I have a 2003 that won't engage all the time. I have manual locking hubs.

 

Can you manually engage them?

 

the tires need to be turning for it to engage, and if you have a vacuum leak it will cause them to not engage, others ,may have location of the vacuum manifold, trace the lines and check for leaks in it i assume you are talking about and ESOF truck

 

x2, is this an esof (electronic shift on the fly)? If so, it is not very difficult to trace down the leak. that might be the issue as long as you can engage it manually.

 

Did you install them???

The Hubs from the Factory are auto or manual do you not have those

 

I recently bought the truck. It is a 03 f250 king ranch. This is my first ford. I have always beenbeen a Chevy man.

 

Welcome to the FORD Club
Iv Had a Few Cheveys too
Im not particulair to one brand I just want a relieable ride Dodge Failed me Miserably


On the Hubs check them out but theres an LOCK and a Auto Spot this was done specificaly for vacumm line failures

when its in auto they should lock in for you if not most common is a Vacuum leak like the Guys Mention

Then put Hub in lock and switch it in 4X4 it should go if not this way then you have issues

 

like they said just lock your hubs in and you should be good i dont think ive ever seen a superduty once it has some wear and tare not have to use the locking hubs

 

A quick way to rule out anything BUT a vacuum prob..... engage the hub to lock, and try to spin the u joint that is directly behind the wheel (on the front axle). If you cannot spin the axle with the hub set to lock and can spin it when set to auto (or free if you have aftermarket hubs) its a vacuum prob. If the axle spins freely no matter what position the hub is in, replace the hub. very easy fix, you dont even need to remove the wheel. Crap, I just scrolled up and saw that yours is an 03. The previous info works for a 05 and up, not sure if you can remove the hub without removing the wheel on a 03. Swampfire, can you verify if you have the switch on the dash or a 4wd shifter on the floor? Its a king ranch so it prob has esof. If you can come back with with results then we can point you to getting it fixed asap. Might also turn the key on and not start the truck (so you can hear) and switch it to 4wd and listen for a definate noise from the middle of the truck (it will be the transfer case switching into 4wd).

 

This should be Just Fine to test an 03 to^^^^^^^^^^^^^

and yes you can pull just the Hub on an 03 I think that the 05 just had some suspension diffrences (coil spring vs leaf spring)

This is a Great test
you can also turn the wheels right and left and spin the same axel to check U-joints noting any play or Binding but thats not you issue here just sayen

 

Thanks for all the info guys. I didn't know it had auto hub for one thing. I parked in a Field while hunting and it started raining while i was in the woods. Tried moving and started spinning. So i turned my switch to 4x4 and thought i locked the hubs. Turns out one was locked and the other was in auto. I guess that's why the front didn't pull. I used the 4x4 today in auto and its working fine. Thanks again

 

The tires and axles have to be spinning for them to engage, in other words once your stuck your stuck. I have witnessed on 2 separate occasions a 7.3 and a 6.0 get stuck in sugar sand next to my house they engaged the ESOF and tried manually locking hubs after it was stuck and it would not engage. This is why i engage mine before I pull my TT Anywhere near offroad. Unless these trucks were both broken by coincidence

 

Im learning my truck slowly but with the help of the board its working out now. When in auto it still will not engage all the time but if i lock the hubs and roll a bit it works fine.

 

Next time try this with your HVAC set to VENT or FLOOR. If it changes to the DEFROST position as you attempt to engage the front axles with the hubs set in the AUTO position, it sounds like you have a weak PVH (Pulse Vacuum Hub) solenoid that is in need of replacement.

 

Thanks ill try it