i have a 1997 ford f150, 4x4 reg cab long bed with a manaul transmission. 4.6 liter...ok, specs out of the way. before i purchased this truck i was able to test drive it to my friends shop about 3 blocks away. we put the truck on the lift and did a quick inspection, and discovered the 4 wheel drive did not work. good... i was able to hagle him over the price and picked it up for next to nothing, Bad... now i need to fix the 4 wheel drive. i have narrowed it down to the actuator valve on the front end. you put the t-case in 4 hi or low, and the front drive shaft spins normally, but no front end movement. i got curious and i used a long screwdriver and was able to pry the plunger, or valve on the side of the actuator over, and instantly the front end engaged. so, we shifted it from two to four a few times, and i watched the actuator move in and out. its seems to be working, but it does not move far enough to engage the front end, almost 1/4" short of what it should be. i searched online and couldnt find the part, would this be a dealer only item??? are after market one available and im just looking for the wrong item, or in the wrong place??? is there a way to manually engage the actuator, instead of the vacuum set up the it runs on now??? ex. possible a manual pull and push similar to a manual choke??? im no master mechanic, but i've been around vehicles all my life so i can be crafty if someone has a homemade setup that will work and work good. any help on this would be greatly appreciated!!! im trying to get a picture of the actator posted, to help anyone out, to make sure im calling it by the right name and have described it correctly.

 

no one has any idea on this???

 

no idea someone will see this ad chime in soon... but i didnt want you to get a bad impression of the site so i thought id at least tell you "Welcome to the site"

 

It could be other than the vacuum motor being bad. It could be a leak in the vacuum lines or a bad solenoid. As you say when you move it by hand, the engagement fork is okay. Mack sure you trace the vacuum line and ensure they are not cracked. Also for a test, swap the vacuum lines and see if the front diff engages properly when you put it in 2wd.

 

i swapped the vacuum lines, one for the other, and still the same situation. traced all the lines back, no apparent cracks or leaks. the vacuum seems to be working fine.

 

That would definitely point to the vacuum motor then, or dirt around the fork itself.

 

Double post is a no no...... Answered in the transmission section.


JMC