procedure to go from 4Lo to 4HIGH.

Glad we could help, and thanks for the compliment! It's nice to know that after 16 years at this I've learned SOMETHING!!! Enjoy your truck, and if there's anything else we can help you with, just drop us a line. Happy New Year!!