pros and cons of ESOF 4x4 and manual 4x4

BRYAN-2002-7.3

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ok guys I'm board and have nothing to talk about so lets start a new thread and lets see where this gose.

list the pro and cons of ESOF 4x4

do the same for manual 4x4.

Then in your opinion tell which one you preffer and why?:santa
 

DaveBen

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Manual; 4 X 4 because the ESOF does not always work. When you need 4 X 4, all you need is 4 X 4.

Dave
 

BigDaveZJ

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Every vehicle I've ever owned until my 250 has been a manual t-case shifter. I always figured if something went awry with the linkage, I could still manage to get into 4Hi/Lo. In searching for my truck the manual t-case shifter wasn't a must, but definitely highly desired. The truck I ended up buying has the ESOF, and it's held up plenty fine for me during record snows in Denver over the last couple weeks. Lots of shifting in and out of 4WD due to varying road conditions, and occasionally popping it into 4Lo to tug someone out of a snowbank. It still doesn't feel right to just turn a switch and be in 4WD, but it's worked so far. I still need to crawl under there and get a good understanding of how it all works just in case something does go haywire and I need to get in 4WD.
 

JohnBoyToo

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esof ever since my 98 jeep....
all b4 were manual -
all since have been vacuum switched -


and never had a problem with either of them...

never had the esof NOT work :)
 

bushpilot

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I THINK the important part of ESOF (or any 4wd) is that you
needed to "turn it on" BEFORE you need it.

the drawbacks of Manual are that pulling the lever is only 1/3 of the
necessary steps...you MUST get out and lock the manual hubs in....
if its muddy or snow/slush etc...then your out and walking in the muck
just to get the hubs locked in.

w/ ESOF you need to move the truck a couple of feet to insure/complete
the engagement.

the failures that ive read about (never personally experianced) on the
ESOF systems is the failure of the hub engagement...which are more
often than not tied to a vaccum leak.

if the hubs fail to lock then w/ the ESOF system you can STILL get out
and lock them in manually...no worse than you'd have to do w/ the a
fully manual system...course the issue is that youhave to KNOW the
vaccum system has failed to lock both the hubs (and the only way
to know this is when the wheels fail to turn :D

w/ the ESOF system the transfer case is ALSO electronically selected....
electronics fail...more so than mechanical levers...but ive not read about
any ESOF transfer case failures...
 

Frankenstien

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Having lived in Lake Tahoe... and now in the Land of Big Timber and Squishy Beeches... LAke Tahoe... In Mid 80's, I had the Pleasure or mis pleasure of having several Vehicles (Co. Cars) Subaru Wagon, Bronco ll, S-10 Blazer, and an Izuzu trooper 2.... Subarus 4X system then was a lever... never failed.. course it got stuck more times than I care to admit. The Subaru would high center on anything bigger than a football. The S-10 also had a manual t-case... however the front end would disengage in reverse if you had to Strain it.. IE backing up a steep parking lot with snow. The Izuzu left me stuck in the drive way as the front end would disengage at the site of work... hated that one... 0-60 in about a week.. down hill tailwind. The Bronco ll had manual every thing... It ALWAYS WORKED. my current Truck is Manual every thing... even the Windows.. :-( It too has never left me stranded not in 170,000 miles....
 

BRYAN-2002-7.3

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thanks guys I'm in the market for a new truck (not saying what it is) and I was just looking at my options
 

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