2005 F250 4wd not engaging

dirty deeds

dirty deeds

Active Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2006
Location
Albemarle, NC
I have a 2005 F250 XL 4x4 that has manual locking hubs (no auto locking feature) and a floor shifter for the tcase. Yesterday I was trying to engage 4wd and the shifter lever didn't feel right and was hard to move, even nearly getting stuck in neutral. The indicator lights on the dash would illuminate for 4hi and 4low, and I was able to get in low range, just no front wheel movement. I have not began to troubleshoot this issue yet but thought I would check here first to see if there are any "common" issues on these trucks with the manual 4wd. I guess I'll check the linkage first, then put it on stands and see if it's turning the front drive shaft or not. Thanks in advance for any help.

Darren
 
The funny thing is the manual hubs and shifter was one of the reasons I bought this truck thinking it was on less system to fail, oh well :D I'm hoping it's just a linkage issue.
 
Sounds like a t-case really low on fluid and not getting sufficient lubrication for all the linkages and sliders to work. But if its a regular driver, you should have burned up some bearings by now...
 
On the 05s arent the hubs air all auto or manually out. I dont think those have a manual lock in.
maybe im wrong on that
 
It's not a daily driver, I just use it occasionally to haul or tow stuff. No auto hubs on this one, all manual. The auto hubs came with the push button 4x4. If you have a stick on the floor you are all manual.
 
Well I think it was user error. When I put on the black wheels I painted the hubs black and it's very hard to read the "lock" and "free" lettering. I got it right on the drivers side but had the passenger side unlocked so I guess since it's an open front diff nothing was happening with only one hub locked. I must have been in a hurry and only locked one, then kept flipping them back and back forth out of sequence. I took a paint marker and marked the "locked" position so it doesn't happen again. I locked them both and backed right up a steep wet hill behind my house so everything is good. I think the transfer case shifter issue is just from a lack of use. I'll clean it up and lube everything when I get under it doing other maintenance.
 
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