[Egerto]

2005 F-250 HD edition , powestroke,automatic,shift on the fly.
Hello , I'm new to this site ,hope somebody can help me. Is there enybody who could explain me how this 4x4 system is designed to work ! As it is on my truck its totally useless !! I live in cold climate , lots of snow right now and I get stuck all the time 4x4 engaged !! Anytime one or two wheels are on the more slippery surface they just spin helplessly, for example pulled to the side of the road to let the snowplow pass and both driverside wheels stayed on icey road. And there I was , 4x4 on high or low it doesnt matter,one front and one rear wheel lose traction and thats it!! Is that how it supposed to be , or is there something wrong with my truck ? What are locking hubs supposed to do ? Is there some sort of slipping system in transfer case ?
PS! it newer starts when tempereture is below -7 C without stepping heawyly on accelerator .

 

[nitro316]

not sure about the 4x4 setup on your year of truck but as for the cold starts i live up in canada even with good glow plugs in the winter i still plug it in when it gets real cold much easier to start and so much nicer to the truck!!

 

[OMCUSNR]

2005 F-250 HD edition , powestroke,automatic,shift on the fly.
Hello , I'm new to this site ,hope somebody can help me. Is there enybody who could explain me how this 4x4 system is designed to work ! As it is on my truck its totally useless !! I live in cold climate , lots of snow right now and I get stuck all the time 4x4 engaged !! Anytime one or two wheels are on the more slippery surface they just spin helplessly, for example pulled to the side of the road to let the snowplow pass and both driverside wheels stayed on icey road. And there I was , 4x4 on high or low it doesnt matter,one front and one rear wheel lose traction and thats it!! Is that how it supposed to be , or is there something wrong with my truck ? What are locking hubs supposed to do ? Is there some sort of slipping system in transfer case ?
PS! it newer starts when tempereture is below -7 C without stepping heawyly on accelerator .

Welcome to TDS.

It sounds like the hubs aren't engaging, which could be a vacuum thing. When you switch to 4wd, does your heater go to defrost? Have you tried to manually lock the hubs by turning them to the "lock" position? The rear limited slip doesn't really work all that well, but if its engaging 4wd it should move.

Two things for future - its a nice idea to add your truck & any / all mods to your signature line so we have better information on it & don't have to ask as many additional questions about what might be causing a problem. Also, this forum is supposed to be about the 6.0 engine, and there is another forum for questions like this a couple of forums down (general questions), where you might get more response to the question.

OMC

 

[Egerto]

No , it does not go to defrost when in 4x4

 

[OT]

E..ok ill try..can you physically turn "lock on" on both front hubs? If so..what happens? As mentioned..dosent sound like front hubs engaging. But, even engaged its possible to spin the tires & not get moving..well..maybe sideways.:icon_wink:

btw..Im not aware of stepping on go pedal to make it start better. But, plugging in or lighter (vis) oil might help on real cold starts.

 

[TexasA&M]

Unfortunately, that is how all 4WD vehicles work, unless there are traction adding devices in the diffs. Anytime you have one wheel on an axle with zero traction (on ice, or in the air are good examples), all of the vehicle's power will go to that wheel when the differential is open. You will need to add a good limited slip or a locker to the front to change that behavior. There is probably already a limited slip in the rear, but those don't work unless both wheels have at least some traction, as in, they don't work when one wheel is on ice or in the air. Only a locker will ensure that both wheels on an axle always get power.

Since you say above that one of the front wheels is spinning on the ice, that means your hubs are working. If they weren't, no wheels would spin (the axle shaft would spin inside the axle housing, but wouldn't spin the wheel because the hub acts as the connection point of the axle shaft and wheel).

 

[JW350]

Yep, open diff in the front, weak limited slip diff in the rear. If this happens again on ice/snow/mud, try partially setting the parking break (just enough to put some resistance on the wheels). This should help the limited slip engage. Otherwise, selectable lockers are the way to go...

 

[OT]

Hey guys..good eyes. I misread, hubs were "engaged" just no traction. I forgot about the lockers, does seem good idea. Mine has limited slip, but its certainly limited.

btw..off topic, but talk about traction..wished I'd did video of my truck slidding on concrete driveway not long ago. North side..cleared snow off driveway which has a very slight grade (away from house)

Got back from running errands. Parked in dway..set p.brake/tranny in park..started to get out & truck started slowly slidding..forutnately had chock for wheel. Driveway had iced over. Never had that happen before.