driving 68 F100 4x4 on dry pavement yes or no

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regreen61
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driving 68 F100 4x4 on dry pavement yes or no

Post by regreen61 »

New owner to 68 F100 4x4
I searched this forum for an hour or so to see if I might learn the do’s and don’ts with driving this truck. I have several 50’s Ford and Chevy trucks though I am not familiar with how to drive and what I can do with this 4x4. Can I drive it on dry pavement in 4x4? If not, where can I drive it. Off-road, dirt, gravel? Wet or icy road surface? Yesterday I drove it for about 100ft in a dry pavement parking lot and it was obviously binding the drive-line. I could not switch the manual hubs back to unlocked and I could not shift the transfer case from 4 to 2. I jacked up one front wheel and the binding tension was released from the drive-line and I was able to unlock the hubs and shift back to the 2 position on the transfer case. I think I may have answered my own question I am looking for any advice driving this truck. Thank you for your time and advice.
68 Ford F100 4x4 / 49 Chevy PU / 51 Chevy Panel / 17 Explorer Sport / 01 Harley Road king
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eggman918
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Re: driving 68 F100 4x4 on dry pavement yes or no

Post by eggman918 »

Yup you did 4x4 only on loose surfaces
Steve

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Re: driving 68 F100 4x4 on dry pavement yes or no

Post by Lee »

Same as Eggman said.

Usually on these Ford 4x4's, Ford purposely made the front and back axle's ratio "a little" different. Example: My 1970 F250 has a 4.09:1 up front and a 4.10:1 in the rear.

An "old timer" once told me they did this to reduce drive line noise and wear (popping and banging when going on and off the gas) by keeping a little tension in the line.

If you find yourself again where you can't unlock the hubs or shift back to 2x4 from driving on to hard a surface, try backing up the truck 10-20 feet. This sometimes releases the stress on the drive line.

Lee
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Re: driving 68 F100 4x4 on dry pavement yes or no

Post by jjdeal79 »

I agree with all above.

I broke my passenger front hub one day. It was a typical cold winter day, here in Alaska. I had everything locked in due to snow and ice. Only had a few hundred miles on the tires and everything was going well. I came to an intersection where I was making a left turn. The light changed, I started off and BANG! The front end jumped and I knew something broke. The steering loosened up, so I knew I lost something in the front drive line. Once I got to work, I looked underneath and everything was fine. So I knew where the problem was.

The pavement was freshly scraped where I was making my turn. Everything else was snow and ice. I was only pulling through after a stop and speed limit on the road was 35mph. It's amazing how much torque these things make! I don't lock it in much unless it's a fresh snow or I'm on the loose stuff going up mountains!
-JJD-
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Rocket Doctor
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Re: driving 68 F100 4x4 on dry pavement yes or no

Post by Rocket Doctor »

Don't drive your truck on dry pavement with the hubs engaged AND the transfer case in "4 wheel". You've already experienced what happens if you do. If you leave the hubs locked all the time, with the 'case in "2 wheel", you'll see increased wear in the axle, front driveshaft, and transfer case. You'll also consume fuel unnecessarily. Take a few moments to disengage the hubs, kick the case into 2 wheel drive, and enjoy your truck on the dry pavement. You've probably driven it enough to already know that the F100's with the 'solid' Dana 44 front axle, and coil sprung front end drives entirely different than the "Twin I-Beam" 2 wheel drive trucks do.
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