Manual vs auto locking hubs

I'm hopeing someone can give me some insight on auto vs. manual hubs.

First off i'm really bad with the termanology so i'm going to call the part that can be auto or manual the hub and the part the the wheel mounts to the wheel hub.

ok the hub links the spline shaft to the wheel hub. when i took apart my front wheel hubs the auto locking hub seemed like a direct connection from the spline to the wheel hub.

i assume that a manual hub does the same except you can disengage that connection from the spline to the wheel hub.

my first question is how is the automatic locking hub automatic? there are no moving part to automaticaly lock anything. its seem like its always locked.

next question. if i were to install the manual hubs, would leaving them in the locked position be the same as having the auto locking hubs? could i just leave them locked even when in 2WD and still use the 4WD button while moving?

i got these from another thread on this site.

"I have a 98 Rodeo that has major vibration starting around 60 mph. The car only has about 49000 miles on it and has been well taken care of my by mother-in-law. I had all 4 tires replaced and spin balanced, but it had no effect on the vibration. I had a friend put it up on a lift one day and discovered that the front wheels were in 4wd, without the transaxle engaged. It was like I had a car with manual hub locks and I forgot to unlock the hubs. After pushing the 4wd button a few times, it disengaged. But shortly thereafter, it seemed to go back into 4wd mode. I notice that the gas mileage on the highway is really bad. My father-in-law said that once he took it on a long trip and managed to get about 28 mpg. I got about 18."

"I was thinking more along the lines that the vibration was coming from the transfer case since the hubs were locked in. I guess I am looking for some trouble shooting tips on the vacuum assisted shifter used on the front axle to put the car into 4wd."



now i'm even more confused. what would indicate that the front wheels were in 4WD?

where do the auto locking hubs engage/disengage?

Auto locking hubs:

When you put your transfer case into 4x4 mode, the front axles begin to turn. This turning action spins the inner gear of the hub and 'engages' it against the outer ring, thereby connecting the axle to the wheel. When you take the car out of 4x4, you must travel backwards about 4'. This reverses the outer ring of the hub back off the inner ring, and thus, it is disconnected again.

Manual hub:

In locked mode...the wheels will always turn with the axle. If the vehicle is in 2wd mode, the wheels will actually continuously turn the axles, instead of the axles turning the wheels. In 4x4 mode, there is power to the front axles, so the wheels turn.

The major benefit to manual hubs is this: If you are stuck in a muddy rut, and need to 'rock' the vehicle back and forth, the auto hubs will disengage and try to re-engage every time you make a movement (back->forth and vise versa). The manual hubs are always locked when engaged, so you have 4x4 no matter what.

HTH, and not too confusing!

Steve

Auto locking hubs:

When you put your transfer case into 4x4 mode, the front axles begin to turn. This turning action spins the inner gear of the hub and 'engages' it against the outer ring, thereby connecting the axle to the wheel. When you take the car out of 4x4, you must travel backwards about 4'. This reverses the outer ring of the hub back off the inner ring, and thus, it is disconnected again.



Late First Gen and Second Gen Rodeos don't have Auto Locking hubs, they have hub flanges. This essentially locks the hub all of the time; backing up after shifting back to 2WD doesn't do a thing with this setup.

i think i was a little confused. i thought my shift on the fly system had auto locking hubs. when in reality they are always locked because the half shaft to the wheel is a solid connection. the wheels are engaged/disengaged somewhere else.

so the installation of manual hubs on a SOTF system still allows you to use the SOTF as long as the manual hubs are in the locked position.

Late First Gen and Second Gen Rodeos don't have Auto Locking hubs, they have hub flanges. This essentially locks the hub all of the time; backing up after shifting back to 2WD doesn't do a thing with this setup.


Where were you an hour ago?

so the installation of manual hubs on a SOTF system still allows you to use the SOTF as long as the manual hubs are in the locked position.

correct-amundo. You can lock them in the morning if you're expecting a big dump of snow and they act just like the hub flange.