Manuel Locker Problems! please help!!!!!

[lonzo73]

Dont get me wrong, i love my ford but im the verge of getting rid of it. This will be the second time that i will have had to do this 2500 dollar repair and i hope its the last. My manuel locking hub for the 4x4 on the drivers side keeps going from free to lock on me for no reason. this results in a lot of damage to the front end. After the first repair, i replaced the oem lockers with some from super winch so that it would be a little stronger. i guess that didnt help much. does anyone else have this problem or know anything about a recall. from the people i have talked to so far, i guess im not the only one. the truck is a 2001 ford f350 with a 7.3L. also, if there is no fixing this, im going to just yank out the shafts out of the front axel and disconnect it from the trans so its a hollow axel. Does anyone know if this is going to hurt anything other than the 4wd not being able to be used? thanks everybody!

[TANK'S 250]

I can't see a manual hub locking itself....I'm not saying it can't happen..

I think you have a neighborhood kid screwing with your truck.

[lonzo73]

well thats what i thought at first, but now ill leave somewhere, check to make sure its in the free mode, then get to where im going and look at it again and its in lock. it was doing the same thing last time too.

[BigRed]

Hmm, I have never heard of one doing that. Do you have the on the fly 4wd knob on your dash? If so, Does it work?

[lonzo73]

yeah i have that, the switch on the dash then you have to turn the hubs. its the electronic switch not the floor stick. im just confused cause this is the second time its happened to me.

[owtcast]

Before I pulled the axle shafts I'd check all the vacuum lines and electrics. If I still couldn't find it, I'd take the hub splines out until I could figure it out.

[Raul@Stealth Automotive]

this is the first time i have heard of this.... i know the stock OEM hubs are prone to leaking air which wont let them engage.. but thats for the auto hubs.... instead of spending that kind of cash on OEM parts i would highly suggest a free spin kit from dynatrac.. it might be the answers to your problems

[stewy]

how does going from free to lock cause alot of damage? I keep mine in lock all winter

[lonzo73]

it doesnt do damage if both are locked, when only one locks up while your driving then the problems start to arise. thats whats happening to mine.

[owtcast]

Originally Posted by stewy

how does going from free to lock cause alot of damage? I keep mine in lock all winter

Imagine revving up your truck in neutral and slamming it into drive. I'm guessing since it's happening while driving it is essentially blowing the splines to hell when the hub slides over and locks while spinning.