Winter is here! Can I drive in 2wheel with front hubs locked?

[jmgrif]

Just wondering if I can drive at highway speeds with my manual locks on but switch between 2 and 4 wheel drive as required without causing any damage?

 

[escort_gts]

Should be ok. I have a Dana30 that always turns the front shaft and no problems at highway speeds. You just might notice a drop in gas mileage

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[Mark_88]

I've always heard it is not good to drive with the hubs locked...especially on dry roads...not sure why...but I drove my Sidekick to work and back the first day I got it...and I went from almost a full tank down to about a quarter in one 60 Km trip...and I thought I was getting a more economical vehicle...

Turns out someone at the dealership locked the front hubs...when I unlocked them the same trip used used about one quarter of a tank instead of three quarters of a tank...but that's a Zuki...not sure if Rangers are the same...

 

[scotts90ranger]

You can drive all you want with the hubs locked, above about 55mph things might start to vibrate if any U joints or anything is worn out...

You have a trackick too Mark? I just got one of those for a commuter since the Justy needed an engine rebuild. I'm getting 27mpg with the thing which is a little drop from 32 but livable, spunky with 5.13 gears stock . Having the hubs locked in shouldn't eat that much gas, the only limit is you don't want to run in 4x4 on dry pavement, with the hubs locked the only thing that changes is the front axle shafts and driveshaft are always turning instead of not, with manual hubs you also have the option of 2wd low range which can be fun

 

[bilzy7]

I drive my ranger in winter with hubs locked. It's a 1999 so I just did the cheapo manual hub fix since the vacuum lines needed replacing. So It's a push button hub now.

 

[racsan]

if theres a chance i may need 4wd my hubs are always locked. i would just lock 'em in in nov and unlock them in march, but i have a slight leak at my pinion seal and i dont want to be gradually losing oil from the front diff. my wifes S-blazer has a axle disconnect that is "rigged" to be fully on during the winter. since the acutator is under the battery on it, i just vise-grip the cable to have the front axle live before it gets cold, then remove it to save a little fuel once it gets warm again. you might lose a little bit of fuel economy with the hubs locked, but winter is a bad time for fuel effeciency in general, longer warm up times, winter blend fuel that isnt as good mpg wise, cold fluids that cause more resistance until they get warmed up, the resistance of driveing through deep snow, carring extra weight to deal with deep snow, it all adds up, i dont even check my mpg's in the winter. im just glad i dont have a full-size V8. but as far as driving with the hubs locked, it wont hurt a thing, there might be a little vibration going on thats not normally there.

 

[jcd302]

Ditto on the locking hubs all winter. I don't want to get out AFTER I am stuck to lock them in. If you have the ability to remember, you can just lock them in when you know it is going to be 'iffy' out. I did unlock them when we had an extended period of nice weather.

 

[RatDog8o8]

I do just that - lock the hubs when they forecast snow, then unlock them after the threat passes. I don't drive the interstate in bad weather, so the locked-at-speed issue never arises.

The F-150 I had with the D44 would "hop" when turning with the hubs locked on dry pavement. My CJ-7 doesn't have locking hubs, and it never hops when turning. I think it varies from axle to axle, whether they get pissy on dry pavement or not.

 

[pcollins]

When I had a 4wd ranger I locked the hubs in and drove interstate speeds 60mph+ when we had nice breaks in the weather. Its not gonna hurt anything.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Yeah you can leave em locked in. we have done it with all of our vehicles since we moved to alaska. you get a little worse MPG's (1 -2 mpg).

I usually just look at my road because its the last to get plowed pretty mcuh and if it looks bad I lock them in and when I get down the hill I unlock them.

 

[Mark_88]

You have a trackick too Mark? I just got one of those for a commuter since the Justy needed an engine rebuild. I'm getting 27mpg with the thing which is a little drop from 32 but livable, spunky with 5.13 gears stock .ubs you also

Had...I cracked the head last summer...had the 95 for six years and loved it...had three accidents in it and drove away from all...it was a bit beat up but still drove great...would still be driving it if I didn't crack the head...it was the water pump leaking that caused an overheat...and I changed it after the head was cracked...

Now that I think about it, the air filter was clogged along with the locked hubs so it was probably that causing the gas mileage issue...not sure how it passed emission testing though...there were gobs of grease on the filter!!!

Anyway, yeah...it was the Zuki that replaced my ranger while I rebuilt...only thing I didn't like was the heater...not strong enough for Canada...

 

[scotts90ranger]

If it was a 2 door soft top, I understand completely, the heater is just enough to keep the windows mostly defrosted on a cold day... Mine's a '94 and I like it so far. My water pump is leaking a little too, but it's just the gasket behind it, I've just been keeping an eye on it.

When I was talking about the vibration that was if things were worn out, with my D28 the center joint was shot (found out when I put the D35 in) and the splines into the transfer case were shot, the combo made it unbearable with the hubs locked in past about 45mph, with the D35 and 1354M it's smooth as silk up to at least 65.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Things wear out A LOT faster driving this way. However I have welded autohubs from a friend on here s mine drives like the 98 and newer live axle rangers. Horrible mileage, but it works. Convenient too.

 

[Jspafford]

Lock them now, unlock them in spring. Only time you will have an issue is if something is worn out. Otherwise, you will be fine.

Mine have been locked since last winter.....