I had to bite the Bullet and trade in My 90XLT Supercab 2.9L 278,000 Kms.
With Manual Everything. For A brand New 2003 Fx4 Levell II .

The Level II is the only New Ranger With the Manual Transfer case.

Unfortunately Manual hubs do not Exist on Brand New Rangers..

Does anybody have insight on the New Vacume Hubs ?

I don't think you have to back up to release them, like the older auto hubs?

P.S. this Truck is like a Dream off road, The 90 was Great, But this truck is

Fantastic!!!!!! So Far. 146,000 Kms left on the Warranty so I Can't Switch.

even if I could.

 

Fortunately (maybe UNfortunately depending on how you think), Your truck doesn't have manual hubs, OR auto hubs. Instead, the entire front drive system is always engaged. The front axles and driveshaft are always turning with the wheels. This results in lower MPG's, but there is less to break when off-roading. The only compenent that connects/disconnects the front drive is the transfer case. No need to worry about hubs failing.

Just incase your looking for insight on the 98-2000 autohubs, they suck. I swear one of my hubs failed the other day at the beach, but I couldn't get it to happen later. I was in 4x4L with the front tires pulling, driving though sand when I heard a loud pop and the rear tires started spinning. There were other people on the beach and the sand was really soft, so I wasn't about to stop and risk getting stuck. Just kept throwing sand with no front-drive until I finally got back onto hard-packed sand. VERY close to getting stuck. At that point I was hoping that they DID break, because they're covered under my aftermarket warranty. Tried to get them to fail later on, and couldn't succeed, they kept pulling no matter how hard I drove it. Now I'm stuck with something that feels 'unreliable' offroad. Most of the time it all works fine, but fails when I need it. Nothing EVER fails when you take it to a dealership though Oh, and before someone tries saying that it is because I don't use 4x4 enough, I use it atleast once a week, often more

Anyway, congrats on the new truck, I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.

Brian J Wilson

 

Thanks for your insight.
That makes me feel much better, I am not a big believer in auto hubs.
Everything you said makes total sense, you can't hear or feel anything different when you are in 4x4. Except it will go straight up the side of a mountain.