4x4 question

[ralphy]

I've never owned a 4wheel drive before and a friend of mine was telling me that I should of gotten a truck with locking front hubs, that the front end will not lock in if the front wheels are not rolling. is that true on my xj?:confused:

[Mudderoy]

I've never owned a 4wheel drive before and a friend of mine was telling me that I should of gotten a truck with locking front hubs, that the front end will not lock in if the front wheels are not rolling. is that true on my xj?:confused:

One of the really cool things about my 1983 Chevy 4x4 Pickup was automatic locking and unlocking hubs. When I engage 4x4 they would lock. To unlock I would have to take it out of 4x4 and back up and 10 to 20 feet, until I heard two clicks.

Your year model XJ front hubs are locked all the time, so to speak. All the mechanical stuff turns if the wheels are turning. When you put it in 4x4 power is applied to that stuff, when you are not in 4x4 no power is applied.

There are kits that allow you to manually lock and unlock the front hubs. It's about $1500 and one of the things the kit says is it will save you money in better gas mileage. Well that makes sense, but everyone that has done it didn't have any fuel savings. They just get to get out and lock the hubs manually and spend $1500.

So what is the point of locking hubs anyway? I mean if want to put a locker in the front diff you could use the manual hubs to make the Jeep more drivable, but then again they make switchable lockers these days so for $1000 you can put a ARB and a air compressor in your rig and have the ability to turn on and turn off the front locker from the relative comfort of the inside of your rig.

Maybe someone else will jump in here and say something I haven't thought of that would make manual hubs more sensible.

[4.3LXJ]

One of the really cool things about my 1983 Chevy 4x4 Pickup was automatic locking and unlocking hubs. When I engage 4x4 they would lock. To unlock I would have to take it out of 4x4 and back up and 10 to 20 feet, until I heard two clicks.

Your year model XJ front hubs are locked all the time, so to speak. All the mechanical stuff turns if the wheels are turning. When you put it in 4x4 power is applied to that stuff, when you are not in 4x4 no power is applied.

There are kits that allow you to manually lock and unlock the front hubs. It's about $1500 and one of the things the kit says is it will save you money in better gas mileage. Well that makes sense, but everyone that has done it didn't have any fuel savings. They just get to get out and lock the hubs manually and spend $1500.

So what is the point of locking hubs anyway? I mean if want to put a locker in the front diff you could use the manual hubs to make the Jeep more drivable, but then again they make switchable lockers these days so for $1000 you can put a ARB and a air compressor in your rig and have the ability to turn on and turn off the front locker from the relative comfort of the inside of your rig.

Maybe someone else will jump in here and say something I haven't thought of that would make manual hubs more sensible.

X2 I would also add that 4X4s have gone through an evolution on hubs. At first hubs were engaged all the time and had a live axle that went through a spindle. Then sometime after WWII the free wheeling hubs were invented and they were all the rage. Then in the 80s, the unit bearing hub was designed to accommodate full time four wheel drive. That design was also carried over to part time 4X4. To do this they came up with the axle disconnect which allows the axles to turn in opposite directions through the spider gears and not turn over the ring and pinion. This takes very little energy so has the advantage of free wheeling hubs and also the convenience of just pulling a lever to engage.

[ralphy]

Sweet! thanks alot for the info. This jeep is smaller than the Grand Cherokee I used to own but it's my first 4x4 ever, and I love it!