My locking hubs have never automatically engaged. I've always got out and turned Clockwise to lock. The other day I was spinning the back tires up a gravel drive. I put it in 4h and scooted up the incline. I noticed I didn't engage the hubs. When I checked them they were still in Counterclockwise position. I engaged them by turning clockwise and stepped on the gas, no wheel spin. I got out and turned to un engage counterclockwise and hit the gas no wheel spin. I put in 2wd hit the gas and total wheel spin.
not real formiliar with the locking hubs, but is it normal to have no wheel spin if the hubs are not engaged?

 

The locking hubs connect the axle to the outer hub the wheel is attached to allow engine power to be transmitted to the front wheels when the transfer case is in 4wd.

Regardless of whether the hubs are in auto or locked position, if the transfer case is in 2-HI you will only have power sent to rear axle.

When you engage 4wd that transfers power to front driveshaft, connected to front differential, when will then start spinning the front axles.

If hubs are disengaged, the axles will be spinning but they are not connected to the outer wheel hubs, therefore you are still in "2wd"

Are you sure you have the original auto hubs? They may have been replaced with an aftermarket hub, that they are either "locked" or "free-wheel"

Even if you do have the original auto hubs, if that system isn't working correctly you will need to get out and lock the hubs in to get 4wd.

On my 2011 when temps drop into the teens and colder below zero, the auto hubs don't like to work so I manually lock them in when the cold weather hits for the season.

 

Thanks. I understand most of that. Pretty sure they are original. I haven't replaced them since i bought the truck in 2007. Maybe the original owner replaced just not sure. What I'm mostly confused about is in 2wd I get rear wheel spin on gravel. In 4h I get no rear wheel spin whether I engage the hubs or disengage the hubs. I was under the impression that if the hubs were disengaged 4h would do nothing. I definitely have better traction in 4h hubs not locked than I do in 2wd. Is that normal? Or could my hubs be permanently "locked" even though I can turn them left and right?
Thanks again Buddy!

 

Picture of hub if that helps

 

Good morning… from what you describe, it seems those hubs might indeed in a permanent locked position, though I have never experienced that condition myself. It really escapes my logical thought process onto how it cou,d be anything less.

What I think I understand from you is simply this… no matter what position you put the hub locks in, the four wheel drive does seem to operate when placed into 4 high via the switch on the dash. The dash light illuminates, traction is improved. The hubs do turn freely, do not seem physically bound or troublesome to turn.

The part I don’t really like about regarding what you describe is how quickly you gloss over the fact the hubs have never autolocked. You have always had to lock them by hand. That makes me wonder what might be going on with that and also makes me question about if some modification was done to the hubs before you purchased the truck. Or, maybe there has been something awry with the hubs for years. Sorry, but I have either had full time full wheel drive (1978 F-150 XLT), manual locking hubs (1990 F-150 XLT Lariat), or my current rig is a 2006 with the auto locking hubs which have given me no trouble thus far and are operating as intended and described in the manual.

Keep up in the loop on what you encounter and a potential resolution, would you?

Rand

 

If they are the original "auto" hubs like on my 2011 there is no free-spin mode, they are either in "auto" or "locked" therefore when you put it in 4wd, if the auto hubs are working as intended, they will engage and you will be in 4wd.

Put transfer case back in 2wd, regardless of where the hubs are located, you only get 2wd.

On older trucks like my '79 the hubs are "free-spin" or "locked." If the hubs are in free-spin mode it doesn't matter what position I have my transfer case in, I will only have 2wd due to the axles being disconnected from front wheel hubs.

When I put the hubs in "lock" on my '79 the axles are connected to the wheel hubs, but if the transfer case is in 2wd I only get 2wd. As soon as I pull the transfer case into 4wd, with hubs locked-in, I get power to the front and rear axles.

If I am understanding correctly, if you have your hubs rotated counter clockwise (auto mode) when you select 4wd in the cab, those hubs are locking on their own and working as intended. The auto hubs generally work okay, but sometimes they don't want to engage as they're supposed to so you are given the option to "lock" them in. That's what I need to do with my '11 when the temps get cold.

I personally think it is a better set up than say some of the 80s, 90s and early 00's chevy trucks that you have no hubs at all and are entirely dependent on the mechanism (could be vacuum or electrical) that locks in the front diff to send power to the wheels. The dodges from late 90's early 00's didn't have hubs either, they just kept the axles locked in at all times and rely on what position the transfer case is in for 4wd vs 2wd.

The Ford setup is better to me, since the front axles are disengaged leading to less wear and tear on front diff when you're not using the 4wd, unlike the Dodge setup, but I have the option to manually lock in the axles which the GM setup doesn't offer.

All that said, you can get aftermarket hubs from Warn, Milemarker and a few others for your rig that will give you the option of "free-spin" and "locked" like the older Ford pickups.

 

Thanks. I can put hubs in unlocked position, put truck in 4h and get traction better than 2wd and my hubs don't automatically lock, they stay in unlocked positon. Hope that is making sense. I'm not sure about the "free spin" but I can manually turn my hubs left or right whether I'm in 4wd or 2wd. And yes I do get 2wd when in 2wd no matter if I have them locked or not.

 

That's the thing, they are never truly unlocked when turned counter clockwise to "auto" mode.

You have the choice of "auto" (counter-clockwise) and "locked" (clockwise). In auto mode, the hubs will automatically engage when you select 4wd in the cab. When you put it back in 2wd the hubs automatically disengage. That's what auto means.

When you rotate the hub clockwise into "locked" position the axles are now locked to the hubs regardless of whether you are in 2wd or 4wd.

Based on what you're telling me, the auto hubs are working as they are supposed to. When you put it in 4wd they automatically lock and you are in 4wd therefore no wheel spin. Shift back/turn **** back to 2wd and the hubs *should* disengage allowing the front wheels to free-spin independent of the axles.

It is possible that even in "auto" position the hubs are still locked to the axle but as long as you keep the transfer case in 2wd you will only get 2wd.

If you want to know for certain that your front axles are complete disengaged from the wheel hubs up front, you would need to replace the original hubs with some aftermarket units that are either "free-spin" or "locked." If you do that, you will always need to get out and lock hubs in to engage 4wd.

 

Ah...I think I might see where the confusion is coming from.

Don't expect the **** on the hub to automatically turn itself to the "locked" position. The **** will stay exactly where it is at in "auto" mode. The auto locking/unlocking is all internal, the **** itself will not rotate on its own.

 

my hubs stay in auto when I put it in 4wd unless i get out and turn them to locked. Im sure the vacuum or somthing is the culprit for that. Even with them staying in auto I get better traction in 4wd. I just wasnt sure if that was normal to still get better traction with the hubs staying in auto.

 

The ***** that you manually rotate on the hubs will stay in auto mode position when you select 4wd they are not going to rotate on their own into the locked position. That is simply a manual override for you to use in the event that engaging 4wd in the cab doesn't automatically lock in the hubs. The auto lock/unlock is all internal.

 

​​That makes senses. Thanks for your help!

 

As mentioned, the hubs won't externally turn from 'auto' to 'lock.' Everything about the auto engagement is internal, which is why there is an 'auto' and 'lock' position. The 'lock' position is just like the old school system, where it keeps the hubs and axle shafts engaged regardless of if your transfer case is in 2WD or 4WD.

In 'Auto,' when you are in 2WD, the hubs function like the old 'lock and free' hubs and disconnect from the axle shafts. When you select 4WD, vacuum is applied to the hub and engages the internals of the hub, connecting them to the axle shafts. You won't see any change externally, i.e. the hub will stay in 'auto.'