My '96 Ford F250 4x4 came with a set of Warn hubs. I assumed that I had to lock the hubs each time that I want to use 4h or 4l ranges and have done so with success.

I was looking thru the owners manual and found some handwritten notes about how to engage/disengage the hubs from inside the cab.

Does thise mean that these Warn hubs are autolocking and if so, what is the purpose of having the manual selectors on the hubs turned off?

The note said that if I change back to 2h and backup for about 12 feet, that the hubs would disengage - is this correct? and it went on to say that they would engage when in 4h or 4l - is this correct?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

My take is this.

The Warn hubs currently on your truck are not the OEM hubs, they're an upgrade. Someone put them on the truck after the OEM hubs failed, or they got tired of OEM hubs working poorly. This is very common when dealing with the auto hubs on pre '99 trucks.

The notes written in the manual were the procedure for getting the OEM auto hubs to disengage.

I would continue to operate the 4X4 system as you have been.

Waxy

 

Waxy is dead on. I have never seen a set of Warn auto hubs.

If they have the dial, they are manual hubs and can only be engaged by turning the dial.

You've been doing it right. If you go by the book, you'll get stuck.

 

Warn makes a couple of different kinds of 'automatic' hubs (not sure if any fit a Ford truck though).

The auto hubs that I know about have either a mechanical or vacuum engagement system. I can send pics of the Warn vacuum-engaged auto hubs on my KIA.

The instructions posted sound like the ones for the mechanical locking auto hubs. They use centrifugal force to engage & dis-engage.

 

NoMo, thanks for the info. Do any of the Auto hubs have a dial to turn? Just asking cuz I don't know.

 

The OEM auto hubs on the SD's have a dial to change from Auto to Locked on the actual hub.

 

Ok. I didn't know that. But a 96 does not, correct? That's before the "SuperDuty" came out. A 96 will either have the 3 or 5 screw auto hubs or manual hubs, correct?

I'm trying to help and learn.

 

I haven't looked at all of them... but none of the KIA auto hubs have a dial.

 

So does this mean that if I turn the hub dial to unlock after using 4h with the hubs locked, that the hubs are still locked until I roll backwards as directed on the instructions? OR can I take the lock/unlock indicator as being all I have to do to actually lock or unlock my hubs. Does WARN make a set of 'mechanical locking auto hubs' that fit the '96 F250?

Jim

 

Quote:

The instructions posted sound like the ones for the mechanical locking auto hubs. They use centrifugal force to engage & dis-engage.

NoMo is referring to the fact that the auto hubs lock "mechanically" ie by centrifugal force, rather than by vacuum pressure, as is the case for the hubs on the '99 and up SDs.

Without seeing your hubs, it's my guess that these directions DO NOT apply to your hubs.

(NoMo, correct me if I'm wrong here.)

Quote:

So does this mean that if I turn the hub dial to unlock after using 4h with the hubs locked, that the hubs are still locked until I roll backwards as directed on the instructions? OR can I take the lock/unlock indicator as being all I have to do to actually lock or unlock my hubs. Does WARN make a set of 'mechanical locking auto hubs' that fit the '96 F250?

With a typical WARN hub, the locking/unlocking action is done by rotating the **** on the hub. No further motion or actions are required. They can get sticky, and require a little forward or reverse motion to unlock, but that is NOT how they are designed.
Simply turn the hub to lock to lock, unlock to unlock, nothing else is required.

The procedure written in your manual is the procedure recommended by Ford for their "mechanical" auto locking hubs. These hubs were standard, and did NOT have a manual override or any way of manually locking the hubs.

I think you got confused by the exchange between jablestri and NoMo. The type of hubs NoMo is referring to are NOT common. It is far more likely that you have simple Warn manual lock hubs on your truck, put there by a practical, no non-sense guy. The standard auto locking hubs were very prone to failure and swapping them to Warn manual hubs was a pretty common practice.

Post a pic of the hubs if you can, it'll help.

Waxy

 

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack the thread or confuse anyone.

Do they look like this?


They may be silver instead of gold in color, the silver is the standard level and the gold is premium.

I still stand by my first thought, on a 96(same parts as my 90) 250, if it has a dial, the hubs are totally manual.

 

They are definently the Gold - Premium hubs.

Thanks to eveyone for the replies - I am learning a lot...

Jim

 

Ok, clockwise is engaged, counterclockwise is dis-engaged. All you have to do is turn the dial, engage the t-case when needed, and your ready to rock and roll. When done, simply unlock the hubs and drive on. No need in going backwards.

 

Never done a pic before but here it goes... I cut my ugly mug out of the picture to save you guys the pain of having to look at me.... ;-)




Jb

 

Yep, you've got top quality MANUAL Warn hubs.

An excellent upgrade, and they look real good.

Waxy