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1999 F350 4 wheel Drive engage problem

31K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  baldeagle242 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a Ford diesel that I bought new in Alaska in 1999. Just recently the 4 wd selector switch will not engage, NOTE: I have manual hubs on this truck, the vacuum lines to the hubs were capped long ago.. I have the switch out of the dash and it seems to check out ok when I omh it. Can someone give me some direction on where to look. From what I can tell, i have a switch, wiring and a motor under-neath the truck. Is their also a relay somewhere? I found a 10 amp fuse that is good.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
vac hose i bet.
 
#4 ·
When you say you have MANUAL hubs do you mean aftermarket like Warn or MM? The Ford ESOF system also uses a manual hub as a backup, I think they knew how problematic the system could be so they allowed us to lock them in manually. The proplem is you need to properly maintain the hubs and vacuum lines, most don't do this so they find out they have no 4x4 when they really need it!! But as I said you can still lock them in manually.
So I am confused by your posts, because if you have aftermarket manual hubs then the ESOF system can't be used to to lock them and unlock them.
The factory ESOF system uses a electronic switch on top of the TC to lock the TC in and out of 4x4 and it uses vacuum to lock the hubs. So please be a little more clear and we can help you further.

NCH
 
#5 ·
Ford 4 wheel drive problem

We had manual Warn hubs installed during year 2000. The vacuum lines are plugged by the dealer that installed the hubs. Afterwards, the 4 wd has always worked great until last week. When I turn the switch to engage the 4 wd, I have a buddy watch the front driveline to see if it turns, it does not move.

I can manually lock the hubs and the driveline with turn as it should but the transfer case is not engaged because of the issue I'm trying to identify. The switch on the dash does nothing when I select 4h or 4L.

The switch on top of the TC, does it have a relay somewhere, or what do you think the problem could be?
 
#7 ·
Check maxi fuse #17 and relays #40 and #41, all are under the hood.
 
#8 ·
Hello guys I am new here. I know this tread is a little old but I have this same problem on a truck that I just bought. I knew the truck had this issue when I bought it and took a chance that its not going to be something major. Just so you have some info and know everything that has been tried to get this working here is what happened to get me to this point... This all started after the truck was put into low range(2003 F350 7.3 Diesel with electronic shift on the fly.) First off I know you have to shift into N press the brake and stop or be going less than 3 miles per hour to get into or out of 4 Low. The previous owner tells me he has been tinkering around with this issue for months. I have only had this truck for about a week but here is what I was told had been tried. It has after market front WARN manual locking hubs and the vacuum system going to the front hubs was capped and removed a long time ago so this is not an issue with the front hubs. The selector switch on the dash and the GEM module in the uper right corrner behind the glove box has been replaced by the previous owner. I have confirmed the gear motor on the side of the transfer case is working. I can put the truck in and out of 4 wheel drive by appling 12 volts to the gear motor on the transfer case.
I had not thought about relays till I read this thread but that seems like something that could be causing this problem. Can someone please tell me where the relays and the fuse mentioned above are located at under the hood? -AND- Has anyone else found anything else that might be causing this problem? I have found tons and tons of people posting this problem all over the internet but havent really found an answer that addresses this problem. Does the GEM need to be programed or anything like that for this system to work? I can still get info from the previous owner if needed but I think I have covered most of what he has done... He wants to know what I find wrong with thtis thing as bad as I do. LOL
Thanks, Steve
 
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