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.

 

any ideas on this???

 

Try this:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4x4-P...2em118Q2el1247


JMC

 

thanks jmc, thats exactly what i was looking for!!!

 

Sorry to change the subject, but when did Ford offer the 4.6L as a stick? I thought it was only on the 6's?

 

When...97? lol

 

97-03

 

i purchased the posi-lok setup you suggested (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4x4-P...em118Q2el1247). have you heard of anyone using these setups, or any problems with them. it is bein installed on the truck in a few days. thanks again for the help

 

It should last the life of the truck.


JMC

 

Just so you know I picked one up yesterday at their warehouse in Coldwater Michigan. I test fitted it yesterday using an alternate location for the engagement **** but it did not work out. 10 minutes ago I test drove it and made the final adjustments. I now have the option of using 2Lo.

JMC