just .02

I think we have a little missunderstanding here. Front AXLES turn BUT the Front DRIVESHAFT doesnot.

Cool?

 

I beleive you are correct hcmq. Dennis, gotta give you credit for checking this out and admitting that you were mistaken. I too still dont understand why it is that the manual states what it does and I cant imagine why there would have to be a procedure with disconnecting vacuum lines and such. As long as the t-case is in 2H then the front wheels will freewheel just like it normally would going down the road. Shift on the fly works with syncros and such to make it shift in smooth. In fact even the old trucks (back to 1980 or so) were shift on the fly as long as you had the front hubs locked in.

The only difference now is that there are no locking hubs, just a front drive system utilizing CV joints and 1 front axle disconnect. When switching into 4x4 the front axle is connected to the front driveshaft and the t-case engages and voila!

Here is where I beleive the problems come in...towing a 4x4 with ALL 4 wheels on the ground. Doing so for short distances is ok with a manual shift t-case...all you have to do is put the tranny and t-case in neutral. But in the case of these new trucks with no neutral option for the t-case there is no way to tow it with all 4 wheels on the ground.

Make sense?

 

You know, the main reason Ford probly would rather have you tow that truck on a flat bed is because of all the posts above. Alot of folks don't know exactly what would be safe. If you tow it on a flat bed, then it makes no difference wether you know how the 4x4 system works or not, Fords butt is covered. Im included in that group, im not exactly sure how everything works either. As long as all four wheels turn when i pull the 4wd H/L shifter, im good to go. I think i went thru several posts myself in an attempt to figure out what does what.

 

Dodge 4x4 probably has the best answer to why Ford wrote the manual the way they did. Sort of jives with what the tow operator said in regards to what his computer data base tells him about towing all 4x4s with all whees off.

MN4x4, thanks. It just takes me a while to realize that some info that I got might have been wrong, so it was time for me to check it out for myself. I tried to learn about the system when I got my '97 and at the time, there wasn't all that much experience with it and the one source I trusted seemed to have the right answers. Maybe it was correct in '97. Maybe it was wrong. Clearly, from what I actually observed yesterday, the info doesn't apply to my '01.

So, the drive shaft not turning explains why there's a 55 mph limit on shifting on the fly.

Still waiting for the guy at the dealer. Turns out he's on vacation... Gotta wonder what happens if somebody needs a 4x4 repaired and he's not in. I guess they give the truck to somebody in the shop who doesn't know as much.

I just wish there was some kind of "bible" out there that would have the definitive answer to these questions.

BTW, I wish somebody would have said that they did what I had done to prove, or in this case disprove, my point. I wouldn't have gone on and on with my misinformation.

 

Actually, there wasn't any misunderstanding on my side, I was just misinformed and kept spreading the misinformation.

As you can tell from my previous posting, I tried to prove my point, but ended up disproving it instead.

 

BTW, you guys will get a laugh out of this...

When I decided to check the shaft for myself, I first slid under the truck. Well, I thought, there's gotta be a better way, so I got a mirror and it worked. Damned, I was proud of my ingenuity.

THEN, after all the testing was over, decided to open the hood and look at things... That's when I suddenly felt so stupid. All I had to do was look down the side of the engine and the front drive shaft is RIGHT THERE!!! Totally in the open.

I must have looked in the area a hundred times since '97 and for some reason never realized that you could see the driveshaft so easily.

 

Well maybe only now have you questioned how the system works...you never noticed it before because there was no question. Reminds me of trying to find something in the fridge, you are looking and looking but just cant find it even though it is right in front of your nose!

 

Hey,

On the Ford and i guess Chevy (IFS), there is a differential that is kinda in the center of the vehicle and two shafts that come out on each side right? And when you put it in 4wd, it engages BOTH shafts at once? And BOTH of your axles are turning while you are moving, they are just not connected together until you switch it, then the shaft engages and the axles get connected and everything turns??

 

Well on my 93 Chevy 4x4 there is a front pumpkin with CV axles coming out on each side...and a driveshaft running between the pumpkin and t-case. These Chevy's have a thermal actuator that engages the front axle (which are junk so I replaced mine with an electric one). When shifting into 4x4 the t-case engages turning the front driveshaft and then the acuator kicks in a second or two later sending power to the front wheels. I assume that the Fords work in the same way except that the front axle is engaged by means of some vacuum.

 

First off.

When in doubt? Unbolt the driveshaft. Less than a half hour of work is priceless.

Second. Red gas. Yellow diesel. Blue water. I think white is kerosene. I have also seen green represent diesel.
Federally I suppose that since I'm storing diesel in red containers in my shop for my own use that I'm probably breaking some law somewhere. Sorry. Who cares.

As stated earlier. The user is responsible for determining the actual chemical make up of there propellant.
This happens in the fuel dock industry alot. Customer goes to the fuel dock and says. "I need 300 gallons of gas." The dock has "newbie." And guess what. Diesel boat has gas in fuel tanks. I always grill my customers on this when they need gas in their boat. Diesel, diesel, diesel, is only mentioned on diesel boat, at fuel dock. Watch what fill hose goes in the tank. These are green by the way.

If he put diesel in an empty tank and then proceded to run it. Yes, it will not work very long. Possible pump and injector damage. First change filter and retry with gas in tank.

If he realized the error without starting. Then towed it to the filling station, and put 26 to 30 more gallons in the tank. Probably not an issue. But I would keep filling every 100 miles or so for about 400 miles.

MK

 

Kerosene is blue not white

 

Diesel is in yellow cans? I could have sworn I saw blue diesel cans. Oh well... I know I've seen water in all kinds of colors of cans, but have never seen yellow.

 

OK. But I think if in doubt disconnect the drive shaft.

MK

 

Gas = Red
Diesel = Green
Kerosene = Blue
Water = Teal