o/t Blinkin push button 4x4

Was taking my daughter fishin in my '03 Suburban today and found
out that the front axle wasn't locking up!
It is all clay around the pond we were trying to get to and once
the back tires broke through the grass cover we were done.
All I had for a shovel was an old WW2 era trenching tool. Not much help.
Luckily a buddy was able to rescue us with a Jeep.
I sure miss the t/case shift lever and lock out hubs.
End of rant, thanks.

Steve A W

Yeah, I've gotten a bit spoiled with being able to select 4wd at the push of a button while driving, but if not on a roadway, I wouldn't have anything but a floor-shift 4x4. My Dodge truck will shift into 4-lo while sitting still. Comes in VERY handy while plowing snow sometimes. Usually keep that truck in 4-hi, though it rarely ever leaves the yard.

That is what I like about my old 96 F250. Short of a major mechanical failure, I know when I snap the hubs in, and pull that lever back, I'm locked in. My Tahoe will flash sometimes, and I'll have to wait for it to decide when it wants to go in to 4wd. $20 worth of a lever was replaced with $500 worth of electrics that fail much more commonly than that lever ever has. Come to think of it, I've never broken, or seen a broke manual shift 4wd lever. But I sure have seen a lot of guys with stuck trucks that the pushbutton or 4wd engage motor decided it didn't want to work at that time. But it sure looks fancier with that button on the dash as compared to that stick on the floor.

Ross

I've never had a truck with lockouts as my first 1/2 of life it simply was not necessary - and in fact you could haul more weight more safely with 2wd. Up here, 4x4 is a must! The Dodge (2001 1/2-ton) doesn't have lockouts, but 4-lo works quite well. I don't have chains on it so there are times when I need to shift to 4-lo for a short time. As for 4-hi, the truck won't hardly go at all in 2wd but works great in 4-hi. Had to get an off-brand of tires some time back and the rubber is rather hard - so lots of spinning tires in 2wd.

As for the 2004 Chevy 1/2-ton that has push button, the 4-hi on it made a bit of noise when we first got the truck. Also, it was VERY often that the truck wouldn't even shift into 4-hi from 2wd, or into 4-lo from 4-hi. Now that I use it more often it seems to work more like it should. Still, can't remember the last time I even "tried" to shift the thing when sitting still. This truck has to be moving in order to shift. Which means if you're already stuck, ....then you're stuck! But at least it has awesome tires on it!! I use General Grabber AT2 tires, and I swear I will NEVER go back to Goodyear Wranglers....or any other tire!! These General Grabbers work awesome year-yound and are actually quieter than Goodyear HP's, which are supposed to be on-road tires. Lots less expensive also!

That is the way I ordered my '05 F-250...... lock out hubs and manual shift transfer case. I don't have quite 75K on it yet as it is my last new truck. Used mostly for pulling my gooseneck, and plowing snow.

yup, I like my '02 Chevy with the shift lever. I KNOW it's in 4x4. I've got an '04 F150 with a knob on the dash. Move it to 4Hi and the light stays off for a bit sometimes. Don't know if it's an indicator thing or whether the darn thing just didn't shift.

I juat got through replacing the motor and switch in my 96 service truck went to back in the shop spun out so hit the 4 hi button it ground but shifted next day same thing only woudnt shift replaced the motor then only had 2wd and 4lo replaced the switch on the dash good as new again . I was going to change it to a manual shift case when I rebuilt it but didn't wish I would have now