I am new to Jeeps, Ive been thinking of something and need insight. If I have this correctly, my Wranglers hubs are locked full time, contributing to lower gas mileage, wear tear, drag... Does DC or us only use these for convence or strengh?? Why wouldnt we use manual locking hubs, except for the getting out to lock them they seem like a better deal. More mpgs less wear, drag and such. I had a 88k5 a long while ago with auto locking hubs, you just had to stop and back up to get them unlockedafter shifting out of 4. I could imagine strength issuse with those though. Any insights to educate me. thanks Tony
Manual hubs were used in the dark days when bearings, differentials, and transfer cases caused enough drag that Mr. Warn had a ready market for his manual hubs when he invented them. Since the introduction of unit-bearing hubs and better drivetrain components and bearings, manual hubs really aren't needed any more. And even with a front automatic locker, a manual hub is still not needed since you can't feel the locker's presence when you're in 2wd, at least not in a TJ.
I have a TJ and recently installed Warn manual hubs to get Warn's stronger
4340 axle shafts after breaking an axle shaft on Sledgehammer in Johnson Valley a few months ago. I literally can't tell any difference in how it drives now and how it drove before I installed the manual hubs. I have also had a "full-time" Powertrax automatic locker in my front axle for about two years now so it was there before and after the manual hubs were installed... there's literally no difference in feel whatsoever.
Roy, the YJ's driver's side axle is connected all the time so it does spin the differential. Only the passenger-side is disconnected when in 2wd so the YJ will steer better when in 2wd.
Does the YJ's driver side axle spin the differential, or just the side gears and spider gears, causing the passenger side half axle to spin in the other direction?
Now, for another exciting journey through the History of Locking Hubs ...
Early Jeeps had full time hubs, hubs that could not be unlocked. The trouble was that the technology of the metal was not very advanced, and the parts suffered from excessive wear because gears were turning that weren't being used for anything. Along came the manual hubs that the driver/participant passenger could get out and lock in when needed, and unlock when not needed. This gave longer life to the gears and other parts as compared to the previous iterations. Eventually, the manual locking devices were replaced by vacuum activated systems, allowing the driver and participating passengers to remain seated. There were marketing advantages here as well because many
4WD makers had actually improved the metals used in the axles and transfer cases, so having systems where your customers had to get out to fiddle with knobs and dials was a severe disadvantage for sales quotas.
Today, we have significant advances in metal technology, so we can do away with locking hubs altogether. No manual hubs, no automatic hubs, just plain old hubs that are always mechanically connected to the rest of the drivetrain.
The wear and tear, and lower fuel mileage are insignificant, and the only reason to use manual hubs is so that if the ujoint(s) break, you can separate the broken hub from everything else, and limp home in 2WD.
Stupid or not, the other car makers have done away (for the most part) with locking hubs, either manual or automatic. I can't remember the last new 4x4 I saw that had manual hubs, but the best of my memory was that it was on a 1 ton Ford, hardly a mainstream consumer vehicle.
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