manual locking hubs

[PingSpike]

Is that the case with all manual locking systems? That you can safely leave the hubs engaged while driving in dry conditions, then engage 4WD if the roads become slippery? Or does this work differently between different makes/models?

I keep reading people saying that they have to get out and disengage/engage the hubs when the roads get slippery...but if you're driving in marginal conditions, or expect too...couldn't you just leave the hubs locked so that you can engage 4WD when you need it? It seems like if you couldn't do that it would be a collosal pain in the ass if you were driving between plowed and poorly plowed roads.

I realize there is some additional wear and tear and a small MPG loss from leaving them locked.

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
MPG loss from leaving them locked.

I think that this is the biggest item you'll notice. When you unlock the hubs, the vehicle acts like a 2WD. If you leave the hubs locked but disengage four wheel drive, you are still turning all of the front drive components, which hurts your gas mileage.

I may be wrong though... I've never had a vehicle with manual locking hubs.

 

[Zenmervolt]

If the front differential is limited slip leaving the hubs locked can cause odd handling in certain circumstances, but if it's open then all you'll do is reduce gas mileage and possibly cause some "clunk" type sounds from the front drivetrain being spun by the wheels. Nothing catastrophic and you can certainly leave the hubs locked if you are in marginal conditions.

ZV

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
If the front differential is limited slip leaving the hubs locked can cause odd handling in certain circumstances, but if it's open then all you'll do is reduce gas mileage and possibly cause some "clunk" type sounds from the front drivetrain being spun by the wheels. Nothing catastrophic and you can certainly leave the hubs locked if you are in marginal conditions.

ZV

And if you have a locker (not likely, otherwise you probably wouldn't be asking) it would cause some really funky odd handling situations. Until you get used to it of course.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Lots of people leave them locked in the winter

 

[desy]

I found with them locked but not engauged added resistance, and say at a light you have that much more to overcome and get slipping from the back end.
It also deadens your steering and it feels heavy and unresponsive.

If its marginal I untimatley decided to just put on 4X4

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
If the front differential is limited slip leaving the hubs locked can cause odd handling in certain circumstances, but if it's open then all you'll do is reduce gas mileage and possibly cause some "clunk" type sounds from the front drivetrain being spun by the wheels. Nothing catastrophic and you can certainly leave the hubs locked if you are in marginal conditions.

ZV

And if you have a locker (not likely, otherwise you probably wouldn't be asking) it would cause some really funky odd handling situations. Until you get used to it of course.

Shouldn't matter, since most lockers (such as a Detroit) need input from the pinion (driveshaft) to lock. They are unlocked when coasting, which is what they'd be doing if the transfer case wasn't in 4WD.

Regardless, no truck (until recently) that came with manual locking hubs had a front locker or limited-slip in the first place. The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon has air lockers in the front and rear, but they are only available in 4 Low, so that wouldn't affect normal driving.

Let me amend that to say no 1/2 ton truck did that I've ever seen. I've seen some 1 tons that had LSD's in the front. Probably some 3/4 ton trucks, too.

But you'd get the added wear and tear of everything spinning up there, plus the extra drag so it'd reduce gas mileage slightly. But you could shift in and out of 4 Hi anytime with the hubs locked. It's a good thing to do when it snows and maybe the main roads are clear but side roads and neighborhoods aren't.
The old manuals in trucks that had locking hubs even recommended you lock the hubs at least once a month and drive xxx miles to keep everything lubricated.

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Let me amend that to say no 1/2 ton truck did that I've ever seen. I've seen some 1 tons that had LSD's in the front. Probably some 3/4 ton trucks, too.
.

Ford actually had a factoru option for the f-150 and Broncos from the 80-s up until the death of the bronco...rare though. Even when unlocked I can feel a little extra resistance upfron with my locker.

Don't worry about the hubs beeing locked if you aren't in 4wd

 

[marvdmartian]

Yep, my 98 Nissan Frontier 4x4 owner's manual tells me to lock the hubs once a month, and drive at least 10 miles, to lubricate the front end gears. I oftentimes forget about it for a lot longer than 10 miles, and it's never done any harm (and in fact saved my ass on an ice slick one time! LOL).
I don't think I'd drive for very long at high speeds, since 4-high isn't really designed for it, but short periods shouldn't hurt any. For city speed driving, you should be able to run it pretty much endlessly without hurting anything, especially in the wintertime.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
I don't think I'd drive for very long at high speeds, since 4-high isn't really designed for it,

You can run all day and all night at 80 mph in 4-high without problems. Hell, you could do that in low-range too if you didn't need to go around corners. The only issue with 4-high at speed is a slight amount of tire scrub around corners so you need to reduce your cornering speeds a bit, otherwise it's no big deal.

ZV

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Shouldn't matter, since most lockers (such as a Detroit) need input from the pinion (driveshaft) to lock. They are unlocked when coasting, which is what they'd be doing if the transfer case wasn't in 4WD.

I am sorry but that is false, at least where the Detroit Locker and all it's derivatives are concerned. They are locked all the time. They only "unlock" when differentiation is required and it is the input from the axles wanting to turn at different speeds that causes that....it has nothing to do with pinion input.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb

Shouldn't matter, since most lockers (such as a Detroit) need input from the pinion (driveshaft) to lock. They are unlocked when coasting, which is what they'd be doing if the transfer case wasn't in 4WD.

I am sorry but that is false, at least where the Detroit Locker and all it's derivatives are concerned. They are locked all the time. They only "unlock" when differentiation is required and it is the input from the axles wanting to turn at different speeds that causes that....it has nothing to do with pinion input.

Edit: PDF Link

Edit: Actually, I thought about it some more, and you are dead wrong and I was right to begin with, so I erased the earlier stuff:

The Detroit Locker is an automatic locking differential designed to lock both wheels of the axle together automatically with power input, when forward or reverse torque is applied, so that both wheels are providing 100% power to the ground. This action creates essentially a "spool" that solidly connects the axle shafts together. When torque is not being applied, the Detroit Locker is allowed to unlock, permitting a differentiation variance in wheel speed while negotiating turns. The later Soft-Locker design has a stronger case as well as a dampening mechanism to reduce banging and clunking characteristic to the earlier Detroit Locker.

Link to description.
I've proven this before, when I had my old Jeep on a lift. The rear wheels spun freely and independently of each other, yet when I drove it, they locked up tight whenever I was giving it gas in forward or reverse.

 

[Ronstang]

That is a NoSpin differential, made by Detroit Locker. It is NOT what people refer to as a Detroit Locker. The traditional Detroit Locker known to everyone in the racing industry is a completely different differential.. We are talking apples and oranges. I thought when you put Detroit Locker in the parentheses you were talking about the actual "Detroit Locker" differential. I have never seen a NoSpin dff as it would be useless in racing. I could break that thing pretty easily. This must be a truck diff only. Applying instant power off the line, and lots of it, would shatter that thing.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: Ronstang
That is a NoSpin differential, made by Detroit Locker. It is NOT what people refer to as a Detroit Locker. The traditional Detroit Locker known to everyone in the racing industry is a completely different differential.. We are talking apples and oranges. I thought when you put Detroit Locker in the parentheses you were talking about the actual "Detroit Locker" differential. I have never seen a NoSpin dff as it would be useless in racing. I could break that thing pretty easily. This must be a truck diff only. Applying instant power off the line, and lots of it, would shatter that thing.

No. The NoSPIN IS the Detroit Locker. Different market segments, same product.

Tractech?s locking differentials are the NoSPIN® and Detroit Locker® brands (same product, different market segments),

Link

NoSPIN is a Detroit for larger equipment, Detroit is for regular trucks. But it's the exact same thing.

And it is the same old Detroit locker that people have used for years and years.

I don't know what you're thinking of, the the Detroit/NoSPIN are the same thing, and always have been.


Edit:
Quote from the second link in my earlier post:

The Detroit Locker was originally introduced as a No-Spin back in 1941 and later offered to the public as the aftermarket Detroit Locker in 1969. Since then it has been the benchmark of lockers with many of its principles being used in other lockers.

 

[Pacfanweb]

On a side note, I finally sold that old Jeep rear with the Detroit in it just the other day.....the new Dana 44's both have ARB's in them.