I HAVE A QUESTION ABOOT MANUAL HUBS. WOULD IT BE OK TO KEEP THE HUBS LOCKED IN 4WD OR IS THAT BAD? IM A TOOL AND I NEED TO KNOW IF ITS A PROBLEM.

 

It is ok to keep the hubs locked into 4wd, however it will keep the front driveline spinning at all times. That, in turn, will lead to lower mpg and increased wear on the front driveline (not anymore than normal though).

You may also notice turning might be a little stiffer, but nothing huge.

 

This time of year, it is very common for those of us that live where it snows to keep them locked so you can shift into 4WD without getting out. It will cause increased wear because the CV's, etc are turning while driving on the road, but nothing major.

 

A couple of points:

- Turn your CAPS LOCK off. That's considered screaming.

- Locking your manual hubs is not 4wd. It's simple that the hubs are locked. a good percentage of 4wd vehicles today have uint bearings in the front and do not have manual (or auto) hubs at all.

- It won't hurt a thing. All the Toyotas with ADD have their hubs "locked" all the time.

- Contrary to popular myth, hubs locked or unlocked will have no effect on your gas milage.




Fred

 

Huhh? How did you come up with that?!?

Lamm

 

Increased wear on the drivetrain up front yes, mpg stays the same locked or unlocked. I have a set of warn premiums on my T100 3.4L. I consistently get 16mpg or better locked or unlocked.

 

Yeah, my mileage doesn't change with the hubs locked/unlocked either

 

 

Just as CJM stated.
I have manuals and there is no difference in gas milage if I run 'em locked or unlocked.
I had ADD hubs before and there was no change in mpg when I did the manual hub conversion and ran with the hubs unlocked.

Same with the Jeeps (TJ's) that I ran for many years.

Why would you think that that there would be a difference in mpg ?
The amount of "drag" thats produced with the hubs locked is virtually nothing in the big realm of things.





Fred

 

After I swaped to manuals I felt a very apparent loss in drag and sustained an MPG gain. Granted this was done along with some general tune-up work as well but even now I will get less MPG with them locked than unlocked.

Lamm

 

I drove around all summer with my cv's completely removed. I experienced no MPG gain.

 

I think it can be attributed tot he tuneup and possibly using a winter vs summer grade of fuel. During winter I always get less MPG no matter what.

But since I got my truck, like I said locked/unlocked no gains or losses.

 

˟˟˟˟˟˟˟ canadians....

Just make sure your diff is oiled up, and you are fine.

On rigs with ADD, having hubs unlocked or locked makes no difference in gas mileage.

On rigs withOUT ADD, but with manual hubs, having the hubs locked in all the time will neagtivley affect gas mileage, since you are now turning CV's, Jack shaft, the entire diff assy, front driveline, and part of the T-case.

 

I thought we just went over this 3x. I have no ADD and manual hubs and it gives me NO GAIN OR LOSS IN MPG LOCKED OR UNLOCKED.

It's 100% a myth. I drove for 4 tanks with them totally locked and didnt do a damn thing to my mpg. Perhaps some see a difference but I attribute that to driver.

 

I too never really saw a MPG increase with manual hubs on the '92, but CV boots last WAY longer with them which is the best selling point IMO...

BTW, I don't know what kind of truck this guy has but it doesn't necessarily have ADD if it is indeed an '86. Just thought I'd throw that out there, although he can probably still run with the hubs locked if he doesn't mind some extra front end wear...

 

*disclaimer* -Your experience may vary-

lol

gain or no gain, who cares

Point is, locked up hubs wont hurt the truck.

 

Yup, that's true.
There are a lot of reasons to go with manual hubs, but an increase in mpg is not on of them....




Fred

 

1986-the deluxe SR5 came with AUTO hubs which only worked when you are going forward... no automatic differential disconnect.
If your hubs are LOCKED, you'll be turning all your gears including the driveshaft up to the transfer case. Not a big problem I guess.
Make sure your diff is topped with the proper lube, same for your Xfer case, keep the Ujoints greased, make sure your CV boots are good.
drive! its winter!!!

 

so, for us people with intense winters it seems that it is ABSOLUTELY FINE to drive with hubs locked in 2wd just incase we run into a tough spot and need to switch into 4wd as long as we're all oiled up etc?

 

Yup..




Fred