>You should notice a "heavier"
>or "sluggish" feeling to the front end, with steering taking
>a little more effort.

I do not, either with a Dana 44 on my '74 F250, nor with the
Dana 50 on my '01 F250. With a decent front-end, I experience
neither - when the front u-joints were bad on my '74, well, I
could tell the difference. When I had a sealed-knuckle front
end on my '74, I did notice a difference. I converted to an
open-knuckle/disc-brake front-end and can't even tell when the
hubs are locked anymore.

At highway speeds, a quick movement of the steering wheel is
a little more sluggish. But, that might be a good thing

> Continuous driving with the hubs
>locked WILL cause accelerated wear of all front driveline
>components, from u-joints to steering components.

I kinda doubt it. It's not doing any pushing (or pulling).
There is no real load on it with the hubs locked. The only
thing you are doing is keeping the sealing surfaces clean
Ball joints? No effect. Steering? Nope. U-joints? only when
turning, and because there is no load, negligable. Axle bearings?
possibly. My '74 Dana 44 has bronze bushings for the axles. Not
sure about the Dana 50, but probably the same thing. No load=no
problem.

> It WILL
>result in increased drag, especially as temperatures drop,
>and trust me, you WILL see the difference at the gas
>pump.

Yes, increased drag - but if you have enough drag from locking
the front hubs as to affect gas mileage enough to notice, well,
you have a problem. The extra kinetic energy needed to spin up
two axle shafts and a driveshaft is minimal. My 8-year old in
the back seat would effect my gas-mileage more

>A Dana 50/Dana 60 is pretty tough, and you should get a lot
>of miles out of it, but why have all those parts turning if
>you don't need to? Lock your hubs manually if you think
>you're going to need 4X4 imminently, or on a pretty
>continuous basis, otherwise, IMHO, you're justing wasting
>power and money, and causing unneccessary wear on your
>truck.

The biggest reason, and I know, you agree, is to keep things
lubed. If you wait too long before locking the hubs (or using
4x4), the seals in the front end will crap out. But, we've already
gone over that.

Notice, I do NOT keep my hubs locked at all times on my '01.

ak

 

dlcslcman,
This is only correct if you are not turning the front hubs to "Lock" or the hubs are broken. You will notice a bad grinding noise and feeling in the shift lever also.
Aaron.

>
>My SD has the shift from the floor and I can't move mine to
>4-HI unless I'm at a stop. Is there someething wrong or is
>that operation correct? It engages fine at that point, but I
>thought I could engage while in motion.

2001 F250 PSD 6-SPD 4x4 SCMT Banks Monster Exhaust EGT, Boost, Oil Pressure, Oil Temp/Trans Temp Gauges

 

>I have shift-on-the-fly and manually locked the hubs yesterday. I
>noticed NO binding or vibration, either at 75MPH or turning in a parking lot with the wheel turned right or left all the way to the lock. It's a '01 F250 w/1850 miles on it, dana 50 front axle.

>I think the above person is talking about full-time-4wd, not just locking the front hubs.


Never one to hide when he is mistaken, I was mistaken! I drove all morning with truck's hubs locked with no ill effects when turning. I stand corrected!

I was referring more to my experiences with past trucks. None were full-time though, all part-time systems. Maybe now I realize that something was amiss in them. Glad I sold 'em.

Thanks for the nudge to get me to re-investigate.

One thing I noticed was that the front end seemed more "planted" and "connected". Hard to explain but I actually preferred the ride it gave over rough surfaces than when the hubs are unlocked...go figure.

Sorry for the previous misguided info!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 08-Oct-02 AT 10:05 PM (EST)]>>I have shift-on-the-fly and manually locked the hubs yesterday. I
>>noticed NO binding or vibration, either at 75MPH or turning in a parking lot with the wheel turned right or left all the way to the lock. It's a '01 F250 w/1850 miles on it, dana 50 front axle.
>
>Never one to hide when he is mistaken, I was mistaken! I
>drove all morning with truck's hubs locked with no ill
>effects when turning. I stand corrected!

Hey, now I feel like an idiot! I was turning around in a parking lot
twice in the past few days and felt a "binding". It first felt
like the time I stripped the side-gears in the rear differential
in my '74 F250. It did it again today, and I got out, and checked
the front axles. One side didn't turn freely. I had to cycle the
**** from "auto" to "lock" and back (shift on the fly) and it freed
up. This is with only 1900 miles!

After that, I didn't hear the noise anymore. I'll keep you posted
on whether or not the Sterling limited-slip is toast
It does, however, power-brake real nice, with both tires spinning
on rough asphalt, and fish-tails real nice in the rain.

>
>I was referring more to my experiences with past trucks.
>None were full-time though, all part-time systems. Maybe
>now I realize that something was amiss in them. Glad
>I sold 'em.
>
>Thanks for the nudge to get me to re-investigate.

Hey, you got me to check out my front end when it seemed obvious
to me that the rear diff had gone out - I still have to check the
fluid to rule it out.

>One thing I noticed was that the front end seemed more
>"planted" and "connected". Hard to explain but I actually
>preferred the ride it gave over rough surfaces than when the
>hubs are unlocked...go figure.

I feel the same way - with the axles spinning, it seems to give
the front end more gyroscope effect. Going straight down the
highway, it seems more "planted". In my '74 F250, I drove for
a few months with a loose tie-rod end. Locking the hubs really
kept it from wandering on the highway.

>Sorry for the previous misguided info!

Me too! I still have to check the rear to rule it out.

Truly though, I see no real detriment to running with hubs locked.
The axle passes through a bronze bushing (at least on 1970's Dana
44's), but because there is no load on it in 2WD, no problem.
Axles seals see much more use than normal, but again, it's usually
good to keep the seals moving. Diff and pinion bearings? Because
there's no load on it, big deal.

The rotational weight of axles, driveshaft and diff are minimal.
1/10 of a MPG?

ak

--
'01 F250 SC SB V10 4X4 3.73LS Ford TRAC lease (unlimited mileage!)
'74 F250 LB FE390-4V 4X4 4.10LS

 

>Maybe this has been answered but I am going to ask it
>anyway:
>
>Can I lock my manual locking front hubs and drive as much as
>I want in 2 wheel drive? Does this harm anything? I would
>then only have to stop to shift the transfer case to 4hi or
>4lo.
>
>
>When on two wheels-
>FXSTC
>Mesa- AZ

With my F450, I have often driven for thousands of miles, with the manual hubs locked. When in colder locations in winter, I lock the hubs, and do not unlock them till spring. I have my truck checked regularly and there is no excessive wear anywhere, the oil in the front diff does not get dirty and the truck is always ready to put into 4 wheel drive. I will probably do the same with the auto hub semi manual system on the new truck. What I may do is remove the weird hubs and replace them with good Warn Manual Hubs. I have not decided yet.

Wm
'02 F250 4x4 Crew Cab Lariot Powerstroke; white with leather - 3.73 gears. Not yet modified but the accessories are looking good.
'96 F450 4x4 Crew Cab XLT Powerstroke; White with Grey interior. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displaythumbnail.php?&photoid=8385&.jpg

 

New trucks will always be hard to shift for the first while.

When shifting on the fly...have hubs locked...OD off (this will keep torque on you drive train) grab your transfer case shift than let off the gas pedal than give a firm pull to engage the transfer case...clunk it's in, on the gas 4WD. What this does is create a false nuetral with no load on the drivetrain for a couple of seconds.

Don't do this on a dry surface....you want back in 2-wd same thing.
Grab the shifter and put some pressure on it and let off the gas and pop it into 2-wd.

With practice you can do it this was up to 50-60mph with no ill effects

 

>Also I have used the hubs to unlock one wheel that was in
>the air on my '75 Bronco, so it will put power to the one on
>the ground.

Wait a minute, if the tire was in the air wasn't it already pretty much "unlocked" as far as the differential was concerned? Look like that end of the axle would see no torque whether the hub was locked or not.

 

>Hey, now I feel like an idiot! I was turning around in a
>parking lot
>twice in the past few days and felt a "binding". It first
>felt
>like the time I stripped the side-gears in the rear
>differential


I locked my hubs today in a parking lot to experiment a little. While driving in 2x2 with the hubs locked there was a slight pulling or binding when making a sharp turn. When in 4x4 hi there was a very pronounced binding when making a sharp turn almost to the point of making the front end bounce! I don't remember my Jeep or my Yukon (ESOF) doing this. In fact it worried me to the point of going out of 4x4 back to 2x2 right away. I left the hubs locked without a problem. I'm wondering if the binding is normal in 4x4 hi or should I take it in to the dealer...I only have 3500 miles on it but don't want to go off road or up to the mountains and have the truck crap out on me.


When on two wheels-
FXSTC
Mesa- AZ

2003, F-350, Lariat, V10, CC, LWB, Dark Shadow Grey, 6sp Manual, "get off your lazy *ss" FX4, 4.30, Camper Pkg, Sirius Satellite Radio, Borla cat-back, Granatelli MAF, K&N Gen II FIPK, et. al., ad infinitum, ad nauseum...

 

Mine does the same when the transfer case is engaged.

 

>Mine does the same when the transfer case is engaged.

What are you responding to?

When on two wheels-
FXSTC
Mesa- AZ

2003, F-350, Lariat, V10, CC, LWB, Dark Shadow Grey, 6sp Manual, "get off your lazy *ss" FX4, 4.30, Camper Pkg, Sirius Satellite Radio, Borla cat-back, Granatelli MAF, K&N Gen II FIPK, et. al., ad infinitum, ad nauseum...

 

>When in 4x4 hi there was a very pronounced binding when
>making a sharp turn almost to the point of making the front
>end bounce!

this

>I'm wondering if the binding is normal in 4x4 hi or should I take it in to the dealer...

and this

Sorry didn't realize that I did not hit "reply with quote".

 

You're right, after much thinking about when I did this (been awhile) I wrote it bass ackwards. I was side-hilling and wanted the less pressured up hill to pull. May have not been a good plan, broke a spider gear in the rear on the same hill. here's a hint: if someone says "you don't have a hair on yer a** if you don't climb that..." that person is not your friend

 

NO, THAT IS NOT SHIFT ON THE FLY!! I f you HAD shift on the fly, you would have a switch on the dash.

 

>NO, THAT IS NOT SHIFT ON THE FLY!! If you HAD shift on the fly, you would have a switch on the dash.

What are you talking about? Or rather, WHO are you "talking" to?