Does my 4x4 work?

[KC4OU]

Had a problem with 4x4 engaging on my 08 SD, in the snow n ice. It bout got me stuck in Bass Pro parking lot. HOW EMBARRASSING IS THAT? 4x4 was already selected earlier and the dash light was on but i had no front wheel spin. So I manually locked the hubs and only got front right spin. Took it to the dealer and they told me it was working fine. He also said there was no difference in auto and manually locking the hubs.?? Why have the feature then? Guess I'm confused. Can anyone tell me how this 4x4 is SUPPOSED to work?

[baddkarmaracing]

if you had one front tire spinning after you manually locked the hubs then it is working fine asumming your truck is 4x4 not fx4
the hubs might not have locked automatically because there was too much load on them for them to lock in auto

[zack07]

Originally Posted by KC4OU

Had a problem with 4x4 engaging on my 08 SD, in the snow n ice. It bout got me stuck in Bass Pro parking lot. HOW EMBARRASSING IS THAT? 4x4 was already selected earlier and the dash light was on but i had no front wheel spin. So I manually locked the hubs and only got front right spin. Took it to the dealer and they told me it was working fine. He also said there was no difference in auto and manually locking the hubs.?? Why have the feature then? Guess I'm confused. Can anyone tell me how this 4x4 is SUPPOSED to work?

Mine does that sometimes idk why. My auto has never worked since i had the truck.

[KC4OU]

It's not FX4. So, manual lock does not lock both front wheels? The truck had been in auto 4high for a good 20 min (stop n go) before this happened. Is it like Limited Slip on the front in auto and manual lock? Dealer claims they both pull in auto or manual.

[zack07]

Originally Posted by KC4OU

It's not FX4. So, manual lock does not lock both front wheels? The truck had been in auto 4high for a good 20 min (stop n go) before this happened. Is it like Limited Slip on the front in auto and manual lock? Dealer claims they both pull in auto or manual.

idk my auto dont work

[baddkarmaracing]

i have never seen a non fx4 truck that both front tires would spin the fx4's are limited slip

[KC4OU]

ok, so limited slip on the front. Just tryin to educate myself here. Well, whats the advantage of having the manual hub locks if it doesnt work any differently? The dealer tech had no idea how any of this is supposed to work. I had to correct him after he tried to instruct me how to properly engage the 4x4. ?? He said he never heard of shift on the fly ?? Maybe I should just go to a different Dealership. HaHaHa

[greasltn]

Originally Posted by KC4OU

ok, so limited slip on the front. Just tryin to educate myself here. Well, whats the advantage of having the manual hub locks if it doesnt work any differently? The dealer tech had no idea how any of this is supposed to work. I had to correct him after he tried to instruct me how to properly engage the 4x4. ?? He said he never heard of shift on the fly ?? Maybe I should just go to a different Dealership. HaHaHa

Open diff in the front, limited slip would spin both. The manual hub locks are there incase the auto lock doesn't work, it does happen. Shift on the fly has been around for quite awhile, if the dealership tech has never heard of it, don't let him touch your truck.

[mtcarmelfarm]

I've always been a little curious as to what the difference was in locked or auto on the hubs myself. I have been told different stories as to whether it does or does not change anything. Since I was originally a Chevy hadn't had any locking hubs since the 80's.....

[APEowner]

There's no limited slip in the front axle on any model or option package.

As far as the hubs are concerned if everything is working then there's no difference between them being locked in automatically or manually. The official reason for manual mode is that the truck has to be rolling before the auto lock hubs can engage so there needs to be a way to lock them in if the truck is already stuck. I suspect that the other reason is that auto lock hubs are notoriously unreliable and they wanted to make sure that you could still use them when they were acting up.