Your trying to justify, in your mind, spending $2,200 ... ... ... . that's okay, we all make mistakes. If you wanted a 2wd, you should have bought a 2wd.
Your comment here shows that you are a hub hater. Logic be damned, just go on the attack, yes? I do not need to justify my hub purchase at all. I really do not care if I have a mpg gain and would do it again in a heartbeat. I bought the hubs because I do not like the idea of all those parts uselessly turning and wearing out for no good reason. I also had the stock wheel ujoints go bad (they were always turning, so I don’t understand why they failed
:-laf) and I had to soak them in WD40 to keep driving until I was ready to tear into those #$@! stuck unit bearings. Even ground a hole in one cap to inject grease in the joint! With locking hubs I could have fixed the ujoints more at my leisure. Btw I paid significantly less than $2,200. Where did you get that number from??
JHardwick said:
Originally Posted by brods
Advantages with locking hubs
1. Saves energy (fuel)
Show me proof, I want a fuel log ... ... ... winter, summer, empty, loaded, etc
2. Saves wear and tear
On what?
3. Allows 2wd lo
I've got a 6spd and 4:11 rears, no biggy, I bought what suited me
4. Can drive the truck even with a worn or broken wheel ujoint or worn or broken front driveshaft ujoint
Why would you?
5. Much simpler and cheaper wheel bearing repair/replacement
(3) in 425,000 miles is not that big an inconvenience, I do preventative maintenance (refer to #4)
6. May reduce or eliminate the 70 mph vibes
never had it
Advantages with unit bearings
1. Cheaper and easier for Dodge to assemble the truck
probably
2. Unit bearings need no re-packing or other maintenance
exactly
3. Good for people who cannot get out of their truck to lock the hubs and/or cannot anticipate marginal traction conditions.
Is this your best argument? Or is this a dig because I'm 40 and 220#, LOL, hey, I am 6'1" though
As for “is this your best argument”, that is what you anti-hub guys are saying!!
Heat is energy. If you do not heat the front axle assembly by uselessly turning it, you WILL save energy. How much will depend on several factors such as gear oil type and viscosity, outside temperature, etc.
Not constantly turning the front end saves wear and tear on the wheel ujoints, differential axle seals, carrier bearings, ring and pinion, pinion bearings, pinion seal, driveshaft ujoints, transfercase front output bearing and seal and the gear oil itself. I have yet to see something wear out from not using it!
I've had 4x4 since I was 16, before 4x4 was cool, never been without, never owned a car. All we had were Warns on the Dana 60, or some guys had a Dana 44.
I find myself in all kind of situations where 4x4 is a little icing ... ... . and not anticiapted. I know that some of you puddle jumpers don't undersatand that.
IF, you are incinuating that I'm lazy, you are very wrong.
I cover all 48 states, 12 months out of the year. Hauling horses, I end up on back township roads, or out west on roads that aren't even on GPS. Each road is a new encounter, and I don't even want to get out and lock hubs in ... ... ... . I just want 4x4 when I want 4x4. It could even be something as simple as turning around in a barn lot. People have a habit of not realizing how big my trailer is ... ... . but once I'm in, I'm in and it's up to me to NOT get stuck. A lot of times, not getting stuck, means not stopping! You've obviously not pulled many trailers, and even worse with a dually, and obviously not in other than ideal terrain.
You do not know what I’ve done or not done so why even speculate?
Since we're doing bios, I'm in my late 40's, 210lbs and 6'2". I honestly can’t remember when I got my first 4x4, but sometime in my early twenties. Jeep M38, IH Scout, 2 or 3 K5 Blazers, K5 Jimmy, Suburban, Dakota, a military Dodge 1-1/4 ton? pickup something or other, and the Ram. Almost every 4x I’ve owned either had manual locking hubs or lame automatic locking hubs (the kind people blow up because they don’t understand how they engage and just floor it). I have a Dana 60 front axle that has been under three different trucks, seen lots of highway miles, snow plowing and fairly hard core rock crawling under a full size K5. Guess what, it still has the stock non-greasable ujoints that spin only when the hubs are locked! I have never broken a hub.
Fwiw I’ve driven cars, pickups, box vans, work trucks with trailers on muddy construction sites, large box trucks and a dump truck. I've towed several different rental trailers from wood chippers to flatbeds loaded with pipe. I currently own two trailers that I have used to transport hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of filtration equipment from place to place. Might not have near as much total mileage as you, though I have probably driven over 500k miles over the years, in all weather conditions. Even so, I will admit I know little and can always learn more. So please do feel free to school me with your vastly superior knowledge.
You can go on justifying your purchase to yourself, but it doesn't meet my needs.
And STILL, nobody has shown me a fuel log or spreadsheet
Ok, all kidding aside, the bottom line is you have decided that for you the locking hubs are too much trouble to lock in all the times you may need 4x4, so you prefer to spend a little more in fuel for the convenience of always having 4x4 just a tcase lever throw away. That is fine. It doesn’t mean the freewheeling hubs are not generally a better way to do things.
Btw you never did answer: If the truck came either way from the dealer, for no extra charge, which would you choose?
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