Hey guys, not so much new to the forum but decided to make an account because I ran into a problem and wanted some opinions on whether my ride is still driveable. I have a 1992 Toyota Pickup that has been SAS'd and is running a 1982 front solid axle to give you some info about my truck. There is NO drive line hooked up to the axle yet, because I need one made still.

So 2 days ago, I was heading camping(3 hour trip), well 1 1/2 hours into the trip all of a sudden my truck was shaking and jerking very violently doing about 70mph up mountain passes. Saw smoke coming from the passenger side front fender, pulled over. We looked over the driveshaft for the rear axle, all was good. Engine ran smooth. Ended up being the manual locking hubs were improperly installed(my fault for just throwing them on the axle) the face on the hubs said they were in the "free" position but my diff was spinning when the truck moved, so that tells me the hubs were engaged the whole time. I tried to turn them to lock just to see what happens and they would stop before reaching the "LOCK" line. I touched the front diff where the driveline connects to it and it was VERY HOT! I started playing with it and heard metallic bits moving around as i turned the diff so my gear and pinion are guaranteed to be blown. After I found out the problem, I pulled the face off the hubs and fixed them to work properly. So when they were "free" they were free actually. I ended up getting back on the road and driving back home.

Now my question for you guys is, can I still drive my truck on the road in 2wd? Now that the hubs are free, nothing should be resisting in the front solid axle and holding me back or breaking anything, right? I hope to tear the axle down next weekend to see the damage and replace whatever broke, but I need my truck for work. I didn't encounter any problems on the drive home, but want to be double sure before I put it on the road again. Hope to hear helpful response cause this site kicks ass! Very helpful site.

 

If both of the hubs are truly disengaged, you should be able to operate your truck with no problems in 2wd.

 

Thanks for the confirmation millball. More confident to drive it now.

 

I have to wonder you could not figure this out yourself??

Yet your going to rebuild your Front differential interesting !!

The good thing is you were able to get the hubs installed the correct way and get home.

 

I haven't pulled it apart so i cant tell what is exactly binding and broken entirely. This rig has only been on the road 2-3 weeks since the SAS and I'm still new to learning the front solid axle inner parts. But i have welded all the armor, installed fj rotors and v6 calipers, spacers, and high steer. I have a spare v6 differential ready to go that i will be swapping in and hoping thats all i need.

 

Basically if you have manual hubs that will fully unlock on these older Toyotas, whether solid axle or ifs, you can unlock them and be fine in 2wd if it's a drivetrain problem(ie front diff, cv axle/birfields or driveline).