Can a bronco with Vaccuum hubs be converted to manual locking and vice versa?....or did it come from the factory that way and thats it

I'm not a hardcore off roader and want the convenience of the vac actuated style despite their drawbacks

 

No vacuum hubs on a Bronco. Either the get-out-and-twist'em engage/not engaged manual hubs, or automatic hubs.

The automatic hubs engage by you engaging 4 HI, and will stay locked if going further into 4 LO. If you are stopped when you engage 4 HI, the auto hubs start to engage when you move, they need the front drive shaft to start to turn the drive axle shafts for the auto hubs to do the lockup.

To unlock auto hubs, you have to:
Shift from 4 HI to 2WD, and go ~10 feet in the opposite direction.
So if for example you were in 4 HI going forward, if you shift then to 2WD, the transfer case stops driving the front driveshaft, however, the locked hubs still turn both front axle shafts, the diff, and the front driveshaft due to front wheels turning via road contact. To unlock both hubs, to stop all those parts from turning, you need to stop, then back up approx. 10 feet. Most hubs will unlock before 10 feet of travel, but that was the listed amount. I can hear mine unlock, one an instant before the other.

If you were going in Reverse in 4 HI, and shift to 2WD, then you need to stop, and go forward ~10 feet to unlock the hubs.

Once locked, the hubs stay locked as long as you stay in a 4WD mode, no matter if you go forward or backward.

Yes, you could drive around all whatever if you want with the hubs locked, as long as the T-case is in 2WD on non-slippery surfaces. However, you will be spinning a lot of mass and resulting frictional drag with it. I usually get out of spinning it all as soon as I can. I can feel it, and hear it. More so the faster you go.

Please try not to create multiple threads here on the same topic, just add relevant questions/comments to the same one, makes it easier for all.

 

So it sounds like the swap over from one style to the other is fairly simple.....the mechanics are all confined to the hub. I hear everyone talking about locking hubs....where can I get a set of 'automatic' hubs? They sound like the stock exhaust systems on Harleys. Dealers have piles of them. Nobody wants them. I have never heard of anyone switching to automatic hubs....can I find a set on ebay?