Esof And Plowing

[JD PLOWER]

Does anyone have an esof equipped truck that plows commercially? The reason I ask is I've seen a truck I am interested in that has esof and I've never owned one so I need some help with this. Does it hold up well? How many miles on your truck? Any precautions with this type of setup? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. :waving

[cat320]

JD what is esof?

[BKrois]

esof = Electronic Shift On the Fly , for the transfer case

[HerkFE]

I have it on my 99 F-250. The truck came with it otherwise I would have preferred the good 'ole stick. I have just recently started to have a problem with the 4wd system but I believe it is in the AUTO hubs and not the ESOF. When in AUTO on the hubs and I engage 4wd I hear the "thunk" but I don't get the front wheels engaged. Pop it out to 2wd and go to LOCK with the hubs, shift the switch to 4wd and "thunk" works like a charm. Just started happening after this cold spell. I believe the hubs are vacuum actuated so I will do some troubleshooting when I get some time. (Anyone feel free to offer some hints here?) The ESOF with regards to transfer case works fine and I have had no complaints there. Works as advertised. There is an interlock that you have to really press on the brake pedal to go to 4wd low. Probably a good idea since 4wd low could concievably be selected by accident when selecting 4wd high.

[sno-mover]

I also have them and are very nice feature,:D On my old truck I would some times have to fight to go in 4 wheel, now I turn the knob:grinz

[cat320]

As nice as it is to just push a button and go into 4wd I'm still old fashion and would stay with the on floor linkage .JD what truck are you looking at?

[JD PLOWER]

Cat its a truck I've seen around here. I'm just looking right now but I'm interested in the idea of ESOF since many used trucks now have it. I won't be buying anything for quite some time so I have a chance to do some research.

[River Hill]

I have ESOF on a 2002 Ford and a 2003 Ford and both work great.

[Dockboy]

JD,

If you get serious about one with esof, I would look into changing the the hubs to manual. That way you at least eliminate one of the trouble pieces of the esof. The AUTO hubs may be nice for the periodic times you need 4wd in the summer, but hell, my hubs stay locked from about Dec. to March in the winter anyway!!;) About the only time I unlock them is if I'm going on a long road trip and I know there will be no snow:D

[BOUNDS-ELECTRIC]

I have it on my F-350! I have hubs that say alto-lock! I like it but like to leave hubs locked in when heavy four wheeling! I than can go from 4-2 2-4 and do not have to worry if hubs are locked!

[Jay ALC]

I have ESOF on my 2002 and love it, haven't had any problems with it even with the two seasons of plowing so far.

I have the good ole stick on the floor, as someone else put it, in my 2000, I was curious to know if it causes any excess wear to leave the hubs locked in during say the winter but only pull the stick into 4x4 when I actually need it?? Thanks in advance.

[Dockboy]

Jay,

Of coarse it causes some wear, but not excessive. Just try not to make alot of full wheel lock turns!! The biggest noticable thing is you will loose a mile or two on your mileage;)

If you look in your manual you will see that it is recommended to lock the hubs periodically anyway to ensure the hubs, axle and diff. stay lubed and in good working order;)

[Jay ALC]

Greg,
I knew you'd have the answer. :) Thanks.

[Dockboy]

:greenange

[chtucker]

It is hard to find a truck without ESOF.

Most common problem is not the transfer case, but the hubs. The hubs develope vacum leaks and refuse to engage or the vacum hose gets ripped or disconnected. Most people don't manually actuate there hubs to keep the seals flexible and that is the most common problem. A friend of mine cannot keep his auto hubs working. He submerges them everday in the spring runoff on the way to his cabin.

Second problem is the little vacumn pump that runs the HVAC ductwork and the ESOF. My little pump fried and the HVAC defaulted to defrost and my hubs did not engage at all. $110 for the part

The transfer case is operated by an electric acutator that I have yet to hear a problem about.

The superduty auto hubs seem to have been much better built the the pre 98 models. I blew up auto hubs at least once a winter.

[CPSS]

I have the ESOF system on my 2001 and 2003. On the 01, the hubs sometimes wouldn't engage. Gradually got worse and worse, till finally wouldn't work at all. I replaced them with WARN PREMIUM manual locking hubs. When it snowing I simply lock the hubs manually and use the dash switch to go in and out of 4WD. The hubs cost $176 a pair at NAPA and took about 10 min to swap.

[CPSS]

New

[Pickering Snow]

Dont go with esof unless your prepared to play the hub replacing game of all the superdutys i own i only have one the 00 which was my first it has had 3 sets of hubs replaced under warr and i dont know how many vac seals when the hub seals fail the truck whisles i will never have another also the auto/manuel feature is worthless when the hub dial siezes and cant be turned the next time they fail it will be on me and the truck will get a set of warn manuels.

[JD PLOWER]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Its what I expected to hear, mixed results. CPSS what type of mileage did you have on you trucks when you replaced those hubs?

[CPSS]

Around 40K. I still like the dash mounted ESOF switch. It's easier to use than the old floor mounted shifter. I will probably still get ESOF on the next truck. The manual hubs are not that much money to add later, and you still get the neat dash switch.

[Randy Clarke]

JD our 2000 Ex has 210,000km on ESOF and original hubs and no greef...01 f250 90,000km ESOF no grief but our 03 f250 has the shift stick....why ?? hearing other people having issues. I like the mileage advantage with it and ease of use though. I think moisture will really case the vacuum ESOF hubs to not engage. If your really hammering it in a stuck in reverse those ESOF hubs will dissengage in reverse so you need to still lock the hubs manually to cure that.
Not a specialist but I sure have been stuck...

[CPSS]

I've heard some guys remove them every few months and soak them in ATF, then reassemble. Mine went because I never used the manual lock position, and the rubber O ring siezed. When I tried turning to the lock position ( with plyers) the O ring tore up and split out the side.