i have a 89 f-150 xlt lariat with straight 6 engine and 4 speed borg warner manual trans with granny low and 4x4...
i bought it 3 weeks ago to have a 4wd for the winter and tried out the 4wd today and either it doesnt work or the truck has a lot of torque and just spins all 4... heres the deal on the 4x4... the 4wd selector only goes to 4 hi there is no nuetral on the transfer case and doesnt go down to 4 low...i cant tell if its supposed to be that way because someone took the origional **** off and put a aftermarket one on it...also it has steel manual lock outs and the head of the lockout on the passanger side is loose while in the free position but when i locked it in it tightened up...

any advice on what i can check or try out??

 

Assuming you have the original manual transfer case, instead of the electronic shift or something else that has been cobbled in - the shift pattern from front to back should be 2H-4H-N-4L.

When you're in 4H, the shifter needs to go left to go on down into N and 4L.

If N and 4L haven't been used much, suggest it's quite likely the mechanism underneath is mucked up with crud - just need to clean it up and lube the joints.

As far as the lockouts - loose is not good...

 

got some new heavy duty lockouts ordered and tried moving the transfer case lever every which way and it only goes from 2 hi to 4 hi tried pushing down on the lever while moving it and that did nothing, my old ranger was that way...but in the meantime i have a half ton of wood in the back for extra weight on the snow