97 F-350 Manual Hubs not working?

[Jspafford]

Rudy, wish I was closer so I could take look at if for you!

Good Luck!

 

[Rudy]

Thanks!

 

[feellnfroggy]

I havent read the whole post, so if i miss something please excuse me, but do you know that the ford shifter to put in 4 low on the fullsize trucks, when you pull the manual transfer case stick back to 4 hi, then move it to 4 low it goes about halfway then slides mildly to the left or the right to finsih putting it in gear. As long as the truck is in neutral, at a complete stop then it should work. Otherwise it would go into any gear 2 hi 4 hi or 4 lo I would think. Just a guess.

 

[red93terror]

Hey feelln, hows the ranger runnin?

 

[Rudy]

UPDATE MAY 3 2010

Since last posting I crawled under the truck and sprayed WD-40 on linkage and basically all over near the transfer case...

Today I go to get in truck to see if I can move the lever and it moved alright..It not only moved but moved around a lot and even downward like it was going to go through the floorboard if it could..and real wobbly..

I knew something was broken and the 4x4 light on dash came on but truck was still in only 2 wheel drive..

So I crawl back under truck and I am like WTF.....Please see photo I just took....What caused the break and now what do I do? Take it to my friend when he has the time to check it out?

 

[red93terror]

man you obviously have a bigger problem than any of us thought. if you have limited knowledge on how to work on vehicles, i honestly would take it to your friend. because even as useful as these forums are, if you run into a problem were not right there to help you. i really hope that youre not gonna need a new transfer case, but if you do, i would look seriously at recycle (junk) yards and pick the truck that looks like it was babied before it was totalled as opposed to the ragged out, rusted out pile of junk. yea it may take more effort to get the one from the totalled truck, but its twice the effort when the one from the ragged out truck goes. but thats only if you need a new one. maybe youll be able to get a new actuator and linkage assembly for a good price assuming that its an external problem. if you were anywhere near me id gladly come out and help you. but anyway from what i can tell it just looks like the bushing is split for the lever. do this first, go out and lock the hubs. put it in 4h or 4l doesnt matter, and have a neighbor look under the truck, from a safe distance, and tell you if the front drive shaft is turning. just do a slow roll. actually, do it in 4h and 4l. maybe you can get a bushing if everything is still in working order

 

[Jspafford]

Looks to me the upper bolt (rusty) was seized and not letting the shifter move like it should, and all the shifting and cranking you did caused the pot metal to snap.

 

[Rudy]

So if you were me what would you do now? Is it a simple fix or should I just push the truck off the cliff down the road into the Long Island Sound since its so rusty underneath anyway...Mabe it will even float. I could even put a sail on it and go fishing...8' bed..crew cab...plenty of room for fish

 

[Rudy]

The truck has spent most of its life in Rhode Island....It is very clean inside and actually very nice on the outside as well...some rust spots above the windshield on the roof but that I figure is from leaky cab lights.

Only real other rust is lower right part of tailgate.

But guess the Northeast snow and salt has rusted parts of the undercarriage.

 

[Rudy]

man you obviously have a bigger problem than any of us thought. if you have limited knowledge on how to work on vehicles, i honestly would take it to your friend. because even as useful as these forums are, if you run into a problem were not right there to help you. i really hope that youre not gonna need a new transfer case, but if you do, i would look seriously at recycle (junk) yards and pick the truck that looks like it was babied before it was totalled as opposed to the ragged out, rusted out pile of junk. yea it may take more effort to get the one from the totalled truck, but its twice the effort when the one from the ragged out truck goes. but thats only if you need a new one. maybe youll be able to get a new actuator and linkage assembly for a good price assuming that its an external problem. if you were anywhere near me id gladly come out and help you. but anyway from what i can tell it just looks like the bushing is split for the lever. do this first, go out and lock the hubs. put it in 4h or 4l doesnt matter, and have a neighbor look under the truck, from a safe distance, and tell you if the front drive shaft is turning. just do a slow roll. actually, do it in 4h and 4l. maybe you can get a bushing if everything is still in working order

Thanks a lot..I appreciate the very sound advice.

 

[Jspafford]

I'd offer your buddy some lunch and see if he will pop into a pick-n-pull for a replacement. No need for new, if used works fine.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Red93, I dont wanna threadjack. PM me. Trucks a PITA still. Ive been through 7 auto hubs, just on the drivers side.

 

[marcosf350]

wish i'da look'd this up earlier. i had similar trouble. i had difficulty goin into 4low. turns out, the part that broke on your truck, was seized on mine. it would no longer plunge. its got the two bolts to the t-case which has a torx option, and the shifter through the floor. with some lube i pryed the linkage off. your shifter still has the rubber boots, top and bottom, as did mine, but they were full of dirt and sand. the lower shaft with the selector pin is steel while the tube is obviously pot aluminum. my inner shaft rusted and thus expanded. lots of pb blaster and grease its working ok, but minus the boots. maybe it was just your pivot bolt that seized, but if you take the selector off, you can manualy engage the t-case. its a real pain but it will get you what you need. if you were looking at the side of the case, i believe moving the shaft all the way clockwise will be 2w. pulling the linkage conter clock, gets you 4 and 4low. hope it helps. let us know if you wanna sale her, before making an artificial reef out of her. shes a beaut.