OK to always leave in 4A?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

lawdog

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2017
Posts
570
Reaction score
201
Based on, among other things, threads here re: the grinding issue tied to the IWE, I drove in 4A for a few days. Like the OP, the mechanic at the Ford dealership I go to in Houston and my service adviser gave the same warning--don't drive in 4A all the time. They said something about it potentially causing overheating. With the IWE issue fixed (for now), I don't have a need for 4A unless I go into Rain Mode, so it's a non-issue. But it is just another frustration--on top of others, like hard shifting from 4th to 5th in Sport Mode--that don't breed confidence in Ford.

You may already have, but, if you haven't, the recent TSB/flash for the transmission cured the hard 4-5 sport shift for me (and others). I would recommend it, and I agree about the original lack of confidence in some areas/bugs.
 

TXRaptor

FRF Addict
Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Posts
1,851
Reaction score
1,044
As other have stated, I use 4A Weather Mode when it is raining or slick on the road, but I leave it in 2H Normal or Sport the majority of the time. Pretty simple.

If you are interested, here is a video that shows the how the Torsen works with a 3D graphic to make it much clearer than the 2D whiteboard version posted previously.

 

Todd Sherman

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Posts
52
Reaction score
10
Location
NJ
Do you all get some torque steer feeling when your in 4A ? I noticed it this week when driving in snow on 4A.
 

Badgertits

FRF Addict
Joined
Jan 24, 2019
Posts
2,743
Reaction score
2,391
Location
Ma
I’m gonna throw this out there as food for thought. It’s 100% true that running in 4A vs. 2wd will cause more wear on the drivetrain- more moving parts just means more wear.

On the other hand, not sure if anyone else experienced this, but I pretty much feel like the rear end is gonna explode any time I give it throttle on choppy pavement or off-road on pockmarked gravel or uneven snowy/dirt terrain. The wheel hop & diff chatter is atrocious. If you don’t take TC off from a stop in conditions like that in 2wd it immediately starts bucking, & even w/ TC off it still isn’t smooth or without axle lash.

So while there may be more wear on the drivetrain running 4A frequently, if you wanna drive the truck hard without feeling like your destroying the rear diff/axles/yolk then I’d suggest running 4A in those situations.
 

TXRaptor

FRF Addict
Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Posts
1,851
Reaction score
1,044
I’m gonna throw this out there as food for thought. It’s 100% true that running in 4A vs. 2wd will cause more wear on the drivetrain- more moving parts just means more wear.

On the other hand, not sure if anyone else experienced this, but I pretty much feel like the rear end is gonna explode any time I give it throttle on choppy pavement or off-road on pockmarked gravel or uneven snowy/dirt terrain. The wheel hop & diff chatter is atrocious. If you don’t take TC off from a stop in conditions like that in 2wd it immediately starts bucking, & even w/ TC off it still isn’t smooth or without axle lash.

So while there may be more wear on the drivetrain running 4A frequently, if you wanna drive the truck hard without feeling like your destroying the rear diff/axles/yolk then I’d suggest running 4A in those

Are you running Deavers?
 

Badgertits

FRF Addict
Joined
Jan 24, 2019
Posts
2,743
Reaction score
2,391
Location
Ma
Are you running Deavers?

No. On my to-do list. But JESUS is the wheel hop bad. I mean I literally can’t give it any kind of throttle from a dead stop say for instance on an uneven dirt lot covered in snow/ice. Give it gas in 2wd it just bucks & sounds horrific. Take TC off lil better but not by much.

TBH after researching quite a bit doesn’t really seem like deavers/icons are as useful as people make em out to be in that regard- better than stock sure, but seems like that’s a side selling point & main interest adding them is to increase ride height/add rake after leveling front & prevent sag.

Seems to me a torque arm is the real solution. I like that KHC offers a bolt-on design that doesn’t impede ground clearance.

Only thing I don’t like about it is while most ford techs/service mgrs are too clueless to notice a set of deavers over stock leafs, they for SURE will notice a TQ arm & if you have any drivetrain component issue my guess is they’ll blame it immediately on that despite the fact it really does the opposite- protects the rear axles/diff/driveshaft
 

EricM

FRF Addict
Joined
May 11, 2016
Posts
3,174
Reaction score
2,658
Location
OHIO
And yet the bedside stickers are $1075 lol!!

Labor. It takes lot longer to install two huge vinyl stickers than it takes to install no stickers at all. Not saying it's not overpriced, but there are legitimate reasons it costs so much.

With the diff, it's just a part cost. They are still putting something in there either way, you are simply covering the cost of the nicer part being dropped in, plus some profit for everyone.
 

TXRaptor

FRF Addict
Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Posts
1,851
Reaction score
1,044
No. On my to-do list. But JESUS is the wheel hop bad. I mean I literally can’t give it any kind of throttle from a dead stop say for instance on an uneven dirt lot covered in snow/ice. Give it gas in 2wd it just bucks & sounds horrific. Take TC off lil better but not by much.

TBH after researching quite a bit doesn’t really seem like deavers/icons are as useful as people make em out to be in that regard- better than stock sure, but seems like that’s a side selling point & main interest adding them is to increase ride height/add rake after leveling front & prevent sag.

Seems to me a torque arm is the real solution. I like that KHC offers a bolt-on design that doesn’t impede ground clearance.

Only thing I don’t like about it is while most ford techs/service mgrs are too clueless to notice a set of deavers over stock leafs, they for SURE will notice a TQ arm & if you have any drivetrain component issue my guess is they’ll blame it immediately on that despite the fact it really does the opposite- protects the rear axles/diff/driveshaft

My wheel hop on uneven surfaces went away after I installed Deaver +3s, so it is definitely worth the shot. I know they are not cheap, but nothing is on our trucks!
 
Top