alanbobalan

i have a quick question regarding the manual locking hubs on my 87 4runner. can i drive with the hubs locked in 2wd or with the hubs unlocked in 4x4? or vice versa? and can i switch between 2wd and 4x4 while still in motion or between 4low and 4high while still in motion?

i used to have auto hubs on my rig but i switched to manual hubs after the autos broke. they were garbage anyway. so i'm not really accustomed to manual hubs. everytime i go wheeling i stop whenever i shift between 2wd and 4x4 and from 4low to high low. and i keep the hubs locked when i'm in 4x4 and as soon as i'm done wheeling i unlock the hubs and shift back into 4x4. i just want to know if it's going to break anything or what's going to happen if i drive with the hubs unlocked in 4x4 etc etc..

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!!

jimbo74

with the hubs locked in 4x4 you get 4x4 with the hubs unlocked in 4x4 all thats happening is the rear end is getting partial power.... however this does allow 2wd low range which is sometimes needed... however if you have 4x4 low range.. re3ally no reason not to have the extra 2 drive wheels if you are lacking that much traction...

its not going to break anything, just dont do pavement driving with the 4x4 on and hubs lcoked... also 2wd with the front hubs locked on pavement should be kept to a minimum as it will still handle and ride harsh and will cuase binding in turning situations as the front axle is still spinning

toy283

I question some of your answers:
I agree
Actually the amount of power going to the front is minimal. You have to have resistance in order to get power, the only resistance up front is some due to friction in the drivetrain. The rear is still getting about 99% of the engines power output as this is where all the resistance is.
Boat ramps are a common place for needing 2wd-lo. Usually they are concrete and thus 4wd-lo could be bad juju.
I agree here as well. 4wd is not AWD and should be avoided on hard, dry surfaces.
Not true. There is nothing to bind in the front end when the hubs are locked but the t-case is in 2wd unless there is a front spool. With stock diffs, any binding occurs front-to-rear not side-to-side when the t-case is in 4wd. When it's in 2wd, the diff will allow the two sides to spin at different speeds as is required. Even a locker up front will allow differentiation when the t-case is in 2wd.

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

OK to drive w/ hubs locked. If they are locked you can shift between 2H and 4H at any speed, no need to stop, no need to use the clutch, just let off the gas a little (you don't want to be in hard acceleration or deceleration) and pull/push the t-case shift lever. You do need to be at or near stop to shift into and out of 4LO, unless you are good at double-clutching.

jimbo74

toy283... actually if you have both axleshafts with the hubs locked and the driveshaft doenst have power, its essentially not freespooling, and there is a chance to bind up even if the vehicle does not have a spool because of the whole resistance thing.... when there are 3 shafts, and one is locked, with the other 2 operating there is always a chance of the diff slipping, and this can slip to the point of snapping sometihnig... it could... the theory is there..... on my ford 4x4, when i had the front hubs locked and the rear end only in 4x2 trying to make a turn still caused violent jolting of the front end...

toy283

Then how do you explain the auto4wd function on newer Fords. My parents Explorer (2003) has no front hubs, no axle disconnects of any sort. It is the very same thing as driving around with the hubs locked on our trucks. The front differential allows full differentiation between the two sides. Simply put, the spider and side gears rotate allowing the two sides to turn differently. If you had problems with an old Ford, sounds like you had a problem. I routinely drive with hubs locked and in 2wd, every winter and every trail run to be exact. Only time I notice any binding is with the trail rig which has a front spool.

smiljko

My owners manual says that its reccomended to drive 10 miles with the hubs locked every month to get lubrication.

leebee

if im not mistaken, driving with the front hubs locked in 2wd is the same as having the add system which is on my 93. you can shift into and out of 4wd hi on the fly, so to speak. there should be no 'binding' of the front end as the tcase is not engaged. as 4crawler noted, lift the throttle while shifting the tcase and you should be fine. shifting into and out of 4lo should be done preferably at a stop or less than 5 mph. hope this helps.

lee

TrlRnnr

O.k....My $.02......To my understanding ADD means Auto Differential Disconnect....So essentially it would be like driving around with your hubs locked in 2wd...which I used to do all the time in my 88 4Runner with no problems whatsoever...I'd hit the trail and throw it into 4hi without having to get out of the truck...although I would click the hubs back over to free and run it that way for awhile just to keep things lubricated. I was also told that keeping your hubs locked also kept your axles moving which could lead to premature wearing of parts. Which is why there is such a dislike for the ADD systems. They're always engaged and thus so are your axles which is another reaons why they recomend converting to manual hubs before lifting a vehicle with ADD because it will radically change the angle of the CV joint and could lead to serious damage with those axles rotating constantly at high way speeds. I could be wrong in all my ranting but that's what techys' are for....to school the misinformed and keep things right.

Cebby

Good! I'm glad someone responded about this in this way. I subscribe to this thinking.

There is one important diffference, the 87 doesn't have the ADD axle tubes, so the differential isn't "disconnecting".

BUT... since it is an open diff, it shouldn't make any difference.

This is how mine is set up now. I've driven with the front hubs locked to give the new R&P some action. Never any binding. Most of the winter my hubs will remain locked so I can shift on the fly.

Jim - do you have hubs?

Glenn

That is not correct. There is no bind up because the driveshafts are not connected via the transfer case.

kyle_22r

there's many vehicles in the past that had fulltime front hubs as well(no disconnects) like older wagonneers/fullsize cherokees and some late 70s dodge pickups...

toy283

And some current ones as well. The aforementioned 2003 Explorer my parents have is one of them. The auto 4wd sytem uses the ABS sensors to detect a difference in wheelspeed between the front and rear wheels. If there's a difference, it shifts the t-case into 4WD. There's no disconnect on the front axle at all, the axleshafts and diff turn all the time.

94yotaSup

With the hubs locked and in 2wd should there be a slight vibration while driving highway speeds? Or should there be no difference at all? With my hubs unlocked the truck rides smooth, when I lock them I get a slight vibration.

alanbobalan

hey thanks so much for the info guys. i think i got more than i asked for. but one last question... what about driving with the hubs unlocked with the transfer case in 4x4? not that i've done this or plan on doing this. i just think it might be a good thing to know.

thanks you guys rule!

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

You may feel a slight vibration with either the front hubs locked or when them unlocked and the t-case in 4H (or 4L). Why, because you have the whole front drivetrain moving, under no load and unless everything is perfectly balanced, aligned and tight, parts will tend to vibrate, especially the driveshaft. It is no problem to run 4H or 4L with the front hubs unlocked. 4H is no different than 2H in that situation, but 4L with the front hubs unlocked is essentially 2L. I use 2L all the time in my truck, handing for manuevering in tight spaces, up steep hills, etc. Since I have dual cases, I have a true 2L, but when I only had one case, I used 4L/unlocked all the time.

uboatcmndr

I like it

alanbobalan

4crawler- thanks so much. those were some good pointers to know. also, i might be hitting you up for a body lift soon when i get some more mula saved up. woooooooo!