i've done a few searches which turned up nothing.

Has anyone heard of or seen locking hubs for the 97-03 IFS? i would love to have something like warn manual hubs so i can lock in 1 wheel on the icy roads. i have a locked up front end and it is flat scary when it decides what wheel has more traction.

 

It would be a little hard considering they don't have true hubs. Just CV joints at the wheel. All locking and unlocking of the front is done at the diff.

 

which points right back at the fact im locked up and was looking for a way to go around that for winter driving.

 

I have driven quite a few miles with a 98 and an 01, and never had a problem. Same with manual lock hubs and having both locked up. Not sure why you would be having a problem.
Also it is unlikely any one would make a hub for a vehicle that wasn't designed for one.

 

you had the front end locked up and you did not have any problems?

Edit: by lock i mean like an actual locker of some type. i have a richmond gear mechanical limited slip / lock right.

 

This is Christmas, not April fools day. Sorry I couldn't resist. You must have had a bad experience to have that notion. On an older front differential with lockout hubs if you locked just one hub in, you would get no benefit from the front(4 wheel) drive. If there was some kind of special locker differential that worked with just one wheel locked in, I could only see that making the truck handle worse.(when just one side was locked in) Do you have badly worn tires or badly mismatched tires such as good gripping tread on one side and smooth tread on the other side?

 

my front end is locked up, thus adding hubs and leaving one free and locking one would make it run like a OPEN front end bud. an open front end spins one tire when you have traction.

what did i miss here with my theory?

 

No I had the stock diff, which is an open diff. If you put a locker on the front, then you should have done one where you can unlock it. Same for the rear. Far better than trying run one hub engaged and one unengaged. Wouldn't be surprised if that would damage the hub itself.
Never put a full locker on the front.

 

no, they do now make locking hubs for that gen f150. only solution is to take out the locker and put in l/s or run open. you should never have put a full locker up front anyway.

 

i was told that the richmond gear's lock right would ratchet and act like a limited slip.

now im not sure if mine has issues again, had issues with install. but i was looking for a round about way to remedy this
http://www.powertrax.com/lockright.html


kingfish: i know people who run yota's with a full lock in front and one hub disengaged.

 

All I can say is I remember one time I forgot to take my truck out of 4x4, but did unlock the front hubs. As I was pulling to a stop at a light, I could hear the hubs ratcheting. Not long after that the hubs went out. Maybe coincidence. Fortunately I had an extended warranty.

 

a disengaging locker is fine up front. what kind of issues you talking about? i really think your best bet would be to run a full time limited slip or open differential up front. unless you wanted to go ARB or Auburn elected so you can run full lock off road and l/s on.

 

my problem is wandering in 4x4. it will pull on the compact snow pretty good, and if i touch a bare spot of asphalt, say like an intersection. the game is on! i gotta hold on for dear life.

 

You are missing the fact that you have EXACTLY that situation when in 2 wheel drive, just without the locked transfer case. As has already been stated, there are no manual hubs available for the 97-03/04 Heritage F150s.

You have clearly modified the truck without knowing how the original system worked to begin with.

IMHO, for an on-road vehicle, the lock rite was a poor choice for your F-150 to start with. Sure, it was relatively cheap and easy to install, but it will cause exactly the handling problems you described. It's the nature of the beast. You have an IFS, with relatively weak halfshafts. Yes, the wheel that needs to turn further will ratchet and be allowed to overrun the inside wheel in a turn, but it will still easily shock-load the front halfshafts when it reengages, snapping them easily.

Furthermore, the Lock-Rite is prone to not acting like an open diff when not being driven. In 2wd, the center axle disconnect breaks your passenger side axle shaft near the diff, simulating a broken axle shaft condition. That can cause a lunchbox locker to force the front driveshaft to spin at all times, being driven sloely by the front driver's side wheel, and causing a pull on pavement in 2wd. Again a poor choice for a street-driven vehicle.

PowerTrax confirms this right on their web site:
There are so many better options for the front axle on our trucks... selectable lockers like the ARB air locker or the Detroit TruTrac are my personal favorites. They'll work much better, and are far, far more street friendly.

Good luck!

-Joe