SoDak Guy

I have a 1996 f150 4x4 with manual locking hubs and manual shift t case. Today we had a nice blizzard here in SD and before I went to work this morning I locked the hubs in because I knew there would be snow on the ground by the time I got off. When I tried to leave the parking lot my truck could not clear the snow drift around it even though I engaged 4 high. When I finally rocked the truck out and left the lot I noticed that my rear end would try to fishtail on the main road as if I was in 2wd. When I got stuck just down the street from my house I had my roommate come out and help me and he confirmed that neither front wheel was spinning when I hit the gas. I'm sure the t case works fine because when I tried 4 low the rear wheels spun in low range. No odd grinding or any other noises. Are the hubs a likely issue?

BLDTruth

Verify that the driveshaft is spinning in 4WD before you look at the hubs.

If it is, then put the floor shifter back to 2WD and jack up the front end and support by the frame so the front wheels are suspended and spin the front driveshaft by hand with the hubs in the engaged position. One of the wheels should turn.

EDIT - actually you don't need to jack it up...just engage the hubs, leave the shifter in 2WD, and try to spin the front driveshaft. If it moves freely the hubs aren't catching.

SoDak Guy

Well, I got it solved for now. I went to spin the driveshaft with the hubs locked in and it did not spin, so I figured at least one hub must be locking. I took some Penetrating oil and sprayed into the gap between the dial and the hub assembly to get rid of any ice or debris. I'm pretty sure that it was the driver's side hub that wasnt locking, but after driving around for a while after greasing it, I was greeted with a nice positive locking of the front end, so I'll be fine for now. I guess when it gets warm I will pull the hubs apart and see if they need servicing or replacement.