My 93 F150 has manual hubs, stock units, I have been tossing around the idea of replacing them with a Wern or SuperWench etc, but was wondering after yesterdays major snow storm, if they made a semi auto locking hub? I was dressed in a suite and had to exit the truck and muck in 8 inches of snow and slush to lock the hubs so I could travel on my way to the office, now, normally I don't care to get dirty, in fact, I spend most of my spare time ( if there is such a thing, kind of like spare change) working on my race car, so dirt and grease is never a major problem, but when dressed up, manual hubs kinda suck. Do they make a semi auto hub that will engage to help you thru something then release? I have always been told to stay away from auto hubs, but now I can see an advantage to having them.

What are your thoughts..

Justin

Hey Justin (SoCAl)


A Herd of them for ya!!!!! LOL

 

I am afraid you are stuck with either a full auto or a full manual hub. No in-between.

Yeah -thats right- I just wanted an excuse to use the banana.

 

O hum! Any Auto's better than others? Can you add autos a truck that was OE'd with Manuals?


More Fruit!

 

I put autos on my previous 92 F150, because my wife drove the truck alot in the snow. It is a simple swap.
In my opinion the older auto hubs(87-93) are a little better. You can actually see how they work when you take them off. They 94 and up are a little different style.


P.S. You can tell the older ones from the new ones buy how many bolts hold on the cap. Older style has 5 bolts and the newer style has 3.

 

i just put in the best warns i could get. the metal, not the plastic. paid ike 60 bucks or so. IMO, manual is the way to go. when we started snowing here, i went out and locked the hubs for the morning. do it ahead of time and you won't et dirty. when you take the trck out of 4wd you can still leave them locked. it's no big deal

IMO auto's stink. i like the mnaual. dirt or no dirt, theres no other way to go.


curt

 

Hey guys. I'm new here and have a 95 F150 6cyl 5spd. w/ man. hubs. Just curious how long any of you would reccomend leaving the hubs locked? Most of the roads here are clear of snow now, but my driveway is extremely steep and long and definitely requires 4wd w/ even a little snow on it. It seems logical to be able to leave the hubs locked and just drive in 2wd until 4wd is needed, but how long should you do this for? Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

welcome.

you can leave them locked as long as you want. the hubs being locked will only burn more gas. this may also mak the hub possibly go bad faster but hey, it's up to you. why not just lock em till you get out of your driveway and then unlock them?

curt

 

If you have manual hubs and want to lock them on dry pavement you have to be carefull with what type of axle you have. I have a 94 w/factory manual hubs and a limited slip (yes, front & rear LSD). The manual in the glovebox states that you cannot run a LSD locked on dry pavement. My truck pulls and steers funny when I forget to unlock so I know I can't leave mine locked on dry pavement. This is a bummer now that we have snow. The road may be half clear and half snow but I can't shift in and out of 4wd because I can't run with my hubs locked because of the clear patches in the road. Kind of makes my truck a 2wd in all but the worst conditions when I know it's snowy all the way to work. On the other hand, I have great traction off road.

 

My opinion from my own experience:

Automatic hubs are fine and recommended for OCCASSIONAL 4x4 use. (sudden snow storms, playing in the mud, etc.) You can't beat the convienence and they will last a long time with occasional use. You're also more likely to use 4x4 and avoid trouble if you don't have to get out in the cold or mud to engage your hubs.

However, if you use 4x4 almost daily or do a lot of hard 4 wheelin', you'll be replacing auto hubs about once a year because the plastic ring will wear out. The manual hubs have metal rings and will way out last the auto hubs. Most of the folks that don't like auto hubs use thier 4x4 a lot more than the rest of us.

As for leaving manual hubs locked in all of the time, I'd do it if there was a good chance I'd need 4x4. But leaving them locked in all of the time for no reason is wear and tear on your front axle, CV joints, and hubs, not to mention the bind it puts your front end in when you make sharp turns. And as mentioned before, the extra drag equals lower gas milage.

I'm no expert on 4x4, but I've had experience with both types of hubs, and with light and heavy 4x4 use, and IMO, which hub is best for you depends on how you use your 4x4.