I was pulling a trailer up a soft dirt (sand) road and my rear wheels dug in and one wheel started spinning in 4L, apparently no power to the other 3 wheels

I thought in 4L all 4 wheels locked up ? I'm almost sure that was the case with my old Suburban.

I didn't hi center or bury to the axle but I was stuck because all the power was being sent to the ONE wheel with no traction

Is something wrong with my truck or what can I do in the future to prevent this??

Thanks!

 

4wd is used to send power to the front and rear axle of the vehicle (as oposed to the rear only when it's in 2wd). Once the power reaches the axle, it is up to the differential to send the power outward to the tires... on an axle with an open differential the power is sent to the tire with the least resistance (so, if you have a tire spinning, the differential will send even more power there), on a limited slip differential power is sent to both wheels.

Shifting into 4-low will only changes the reduction ratio in the transfer case, it does not 'lock in' in aditional wheels or anything. 4-low is used to provide a really low gear ratio for slow speed, or for the added torque needed to climb a steep grade and such.

My guess is that your F250 has open differentials (most trucks do), so once the power is sent to the axles the differential sends it to the wheel that is already spinning. If you are not getting any power to the front wheel(s), I would guess that your hubs are not locked in (if they are manual locking) or have a vaccum leak (if they are automatic locking).

 

^^ well said, and the reason only your rear spun (like he said) would most likely be due to a vacuum leak. Do you have manual locking hubs ?

That's most likely the case, but how heavy of a load were you hauling ? If it was heavy enough, and at just the right angle, it could have been pulling your front up and off the ground just enough to not have the tire fling dirt up, but it could have been spinning. Did you have anyone outside the truck to see the wheels turn ?

 

I have manual locking hubs and I was almost positive only my left rear tire was spinning and it sure looked that way from the way the dirt was dug up

I let off the gas once it became clear that tire was digging in......

I guess it's possible the fronts were getting power but not churning up the dirt as much as that rear tire?

I was pulling a 5th wheel up a pretty steep although short grade....... on the 4th try I was able to lay down some boards and bricks and walk it past the "hole" and get it the rest of the way up the hill

 

Hmm.... sounds like ya might have a blown hub.

Only the rear left was spinning ? You mean passenger side ? (left side is driver side)
You have Limited slip ? Clutch packs might be shot too. normaly the rear right spins and front left (in and open/open combo-no limited slip)

 

this kinda has alittle part with hubs, i had an 02 f250, and and with manual locking hubs, and well somehow my hubs ceased.

 

Just a thought, but the truck will not go into 4L if you didn't put it in NEUTRAL first. Though it should have been in 4H if it wouldn't go into 4L. get the wheels off the ground and put it in 4L, then try spinning them and see what happens.

 

While this is true a lot of the time, it is not an absolute. If you watch my truck while it is climbing a hill, the right, then left, then right will spin. Basically, when the coefficent of friction at the tire changes, power is transferred to the path of least resistance.