Auto or manual locking hub ?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

mtbadbob

Full Access Member
Joined
May 9, 2021
Posts
659
Reaction score
1,031
Location
Montana
First Name
Bob
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
V20
Engine Size
350
Yes the super duty trucks are super crappy . The drivetrain is what your buying , my work truck is a 2019 with 24,000 ish miles 6.7 diesel wich is a good engine no doubt . The rest of the truck doesn’t impress me at all , crappy tailgate, crappy third doors shake when you open them . Almost like a fisher price toy. I’ve put power steering pumps on 2 f250 ‘s both 2019 models one 62,000 miles the other already has evap leaks . Common with new vehicles, for the money people spend on these trucks .. you should get more bang for the buck . I pull a 8500 pound stage 2 or 3 times some months . Not really feeling the strength from the rest of the truck , meaning.. stopping handling etc . Just not sold on a lighter frame body etc build . I grew up working on fords with my grandfather, he was a Ford man and Pontiac. That’s where I got my Pontiac fever . But to me all vehicles made back in the day were made very well! I like fords chevy’s dodge Pontiac etc . Not in that order . Toyota’s nah people can brag on them all they want , most unsafe vehicles on the road …in my opinion. My friends who drive them , well yes there still my friends lol . I’ve seen Toyota’s steering shaft to the rack , they break , they crack, they snap . Scary !!But that’s the words I hate hearing from friends and family..my truck , or my car , yes I know it’s a Toyota, you love it !! It’s falling apart around you.. but that motor is still running huh. I will stick with my square body.. no electric pumps no computer . None of that. Got enough vehicles that do have that stuff now. Old 71 Ford I had was my grandpa’s truck , it started every time.when everything else tore up, it still was running. Points distributor, you all know.! Brakes were unsafe as hell . But it ran. Drum brakes all the way .. couldn’t stop on a dime period, new drums, brake shoes everything, the only problem it had. Owned a 1989 k5 blazer , it was nice but getting to the fuel pump … wow …
I am more excited about my square 1985 K10 than my new truck , well more my Wife’s truck . She stays in it more than me , but I want her in something newer with a warranty . As she stays on the highway a lot. And yes it’s a Chevy .. if there good enough for the US government.. we’ll you see where I am going . HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all !!
I'm with you on the Toyota's...not impressed with them, besides I think they're the ugliest vehicles on the road today. Anyway, I've seen plenty of them break, they're not invincible like some people think. I've seen & experience SEVERAL GM trucks get 200k+ miles without a single issue, or mere pennies invested to keep them on the road. I'll take my Subie BRAT over a 'Yota anyday! :)
 

Blackbeard44

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2020
Posts
280
Reaction score
258
Location
Washington State
First Name
andy
Truck Year
1985
Truck Model
K20
Engine Size
6.0 LS
I'm running a lock rite in my front end, in snow and highway driving I lock in just the passenger side hub, and if I really need to send power to both front tires and not have to turn the steering wheel much, I will lock in the other hub, its a short walk to lock in the driver side.

from my experience with auto locking trucks, its best to have it engaged before you really need it, because there is a good chance it wont engage when your stuck
 

hoagster

Full Access Member
Joined
May 16, 2017
Posts
1,393
Reaction score
3,436
Location
California
First Name
Mike
Truck Year
1973, 2000
Truck Model
K10, 1500
Engine Size
5.3l
Not with the t-case in 2wd and an open diff. I know that you are very knowledgeable, but how would binding be possible? That is not my experience at all with a part time case and an open diff. Binding only happens when shifted to 4 wheel drive.
You are correct, there should be zero binding except maybe in a tight turn, but there will be some added friction depending on turns and wear and tear thru out the axle housing. If the hubs are engaged!
 

hoagster

Full Access Member
Joined
May 16, 2017
Posts
1,393
Reaction score
3,436
Location
California
First Name
Mike
Truck Year
1973, 2000
Truck Model
K10, 1500
Engine Size
5.3l
I hope that "enough said" was a compliment to Toyota 4x4s. I have owned more '80s Toyota trucks than Square bodies over the years, and in this current insane world we live in where prices have gone bonkers, I'd happily trade my 'Burb for a clean '84-'89 4x4 4Runner (or a '79-'88 standard cab pickup if it was really clean)... After a nuclear holocaust, the only things scampering around the streets besides cockroaches will be old Toyota trucks. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my old Chevy trucks, but if given the choice for only one, I would pick the more dependable of the two... Now mind you, 3 out of the 9 vehicles in my current fleet are GMs and zero of them are Toyotas, but seriously those old Yotas are a friggin force to be reconed with. Like for real, I know you don't know me, but a 1988 4x4 Toyota Pickup survived living with me for damn near 2 years when I was a teenager, that says a lot. I beat the fcuking PISS outta that poor poor vehicle and it just kept taking it until it finally just had nothing left. Ever seen the top gear episode? That was me just driving to high school and work, if not even harsher treatment lol. RIP
You
 
Last edited:

Blue Ox

Turning Diesel Fuel Into Fun
Joined
Mar 27, 2018
Posts
5,220
Reaction score
12,020
Location
LI-NY
First Name
Derek
Truck Year
MCMLXXXV
Truck Model
K20HD
Engine Size
6.2L
Not with the t-case in 2wd and an open diff. I know that you are very knowledgeable, but how would binding be possible? That is not my experience at all with a part time case and an open diff. Binding only happens when shifted to 4 wheel drive.

You're right. It's much less pronounced with the transfer case disengaged. I still pick up a sense of uneven motion at steering lock, but it's probably more drag than actual binding. Maybe I need U-joints or something.
 

bucket

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Posts
30,446
Reaction score
28,348
Location
Usually not in Ohio
First Name
Andy
Truck Year
'77, '78, '79, '84, '88
Truck Model
K5 thru K30
Engine Size
350-454
You're right. It's much less pronounced with the transfer case disengaged. I still pick up a sense of uneven motion at steering lock, but it's probably more drag than actual binding. Maybe I need U-joints or something.

Could be u-joints, yes. I had not thought about that until you just mentioned it. U-joints that are even mildly sticking could potentially cause a minor "feeling" when making a sharp turn.
 

hoagster

Full Access Member
Joined
May 16, 2017
Posts
1,393
Reaction score
3,436
Location
California
First Name
Mike
Truck Year
1973, 2000
Truck Model
K10, 1500
Engine Size
5.3l
I was going to say something stupid about your post and it wouldn't let me delete it, so I edited it to "you". Instead of chewing on my foot the next day. There's enough Bull going on in the world without me putting my 2 cent's in because I had a few to many. Luckily I re-read it and edited it before you or anyone else read it.
 

RecklessWOT

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2015
Posts
2,556
Reaction score
4,764
Location
New Hampshire
First Name
Kevin
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
V10 Suburban Silverado
Engine Size
350 TBI
I was going to say something stupid about your post and it wouldn't let me delete it, so I edited it to "you". Instead of chewing on my foot the next day. There's enough Bull going on in the world without me putting my 2 cent's in because I had a few to many. Luckily I re-read it and edited it before you or anyone else read it.
dude, drunk posting happens lol. Toss them cents in, I know I sure do it from time to time and I don't feel bad about it... I got thick skin, it's a Chevy forum and here I am saying good things about Yoders, I expected backlash. Let it fly!

I don't like modern Toyotas, they use plastic wheel bearing races FFS... they've gone to sh!t and are overpriced J@p crap now. But man those old pre-Tacoma trucks (as much as I don't like the styling of anything post '88, even the ones thru like '95 were all the same construction) were seriously tough little bastards. New stuff these days are a joke, not only are they ugly and cheaply made, but they aren't built to last anymore like they used to be. And severely overpriced. Then again I suppose modern GM stuff is like that too, minus the insane prices. But still ugly and crappily built. Gotta get old stuff if you want a proper truck
 

shiftpro

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Posts
4,855
Reaction score
6,092
Location
BC Canada
First Name
shiftpro
Truck Year
73-87
Truck Model
1500, 2500, 3500
Engine Size
350, 383, 454, 496!
Not with the t-case in 2wd and an open diff. I know that you are very knowledgeable, but how would binding be possible? That is not my experience at all with a part time case and an open diff. Binding only happens when shifted to 4 wheel drive.
There's still a lttle bit even in 2x. hose spiders have a lot of metal to spin when differentiating is going down. Wide tires make it much more obvious... and of course the wide rubber itself is skidding the inside of the tread. Maybe that's more of what we are feeling is the tire scrubbing.?
 

bucket

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Posts
30,446
Reaction score
28,348
Location
Usually not in Ohio
First Name
Andy
Truck Year
'77, '78, '79, '84, '88
Truck Model
K5 thru K30
Engine Size
350-454
There's still a lttle bit even in 2x. hose spiders have a lot of metal to spin when differentiating is going down. Wide tires make it much more obvious... and of course the wide rubber itself is skidding the inside of the tread. Maybe that's more of what we are feeling is the tire scrubbing.?

Right, but tire scrub is there whether or not the front shafts are turning.

I'm a particular kind of fella. I've daily driven (oodles of miles) trucks with 33's and locked hubs, the turns are not noticeable. Just the driveline vibration at interstate speeds. I've rode around with hubs locked and much larger tires too (although not daily) and there hasn't been any additional scrubbing or binding while turning.
 

AuroraGirl

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Posts
9,693
Reaction score
6,869
Location
Northern Wisconsin
First Name
Taylor
Truck Year
1978, 1980
Truck Model
K10, K25
Engine Size
400(?), 350
no hopping or skipping? and the only thing functionally worse I guess in a turn would be the turn radius i think?
 

RacingTurtles

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Posts
60
Reaction score
30
Location
Pennsylvania
First Name
Apu
Truck Year
1990
Truck Model
v1500 Geneva Edition
Engine Size
350 tbi
Man I wish I found this thread sooner.
I recently did a brake job and I initially would have thought that I bit off more than I can chew. I kind of wish I had googled manual hubs and their cost before assuming it was like $600 for manual lockers.
In my 90 V1500 Suburban, I ended up taking everything apart in my Warn auto locking hubs and regreasing everything around there.
I spent way too much time with this job just from figuring out how to take it apart and clean everything.

Probably should have just bought the manual lockers and be done with it.
 

Blue Ox

Turning Diesel Fuel Into Fun
Joined
Mar 27, 2018
Posts
5,220
Reaction score
12,020
Location
LI-NY
First Name
Derek
Truck Year
MCMLXXXV
Truck Model
K20HD
Engine Size
6.2L
Man I wish I found this thread sooner.
I recently did a brake job and I initially would have thought that I bit off more than I can chew. I kind of wish I had googled manual hubs and their cost before assuming it was like $600 for manual lockers.
In my 90 V1500 Suburban, I ended up taking everything apart in my Warn auto locking hubs and regreasing everything around there.
I spent way too much time with this job just from figuring out how to take it apart and clean everything.

Probably should have just bought the manual lockers and be done with it.

Because they don't need maintenance too? :confused:
 

Forum statistics

Threads
44,168
Posts
950,805
Members
36,286
Latest member
goodwrenchca
Top