4x4 not working

[EskimoEddie]

PLUS ++++ 1,000,000 for replacing the auto hubs for manual. I learned about 4x4 on my dad's 1974 toyota land cruiser FJ40 and he had manual hubs. ALWAYS worked and never any doubt that they were engaged or disengaged. Now my '94 EX has Warns and totally eliminated the summer time clunks and clicks in my gummed up auto hubs. The only thing I need to work out is why the spare tire will not fit over the manual hubs. I recently called AAA for a flat and the spare (steel rim) didn't fit over the WARN hubs. The stock alloy rims fit but the steel spare doesn't, weird eh? Perhaps I need to file down the steel rim and clean up the rusted rim so that it fits over the Warn hub. THere's a lot of rust on the rim. Any one else have the same problem?

Hindsight is 20/20 and I'll be testing my Warns this week before we get some snow/rain/freezing rain by sun/mon later this week (new england).

Just as a side note, has anyone PLOWED with an EX? I've heard that the tranny isn't strong enough for plowing.

Just a hypothetical question, not gonna do it, looking at an F150 with new motor, trany, t-case and it might be the thing for light duty plowing.

Thanks for all that can help

Greg

 

[FIND]

To the OP, I noticed you had a jeep help pull you out. Allow me to apologize on behalf of all ford vehicles for this epic failure. Good luck in the future.

PLUS ++++ 1,000,000 for replacing the auto hubs for manual. I learned about 4x4 on my dad's 1974 toyota land cruiser FJ40 and he had manual hubs. ALWAYS worked and never any doubt that they were engaged or disengaged. Now my '94 EX has Warns and totally eliminated the summer time clunks and clicks in my gummed up auto hubs. The only thing I need to work out is why the spare tire will not fit over the manual hubs. I recently called AAA for a flat and the spare (steel rim) didn't fit over the WARN hubs. The stock alloy rims fit but the steel spare doesn't, weird eh? Perhaps I need to file down the steel rim and clean up the rusted rim so that it fits over the Warn hub. THere's a lot of rust on the rim. Any one else have the same problem?

Hindsight is 20/20 and I'll be testing my Warns this week before we get some snow/rain/freezing rain by sun/mon later this week (new england).

Just as a side note, has anyone PLOWED with an EX? I've heard that the tranny isn't strong enough for plowing.

Just a hypothetical question, not gonna do it, looking at an F150 with new motor, trany, t-case and it might be the thing for light duty plowing.

Thanks for all that can help

Greg

With proper maintenance on a vehicle that doesn't see any serious offroading, automatic hubs are perfectly fine.

Plowing is a lot like towing when it comes to strain on your transmission. Only difference is if you are plowing, you are moving less, so less air is passing through your radiator, plus the plow itself acts as a big shield to block wind towards your grill. I would use a tranny cooler with an electronic fan if I were using it for plowing. Granted, the other problem with plowing is you are shifting gears a lot, so that adds to wear on the transmission.