Manual hubs you can engage from the cab? Do they exist?

[ronh72c10]

Basically I'm looking for manual hubs for the front of my 72 K25 that can be engaged from the cab rather than by turning the knob on the axle. (Dana 44)

And no I'm not worried about getting my piggies muddy, , my wife is going to be driving it to pull her horse trailer and I'd prefer to have a dash mounted switch/lever so she knows they're disengaged.

Ron

[1969K10]

In short, NO, they don't exist.
You can have a locker of some type (electric or air) that is activated in the cab. but that just locks up the front differential from a open diff to a locked diff.

[Blazer1970]

There is nothing wrong with just leaving them locked all the time either.

[ronh72c10]

That's what I figured.

Thanks,
Ron

[RED72blazer]

Originally Posted by Blazer1970

There is nothing wrong with just leaving them locked all the time either.

Won't you be spinning the front axles, ring gear, and drive shaft if left locked? maybe even the output shaft of the transfercase. wouldn't that cause increased wear on parts and decreased gas mileage? I could see leaving them locked in if you were out dirt tracking and didn't need 4x4 all the time. But, I wouldn't leave my hubs locked all the time. especially, if I was towing a trailer on the freeway.

[Stocker]

Wait wait, not so fast!!

Warn Lock-O-Matic hubs have been discontinued for years, but if you can locate a pair, they just might be what you are looking for.

Basically, they are an all-metal (bronze/aluminum) manual hub. The difference is that for occasional use, you can leave them in "Free" and stop the truck (no shift-on-the-fly), engage 4WD, and go forward. The hubs will lock automatically. You can go back into 2WD on the fly and the hubs will release.

They won't stay locked in reverse, but they do a good job driving forward.

Of course, for serious off-road work you can lock them in, same as any other manual hub. Note: they are not spring loaded, so the splines need to be reasonably aligned before they will engage manually.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by RED72blazer

Won't you be spinning the front axles, ring gear, and drive shaft if left locked? maybe even the output shaft of the transfercase. wouldn't that cause increased wear on parts and decreased gas mileage?

Yes

[Blue_71]

this is another possability too.. im not really sure what all these came on, but my 79 has full time hubs. under the dust cap, there is a flat metal plate splined to the hub, and to the axle shaft. its held on by a snap ring. more or less, keeping the axle locked in all the time with less moving parts

[Stocker]

Blue_71, I believe those require a NP 203 (chain drive) full-time transfer case... and won't work with a 205 TC.

[Blazer1970]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Blue_71, I believe those require a NP 203 (chain drive) full-time transfer case... and won't work with a 205 TC.

Just the opposite. You need the hubs locked all the time for a stock 203 since it is a full time case. The drive slugs will work fine with a 205 or any other transfer case.

[ronh72c10]

I saw a couple of lock o matics on ebay, but realistically if the only issue is that there'll be more wear and poorer fuel economy, the few times they're forgotten on won't be a problem.

Ron

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by Blazer1970

Just the opposite. You need the hubs locked all the time for a stock 203 since it is a full time case. The drive slugs will work fine with a 205 or any other transfer case.

Right, they are effectively fully locked at all times...

Guess I shouldn't have said they won't work with a 205. Of course you're right, technically they will work -- but you can never run 'em free so everything is spinning all the time. Not good for wear & tear or fuel mileage, so why run them with a 205.

[1969K10]

Originally Posted by ronh72c10

I saw a couple of lock o matics on ebay, but realistically if the only issue is that there'll be more wear and poorer fuel economy, the few times they're forgotten on won't be a problem.

Ron

FWIW, i see the biggest drop in MPG when i engage my hubs. Generally drops me 3-4 MPG. Wether I'm in 4WD or 2WD via the X-fer makes almost no difference to my MPG.

[RED72blazer]

Originally Posted by 1969K10

FWIW, i see the biggest drop in MPG when i engage my hubs. Generally drops me 3-4 MPG. Wether I'm in 4WD or 2WD via the X-fer makes almost no difference to my MPG.

wow, didn't think it would be that much

[Stocker]

Well, you are spinning a lot of extra hardware, which means a lot of parasitic drag -- and this is very old hardware, designed long before fuel efficiency was much of a concern.

Never checked mine, but I sure can feel a big difference in 2WD with the hubs locked in.


Edit: As a side note, my work truck is a 2003 F*rd F450 4x4 bucket (lift) truck with manual hubs. It's virtually impossible to tell when the hubs are locked in 2WD. Maybe lighter oil in the front diff, maybe just bearings etc are designed for decreased drag vs our older stuff...

[special-K]

When you know there`s a possibility of maybe needing 4wd it`s a good idea to engage you hubs to allow "shift on fly".You will only be running how these systems were originally designed before the lock-out hubs became an after thought.Sure,it`s best to run disengaged hubs whenever possible.If the wife isn`t running all over the place,I`d lock them in for her and be done with it.Even Loc-O-Matics require manually engaging when serious use is in place.They will grenade to smithereens when putting alot of load on them while in "free".Warns says "when compression braking and hauling loads" to engage to "lock".Well,running in mud that requires 4wd puts the same stress on the hubs as hauling a load or holding the weight of the truck back with the motor.
When there`s patchy snow I always run my hubs locked...right on down the hiway,no problems.It gets better mileage than with the t-case engaged.I don`t believe I lose 3-4 mpg either.I don`t believe I lose that running in 4wd.

[Blazer1970]

Originally Posted by special-K

I don`t believe I lose 3-4 mpg either.I don`t believe I lose that running in 4wd.

I agree, not even close to that much. I would doubt if the difference would be measurable. Jeep has eliminated the front axle disconnect on their straight axle models, and lockout hubs have not been used for years. Those are new factory solid axle trucks that run the front axle locked in all the time. I don't think they would do that if there were a considerable fuel economy penalty.