I have 98 F150 4x4 automatic transmission. 4wd normaly works fine i can pull it out and into 2 and 4wd with out any issues. This past weekend i was in the bush a bit got stuck a couple times and used 4wd hi and low a few times. after getting out of the bush i put it back into 2wd and drove 14 miles/20 kms on dry pavement. i figured it would be out of 4wd just by pushing the shifter lever forward in neutral because thats the way ive always done it and its worked. ive never had to back up or do any specific procedure to get it out of 4wd.

When i got home i had someone drive the truck back and forth while i looked at the front axle shaft and it still rotates with the wheel indicating the 4wd is still engaged when the shifter lever is in 2wd. I can also see the front drive shaft is still rotating meaning the problem is somewhere in the tcase i think anyway.

I've been reading a lot of threads and trying a lot of different procedures and nothing is working. It's a manual shifter lever for the 4wd so i dont think its the tcase motor, because i dont even think there is one. ive tried backing up and so on a little. i read one thread that said a little dry pavement driving can tighten things up and make it harder to get out of 4wd so you need to back up a lot to unwind the torque.

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME. is that last theory accurate about driving backward? I really need to disengage the 4wd somehow mechanically or with some procedure or something. i need to drive somewhere tonight and i know its really hard on the truck if i do it in 4wd

PLEASE HELP

 

so i assume you have automatic hubs. i've had to drive as much as a block and a half in reverse to get my old auto hubs to disengage. don't worry about it still being in 4x4. the front drive shaft is being spun by the axle because the hubs are still engaged, not because you have a transfer case issue. at least that is what i believe is going on from what you've posted.

 

Ya, your hubs are sticking, its not actually in 4x4, just the front axle is turning. Try backing up for 100ft or so, maybe jack up the tire and turn it and what not to unlock it. If that doesn't work it sounds like it might be time to invest in some warn's.

If it was in 4x4, every time you would turn on dry pavement it would sound and feel like something was about to break.

 

I have driven on dry pavement in 4x4 and nothing sounded like it was breaking. Nor did I break anything. Or bind.

 

Do they even have locking hubs on a 98?

 

You must not have a real 4x4, maybe its just sticker and a lever connected to nothing(had a friend do that). Anyways, If im on dry in 4x4 you defiantly know it, especially when you turn on pavement, it feels like it wants to keep pushing straight, and when you fight it, you feel u-joints phasing and the t-case starting to be stressed along with the occasional pop and creak.

I didnt even notice it was a 98. I am unsure of the hub or axle disconnect setup of the newer models.

 

don't know about f150's, and 250's and 350's magically disappeared for that year. i don't really know much about those trucks, because they were completely new at the time and i fear change(see obama)

 

I don't like the looks, so I never got close enough to see what they use. The last F150 built that I really like the looks of, was 96. But, I'm decidedly old-school. Prolly why I hang onto the old 80 model......

 

They don't have hubs, its a vacuum actuated center disconnect, not sure how it works but it happens in the center of the diff somehow. The "hubs" are basically drive flanges.

 

then all i can say is i have no idea how to remedy this problem. i just searched j.c. whitney, and they don't offer a posi-lok cable for fords like they have for the junkass dodge front axles, so idk what to tell you other than to look and listen for vacuum leaks i guess, or get a service manual and look at how it operates and work back from there

 

Im with Paul....the vacuum lines are fubar.

 

Well either the tcase linkage is ****ed and its not actually shifted back into 2hi or the center disconnect is not disconnecting. If you jack the whole truck up (all 4 wheels off the ground) and turn the front driveshaft by hand do the front tires turn? Does the rear driveshaft/rear tires turn as well? If the front tires turn but the rear driveshaft does not then it's in the diff, if everything moves it's in the tcase.

 

i have an 88 f150 and cant figure out why i can only go forward on my 4x4 shifter. it will mostrait up one spot into 4x4 but thats it no 2hi or 4lo any ideas this is my first 4x4 vehicle

 

Put the trans in neutral and try again

 

sometimes you may have to pull up on the shifter or push down i cant remember right off hand... but trans gotta be in N to get in it 4lo