Ok so I was talking to my dad and on his old 86 F250 he bought Auto Locking hubs so he didnt have to mess with getting out and locking them and all that good stuff. And said they were easy and all that to install

My question is, I am looking at getting a 250 4x4 for the winter, and wanted to know if there are auto locking hubs I can put under it so i dont need to get out and manually do it. I know the comments coming it isnt hard blah blah lazy a$$! and you know what I AM! ahaha I just want to know if it is possible to upgrade to auto-loc hubs

 

same here! this would be nice to know, i have a 77 f150 4x4 is it possible? i need new hubs anyway, and was looking at new ones, but if i could get auto locking hubs, that would be sweet, and sometimes the hubs can become unlocked if the snow or mud turns them, any info would be great, this is a question i was going to ask, you beat me to the punch. lol

 

The biggest complaint I see with auto locking hubs is system failure...sure they're easier, but they always seem to fail at the moment you need them worst. It could be anywhere from a loose wire and not letting one side fully lock in (major carnage) to a short somewhere causing the the front not to lock in, or not carrying enough vacuum to get the hubs locked. With manual hubs, basically all you have to worry about is something breaking.

 

Just have your wife or GF get out and do it. Problem solved. KISS - Keep it Simple Stupid.

 

my gf can't turn them lol, maybe i should grease them a little bit...

 

I think most of the upgrades I've seen on later model trucks has been from the auto hubs to the manual ones, but then again, it's not all that cold here.

 

um, they don't have wires. Theoretically, you could get stuff off of a ttb d44 and put it on you solid d44, use the bearing/nut assembly on out to the hub cap from the ttb. I've never done this, but this is what I come up with out of the air. I think it would be a little cool, but I have no problems with doing it myself, I usually just leave mine locked in, after a good snow until spring. If you try it let us know how it works out!

 

I have them on my 90. They worked great for a long time, now I get a loud BANG out of the front end once in a blue moon. Needless to say, I have manual hubs now. For stock highway driving, light trails etc, I think the auto hubs will work OK. One issue I notice is if you get stuck in 2wd, put it into 4WD, the front wheels wont turn yet, suddenly the hubs lock in. Be careful with the go pedal till you know the hubs engage.

 

Yeah straightsix you got me...I was thinking of pushbutton 4x4.

 

yes, they bring the suck, I just put an encoder motor (t case shift motor for push button t case) in an 01 chev at work today, bill came to over 800 bucks! ouch! the part lists for like 7 something

 

I worked at a Ford dealership in 93 and 94 between working on airplanes. If I remember correctly we had some problems with the auto hubs. I think there were no less than 3 different kinds also. The pust button setup had problems too. It would get stuck between stops and you had to use a 12 volt bat. charger and a little manual help to get it unstuck. I would personally stick with the manual setup. Much more trouble free and stronger in my experience.

 

What does a push button have to do with auto hubs I am lost here.

 

Because when he said auto locking hubs, I was thinking of a pushbutton system, and it went from there.

 

I believe the pushbutton feature was for the transfer case, the auto locking hubs are still strictly mechanical (i.e. '95 Bronco).

 

I do the same thing as straightsix4x4 does. I lock them in after a snow fall and unlock them in the spring.