welding auto hubs

[85rx7_93ranger]

so ive had big problems with my auto hubs and i just plain hate them!! so i thought up an idea and it seems work great! just wonderin if anyone has done it before?

i took apart the hub, welded the outer gear to the bottom side of the inner gear and slid it back into the hub, now the huub is always locked there are no moving parts and its solid. i already took it out for a test in the snow with 31" tires and it worked great! the only problem is that it is always locked therefore bad mpgs but i really dont care lol.

 

[Capt Jay]

It's going to bind when you corner on pavement.

 

[85rx7_93ranger]

ya i thought that but ive been trying it out on and off pavement with no problems...anyway shouldnt the open diff make up for that??

 

[mn_smokeater]

yeah that wont pan out to well man somehow murphys laws gunna kick in and getcha

 

[85rx7_93ranger]

lol but its the same thing as having manual hubs in the "locked" position...correct? or do the ranger manual hubs have slipage?

 

[LittleHorse]

i'm not seeing how this equates to binding if the diff is open...with a locker, sure, but open?

 

[85rx7_93ranger]

i'm not seeing how this equates to binding if the diff is open...with a locker, sure, but open?

exactly

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

i believe he's assuming you also have the transfer case locked into 4wd. it will bind on pavement in 4wd no matter what diff you have because there is a speed difference from front to rear. you'll have no problems in 2wd

 

[bronchoII]

it should be like a jeep or any other 4x4 that dont have hubs with the transfer case out of 4 wheel it should'nt bind

 

[85rx7_93ranger]

yea makes sense, and im guessing by looking inside the auto hubs that the clutches inside the cams will unlock and lock the hubs as the tire turns different speeds than the axle..is that correct? so with the hubs always locked the axles and tires will always be spinnign the same speed which would cause binding on pavement with the tcase in 4x4, i might just leave the truck like this i mean hell it eliminates all the shitty ford parts which could fail offroad and get me stuck

 

[LittleHorse]

i'm not totally up on auto hubs, but I think the only time they lock is when the axle has made a particular number of revolutions in the hub (put it in 4x4 and drive forward), and then they unlock when the hubs have made a particular number of backward revolutions around the axle (take it out of 4x4 and drive straight in reverse X number of feet).

it'd be just like a manual hub that was left in the "lock" position.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

it will be just like the "live" axle that is found in almost all new trucks. always locked in they don't even have hubs. you only shift the transfer case

 

[LittleHorse]

it will be just like the "live" axle that is found in almost all new trucks. always locked in they don't even have hubs. you only shift the transfer case

why exactly did they start doing that anyway? Cheaper to manufacture I'm sure, but seems like the gas mileage would suffer.

 

[88gt]

i ran with my hubs locked for several days on pavement and off due to random black ice patches. the axel binding thing is with the tcase locked in and/or a locked diff. you'll have no problems except loss of some power and gas mileage

 

[Nhaz]

it will be just like the "live" axle that is found in almost all new trucks. always locked in they don't even have hubs. you only shift the transfer case

the Live axle setups they have now have ferofluids which act like a third differential between the front and rear axles. . so don't run the 4x4 on dry clean pavement with the older style 4x4s.

Or thats my understanding anyways.