Locking hubs

So i am currently looking for my driverside locking hub but for 250.00 at auto zone Im sorry but thats just to much.

any suggestions?

Pick a part yard

Not being a cheap ass?

Brand new 4x4 hubs are not cheap, no matter what year or style or where you get them. If you are unwilling to pay $250 you may need to adjust your expectations. If you are unable to pay $250 you may need to save for a while.

Coupons are also good. Search for coupon codes, particularly check out Retailmenot. I know for Advance you can get some really good deals by going through the website and using coupons and such. I just picked up a new gas tank, new straps, and a fuel filter for my truck for $89 from the website. In-store price on the tank alone is $98.

Also, many times the exact same part that a store wants a lot of money for can be had cheaper from places like Rockauto or eBay, or even Amazon.

I don't think I payed that much for new warn manual hubs with conversion kit off amazon.

I got a pair of hubs and all the necessary hardware for $38 at my local junk yard. It's worth your time.

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Hubs for a '98 probably won't be overly common in a JY.

Yeah, they are $10/pr for my D35 at my local yards but lockouts are a factory option and a popular upgrade for a wide range of years and models. 98-00 Rangers... not so much.

I would check into upgrading them to be on full time like the '95+ Explorers and midyear 2000+ Rangers.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/99hubswap.shtml

Are you looking for a replacement factory auto-locking hub, or an aftermarket manual hub?

I am looking for original locking hubs although i must say i kinda want manuel hub locks but not sure how they work...

If i was to upgrade my hubs to the explorer hubs and axle does that mean that my ranger will be an all wheel drive with the option on 4x4 hight and 4x4 low?

IIRC the OEM autolocking (PVH) hubs can be had online for ~$150 each.

AVM/Rugged Ridge manual hubs can be gotten for less than $150 a pair. Can get a real good deal if you are patient and shop around. My spair pair were less than $100. They work for as long as you transfer case works. I have a spare pair due to the price I got them for. I had one break, but it wasn't from actual use. Had lug nuts back off on driver front wheel, fortunately I was pulling into my driveway when it decided to come off. Wheel took the lug with it, and I'm not sure any other hub would have fared better.

Swapping in Explorer axle shafts and wheel bearing assemblies will give you live axles, but not AWD. Yoou would end up with the front axle being permanently locked in (always turning), but only receiving power when the transfer case is in 4wd. IIRC you'd actually have to use later model Ranger components instead of Explorer components to do the swap in your Ranger.

Question.
So on my ranger my driverside locking hub is broken but my passenger side is just fine does that mean that when i engage the 4x4 im technically usinf 3x3? If so what if i lock the driverside manualy woyld it work? The locking hub on my driverside will not lock or anything so i took it out and i was thinkibg if i was to put it back and just manually lock it would it work.

Too bad U don't have a 93-97 TTB truck, I would give U my old auto hubs.

Question.

Okay, so this is starting to make my head hurt... JK it was already hurting.

At this point I'm not sure exactly what it is that you are working with or asking. I'm going to try to help you out a bit though.

SirSantie said:

So on my ranger my driverside locking hub is broken but my passenger side is just fine

Click to expand...

What do you mean by your driver side is broken and how do you know that your passenger side is just fine? Is the driver side physically damaged or is it just not working?

SirSantie said:

does that mean that when i engage the 4x4 im technically usinf 3x3?

Click to expand...

Actually no, that would be a 3x4 as long as all 4 tires are still on the truck, which I'm kinda wondering about at this point. Seriously though, due to the way that everything functions, at this point it's probably not even a 2x4.

What you need to understand is that on most axles have an open differential and do not send power to both wheels. An open differential naturally sends all power to the wheel with the least traction, that's why you get a "one wheel peel" when trying to spin tires. Some axles get a locker or limited slip device installed in the differential which transfers power to both wheels evenly (locker) or to the opposite wheel when slippage is detected (limited slip).

I don't know if your truck is open or limited slip rear differential, but so far as I am aware every 4wd Ranger left the factory with an open front differential. What does this mean to you? With the removed/broken front driver side locking hub removed, the front driver side axle shaft shows no traction, therefore when you put the truck into 4wd all power to the front end is being sent to the driver side. What that means to you is that at the moment your truck is at most a 2wd IF you have a limited slip rear axle.

SirSantie said:

If so what if i lock the driverside manualy woyld it work? The locking hub on my driverside will not lock or anything so i took it out and i was thinkibg if i was to put it back and just manually lock it would it work.

Click to expand...

First off, why do you think that the driverside hub will not lock?

How do you plan to lock it manually? If buying the aftermarket locking hubs, they come as a pair one for each side, so no point in installing just the one.

There are two mods that can make the factory hubs either permanently locked or manually lockable, but they are band-aid solutions at best. Before trying either one I'd suggest doing some more troubleshooting and making sure that the hub is bad. Usually PVH hub (factory hub) problems are caused not by the hub itself, but by a vacuum leak either in the lines or a seal in the front steering knuckle. If you still have issues after the trouble shooting, procedures for either mod (and troubleshooting) can be found in the tech library.

@JoshT

Whats up! So heres the scoop on my ranger. I just bought the dam thing from CL and 3 days later the transmission goes out... Any ways the previous owner removed the riverside locking hub and told me it was broken and that the parts of the locking hub were in the glove box so I been trying to figure out a way to place it back in the hub but its missing the part that sticks out "its black and have a aluminum screen in the middle that ppl remove also its missing the rubber seal". I places what I have left to the locking hub in the hub and I can lock it but Im scared that I won't be able to unlock it well maybe it I tap it.

Im getting the tranny fixed next week and for obvious reasons Im just gonna get a pair of manuel locking hubs. I just wanted to give you the whole scoop

Thanks a lot for all your information JoshT

Hope I didn't come across as too much of an ass, but its hard for us to help from the other side of a computer screen. We have no way of knowing what the other person knows or doesn't know, only what they post, from that point all we can do is make assumptions.

Your situation is about as I feared, though in your case it's the PO's doing. Thanks to them deciding to start taking things apart, it would be pretty difficult to figure out the original problem.

Just FYI, prior to the PO taking things apart, it probably wasn't the hub causing the problem. PVH problems are rarely caused by the hub. There are several seals around the hub, unit bearing (aka wheel bearing), and steering knuckle. Most common cause of bad PVH hubs seems to be one of those seals going bad. Given the age of the truck it could even be a deteriorated hose. No vacuum, no hub locking.

At this point it might as well be a busted/broken hub, because that would have to be fixed before you could troubleshoot even further. Then given the cost of factory hubs and not knowing if it would fix the problem...

SirSantie:

I have '98 Ranger which I converted to live axles - Explorer parts work just fine. Fuel economy difference before/after changed negligibly (and that included changes from 3.73s to 4.10s & 235/75R15s to 31x10.5R15....). You would need to replace both hub bearings and CV shafts from donor to make change to live axles work.

As JoshT explained without both hubs, you have 4 wheel by 2 driven (4x2); as power for front all goes to the 'missing' hub as Rangers (and Explorers) all came with just open front differentials. If you can 'lock' the one side so it is permanently engaged, that is an ok option (You effectively have the same thing as Dodge/Jeep did with their CAD axles; and same issue with praying that the vacuum hub/electric transfer case engaged. )

Now, in my Ranger part bucket I have both a (one) Rugged Ridge manual and (one) vacuum hub. I tried to buy a 2nd manual hub but had no takers; so both would be for sale for right price. (And one would need to pay shipping from Calgary).