82 need help with 4wd

so i just got my first bronco and i need some help with a few things first is the hubs how do i check to see if there working and next is the shifter ,im shure some one has changed the **** but my dash light comes on every were but nutral is this normal? and what is the gear order its a 82

Ros,

Let me be the first to welcome you to BroncoZone.

Please goto MyControls, and personal profile, and enter the information about your truck, year, engine size carbed or EFI, and any additional info like tire size so that we have a better reference point when we try to answer your questions.

Also, when you post, if you can, re-read your post before you submit it and make sure that it accurately depicts your problem and the question that you are asking. That will make it easier for us to give you a meaningful answer, thereby making your experience, here at broncozone, more rewarding.

Thanks

joe

so i just got my first bronco and i need some help with a few things first is the hubs how do i check to see if there working and next is the shifter ,im shure some one has changed the **** but my dash light comes on every were but nutral is this normal? and what is the gear order its a 82

Click to expand...

Congrats on the Bronco... I hope you find ownership of it as rewarding as I have mine.

For a quick check of the hubs, go to a dirt road, lock them, put her in 4WD and give it the gas for 10 feet.

Then roll forward, stop and get out and look at your tracks. if there are four of them... you are good to go.

IF you have auto hubs, there is a thread in the tech howto section that tells you how to lock and unlock them.

Which dash light comes on... there are about 20 of them, and when?

The gear order is 1---2---3.

There are a bunch of us here at BroncoZone who just live to help fellow bronco owners. Let us help you.

Think through what is, and is NOT happening with your truck, put it in writing so that we can FULLY understand what is going on, and ask questions.

Welcome aboard.

joe

thanks joe let me tell you a little more. so i just got the truck ive always wanted a bronco and know i have one ,its great so here the deal as far as my 4wd goes i was mot shure if it worked so i did the only thing i could think of i got it stuck, so i got out locked the hubs and put it in gear(what i think is 4lo,more on that later) and tried to ease out well it didnt got to well, so i got on the gas and got it out but my front tires were not turning, but if i do the same on hard ground i can fell the pull but not spin the tires. As far as the light i mean the 4x4 light its always on except when the transfer case in in neutral and i get know power to the wheels at all. and the 4wd shifter the **** has been changed and i would like to know what the gear order is. i hope this helps more then my last post.

thanx

ros

rostheiceman said:

thanks joe let me tell you a little more. so i just got the truck ive always wanted a bronco and know i have one ,its great so here the deal as far as my 4wd goes i was mot shure if it worked so i did the only thing i could think of i got it stuck, so i got out locked the hubs and put it in gear(what i think is 4lo,more on that later) and tried to ease out well it didnt got to well, so i got on the gas and got it out but my front tires were not turning, but if i do the same on hard ground i can fell the pull but not spin the tires. As far as the light i mean the 4x4 light its always on except when the transfer case in in neutral and i get know power to the wheels at all. and the 4wd shifter the **** has been changed and i would like to know what the gear order is. i hope this helps more then my last post.
thanx

ros

Click to expand...

The 4x4 shifter order is, all the way forward = 2WD HI, next step back = 4WD HI, Next step back = neutral and all the way back = 4WD LOW. You can shift between 2WD HI, and 4WD HI at any time but to shift into 4WD LOW both the transmission and transfer case must be in neutral. I find it easiest to get into 4WD LO with the engine off, key in the ON position to allow moving the shifter (Automatic) into neutral and then moving the transfer case all the way to the rear, (if you go slow you can feel it engage in each position from 2HI to 4LOW.

To test the hubs, try the following: (engine off, hubs disengaged), crawl under the truck with the transfer case in 2HI, you should be able to grab the front drive shaft and turn it by hand. Also with the hubs disengaged you should see the front axles turning freely. Now engage the hubs and you should not be able to turn the drive shaft by hand. Jack the front wheels off the ground with the hubs engaged, turn the drive shaft by hand, the wheels should turn.

The 4x4 light should not be on in 2HI, when in 4LOW you may have a low range light on, (not all trucks have that light) at least mine doesn't.

Good luck,

>-

rostheiceman said:

thanks joe let me tell you a little more. so i just got the truck ive always wanted a bronco and know i have one ,its great so here the deal as far as my 4wd goes i was mot shure if it worked so i did the only thing i could think of i got it stuck, so i got out locked the hubs and put it in gear(what i think is 4lo,more on that later) and tried to ease out well it didnt got to well, so i got on the gas and got it out but my front tires were not turning, but if i do the same on hard ground i can fell the pull but not spin the tires. As far as the light i mean the 4x4 light its always on except when the transfer case in in neutral and i get know power to the wheels at all. and the 4wd shifter the **** has been changed and i would like to know what the gear order is. i hope this helps more then my last post.thanx

ros

Click to expand...

It sure does, and I see that Seabronc has already responded.

His method of checking the hubs is better than mine. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Good luck and be sure to let us know how it all works out for you!

joe

Seabronc said:

The 4x4 shifter order is, all the way forward = 2WD HI, next step back = 4WD HI, Next step back = neutral and all the way back = 4WD LOW. You can shift between 2WD HI, and 4WD HI at any time but to shift into 4WD LOW both the transmission and transfer case must be in neutral. I find it easiest to get into 4WD LO with the engine off, key in the ON position to allow moving the shifter (Automatic) into neutral and then moving the transfer case all the way to the rear, (if you go slow you can feel it engage in each position from 2HI to 4LOW.
To test the hubs, try the following: (engine off, hubs disengaged), crawl under the truck with the transfer case in 2HI, you should be able to grab the front drive shaft and turn it by hand. Also with the hubs disengaged you should see the front axles turning freely. Now engage the hubs and you should not be able to turn the drive shaft by hand. Jack the front wheels off the ground with the hubs engaged, turn the drive shaft by hand, the wheels should turn.

The 4x4 light should not be on in 2HI, when in 4LOW you may have a low range light on, (not all trucks have that light) at least mine doesn't.

Good luck,

>-

Click to expand...

I left out a step. With the front still on the ground, transfer case in 4HI, hubs engaged, you should not be able to turn the drive shaft by hand. Alternately jack up a front wheel and the free wheel should turn when turning the shaft.

>-

thanx guys i have found that i need new hubs,now the next prob, like i sead the 4x4 light onley goes out when its in neutral so im lost on wether it should be on in 2hi, plus something im not shure about in 2wd should the front shaft turn? if not then either i cant find 2hi or the case is supossed to be in neutral to run in 2wd, but with the case in neutral i get no power to the wheels. could use the help here.

thanx alot

ros

As Seabronc stated, the "4X4" light should only be on when in 4HI or 4LO, and should go off when in 2HI or N. If the light stays on when you think the t-case is in 2HI, the front driveshaft should not turn on it's on power. Some t-case models have a shift indicator on the back to tell you what range you're in. I'm thinking that if the 4x4 light goes off when you put the t-case in "N", that you're not getting back into 2HI for some reason. Remember that you need to back up about 10-20 feet after shifting from 4HI to 2Hi, so it disengages the auto-locking hubs. And as Bronco Joe posted, the shifter position should be 2HI all the way forward, closest to the firewall. While it's sometimes hard to tell if you're in 2Hi or 4Hi, when yo get into 4LO the engine will feel like it's revving alot more at slow speed, due to the gear reduction in the t-case. What have you found to decide that the front hubs are bad? JSM84

thanx for all your help guys, i found the prob something i didnt mention and maybe i should have the truck has a 6 inch body lift on it and it seems that whoever lifted it didnt think about the shifter hiting the floor and not letting go from 4hi to 2hi well a little heat from the tourch and a tug with a pipe and im in 2hi. now a new set of hubs and ill have 4wd. next prob, some times when im going down the road the motor kind of sputters, it happens when im at a steady speed or on the gas any ideas?

Do you mean a 6" suspension lift, or a 6" body lift (spacers bewteen the frame and body). Anything over a 3" body lift is not only unsafe, but may be illegal to drive on the road. If you have graphite or rubber spacers on the body mounts, measure one of these and post up what you have. You often have problems with the shiftger with a 2-3" body lift, and I do think you solved your own problem. As for the sputter, I'd first check the fuel filter at the carb, where the fuel line comes in. then perhaps a tune-up is in order, JSM84

I'm a little confused, do you have manual or automatic hubs? If you have manual, you don't need to do the 10 ft. thing to engage them, they are engaged as soon as the locks are turned by hand. Also, you need to turn them to the right, (almost a full turn), until you feel it drop into the detente. To unlock, all the way to the left until it drops into the detente. Some times they don't drop out of the lock position until the wheel moves slightly due to the pressure on the gears. They may need to be disassembled and cleaned if they have set long, (very lightly greased, don't pack it in).

If you have auto lockers, a lot of people convert to manuals due to their reputation for failing to lock in when most needed. They will not lock in if the vehicle is unable to move. You need to already be in 4x4 with them locked before you get stuck.

Either type will fail if not maintained, but the auto lockers are more sensitive to poor maintenance. Since you are messing with the front drive train, check the condition of the U-joints. They tend to freeze up when left unexercised for a long period of time. It doesn't hurt to run in 4x4 for a short time to exercise them, (about once a month). Do not run on dry pavement in 4x4 for any length of time, it tends to put unnecessary wear on the front components and it will definitely hit you in the GAS pocket. In Winter on snow covered roads, I run with the hubs locked so I can pop into 4x4 as needed. Unlike the new full time 4x4 systems, part time 4x4 is not intended to be in that mode all the time.

Good luck,

>-

hay guys in response to your post justshootme its a 5" body lift and as far as i know thats not illegl in florida, and you seabronc there manual hubs. so i put it up on jackstands to see what was up frist i checked the hubs to see if thay were froze up, i took the frist apart and found it was in working order so i moved to the other side and found there was nothing there no guts just the cap so i think thats the problum. if theres only 1 wheel locked what would happen?

If one hub is locked and the other isn't, both axleshafts will still turn in 4HI/4LO. You just won't have any power in the wheel with the non-functioning hub. And whenever you do a body lift, you can pull out a wire or two. I'd just check the wiring fro mthe t-case, and see if anything is broken like a plug or hanging wire. JSM84