Manual locking hubs for a 98 Explorer?

[Ozwynn]

I once had a 2006 explorer 4x4 as a rental. This pissed me off because I had to drive it 500 miles and had reserved a toyota coralla. I was upgraded for free but I did not want the gas hog. Long story short I was not nice to the explorer and still got 24 mpg avg over 500 miles

 

[Geeshik]

Hello again.

Well, mine, i guess, is a gas hog. i hope that once i get my overdrive fixed, it will be better. i just installed some new spark plugs last night; the old ones looked okay, but the gap was blown way open on them. Maybe that will help too.

Anyway, on the trans pan, i had it off at around 70,000 miles for the trans filter change and i found that the trans filter bolt had come out on it. But in order to remove the pan, i had to remove the front driveshaft. It wasn't until after wrestling with it for over an hour that i came up with that idea because i really didn't want to pull the exhaust. Even with the driveshaft off, it was still a tight fit.

On that valve body plate that comes with the gaskets, does anyone have a part number for that? It is easier to give a part number than to try and describe what it is i am looking for. Also, thank you for the heads up on marking the bolts for where they go. That will come in pretty handy come reassembly.

 

[TireIron]

The part numbers for the seperator plate can be different for different years, on the driverside of the tranny just behind the shift mechanism is a set of numbers and letters cast into the tranny above the pan lip. Get those numbers off the tranny and then ask for the valvebody seperator plate with the bonded gaskets for a 5R55E and make sure you have that number so they can get the right part. It listed at $26.15 at my dealer. I could give you the part number but I wouldn't trust it unless your tranny has the same identification number on the side of it as my GF's '03 has.

 

[danizwhoiam]

the pulse vacuum hubs (PVH), do not stay engaged all the time; they only engage when switched into 4wd....but they are problematic.

http://www.tellico4x4.com/product_info.php/cPath/2880_238_3148/products_id/26509

theres your manual hubs.

alternatively, you can swap out the live axle setup from an older explorer.

Does anyone have any experience with these hubs? I've got a 98 ranger w/ a 4x4 that won't work which I believe to be due to vacuum. I've been looking for a way to test the vacuum to verify that's my issue, but from what I hear these hubs are junk anyway. I was considering using the reference on this site to mod the hubs to be full time, but would really prefer a manual locking with the option of having them spin freely as I do a lot of highway commuting.
I'd love to hear someone's experience with these, both the install and the aftermath.

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

Most people that run them have had no problems, and they and quite sturdy. Easy to install too. They just "snap on" in place of the original hublocks.

 

[danizwhoiam]

Thanks. It seems there's nothing but good things said about them, so I was basically sold to order. That is, until I put the truck on 4 stands and got her in 4x. I have 3 spinning axles, the driver side front axle does not spin at all. I'll have to discover the cause of that now before I spend any $ on new hubs. Unfortunately I'm thinking transfer case, which could be expensive. ouch. Time to research...

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

If one of your front axle shafts is spinning, then your transfer case is not the problem. Sounds like your driver side hub is not engaging. If this is the issue, then the manual locking will solve the problem.

 

[danizwhoiam]

I was under the impression that the hubs controlled whether or not the wheel spun when the axle was spinning. You’re saying that the hub controls if the actual axle is spinning? That’s awesome, I really hope you’re right and I’m understanding you properly. My research has turned up nothing, and I’m about out of terms to search.

I think I’ll try the “remove the metal clip from the spring loaded thingy inside the hub” trick to see if I can get the wheels spinning, and if I can I’ll order up those manual hubs.

 

[danizwhoiam]

Also, I should mention that even though the passenger side front axle shaft was spinning, the front passenger side wheel was not. I assumed this was due to a vacuum/hub issue. If the hub controls the axle spinning, that shoots down my theory. The passenger side hub has been replaced recently, the shaft spins but the wheel still does not. On the drivers side the shaft does not spin and the hub is old and toast-looking.

 

[Ozwynn]

the hub lucks the wheel to the axle. if the axle turns and the wheel does not then it is a hub issue.


does this axle have inner-axle disconnects?

 

[danizwhoiam]

The passenger side axle turns. The drivers side axle does not.

I'm not sure about the inner axle disconnect. How would I check?

 

[Ozwynn]

well.... i wasn't really asking you, I was asking for your benefit, trying to get the technicians to answer. I think it does have inner axle disconnects but I know nothing about them. I would just swap the explorer axle and hub assembly into your ranger. the difference in mileage is not enough to justify the headache of the axle that you have.

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

well.... i wasn't really asking you, I was asking for your benefit, trying to get the technicians to answer. I think it does have inner axle disconnects but I know nothing about them. I would just swap the explorer axle and hub assembly into your ranger. the difference in mileage is not enough to justify the headache of the axle that you have.

98-00 Ranger 4x4 do not have inner axle disconnects. The disconnects are the hublocks at the ends of the front axles; they are controlled by vacuum, and are known to fail. Often, a vacuum leak will develop or a seal will fail letting it contaminants, and therefore destroying the hub.

 

[TireIron]

Well remember you have an open front differential, so if the DS hub is locking and the PS hub is not, and the DS tire has traction, than because of hte open diff the PS axle will spin and the DS will do nothing because all of the power will travel to the path of least resistance which is the side with the hub not working.

A free way to test if this is the problem is to modify the stock hubs to be locked in full time and seeing if it fixes the issue.