Ok, the auto-locking hubs on my '94 Explorer Sport are shot again (big surprise, right?). I'm going with the Warn manual hubs this time around. I'm curious about a few things, though. First off, my main use for 4wd this time of year is getting through snow to get to the slopes on weekends. Often there will be a mile of nasty snow and ice followed by a mile of relatively dry pavement. With the manual hubs, would I be risking anything other than gas mileage if I left the hubs engaged, but disengaged the transfer case on the dry sections?

Also, I'm a little puzzled by exactly what failed on the autos. I had everything taken apart the other day while packing my bearings, and I couldn't quite figure out how the hubs work. I picture the hubs being like a bicycle freewheel ... with the spline shaft not moving, the hubs simply rotate freely around it. However, as soon as the spline shaft starts moving, the hubs catch and the wheel turns with the shaft. Am I even close on this part??? If I'm somewhat correct about this, I think the "freewheel" section of the hubs striped because I can rotate the female end of the spline inside the hubs freely. Some things that confuse me if this analogy is close are ...
1) how do the hubs stay engaged in reverse (I'm guessing that's where the confusing cam looking thing comes into play)?
2) will the hubs engage if reverse is the first direction of travel one the transfer case is engaged?

Thanks,
Joel

 

I have a "94 Explorer and got tired of donating $275 to Ford every time a hub decided to fail, so I went to the Warn hubs last year. You can disengage the transfer case whenever you want to and you'll only suffer from worse gas mileage and some increased front end wear. Just remember to didengage the hubs when you head for home after your snow outing. I put a small label on the dash between the 4WD buttons to remind us to lock in the hubs when putting it in 4WD. After 6 years of just having to push the button and hoping that it will truly be in 4WD, we have to re-train ourselves to get out and lock the hubs. Not a big deal though. I have to do it on my other 2 4WD vehicles.

As for the theory of how the auto hubs work, I don't know. Just call it a bad design and congratulate yourself for deciding to go with the manual hubs