Front axle 4X4 disconnect possible ?

[steved]

Hubs for sure but with non oe aftermarket parts is there not a risk of down time? Educate me if I am wrong but they are aftermarket right? I mean these kits are not using oem stuff from a different application.



Example... trucks gets hit and damages something in there, spindle, or whatever with a dealer unitised bearing available on a moments notice but who's to say the damaged aftermarket part is easy to find in 2018?

Other things can happen like water intrusion gone unnoticed gauling components that need replacement.



I am no hub hater, would love to have em but dang... those are awfully spendy to save so little on fuel, I could care less about wear on the front end cuz I will wear out the truck before the front axle.

Dynatrac is good, probably have the part to you overnight... I believe the spindle is the only custom part. The EMS kit uses OEM stuff, including a re-drilled spindle. And there again, if someone made that part, it could be duplicated by someone else in a pinch.

 

[DeezelDood]

Ujoints on the shelf don't have road spray seeping into them to just lay in one spot.



IF, IF, there is a 1mpg gain, 75,000/80,000 miles sounds about right, before breaking even. In town commuters will most likely never realize that, nor will guys towing most of the time.



I think it's more a matter of personal preference, and needs. I've only had (3) unitized bearings replaced in 425,000 miles. And @ 18,000#'s I'll never see a 1mpg gain. And pulling a trailer in/out of barns all over the country, a 4x4 situation has snuck up on me more times than I can count year 'round.

You've nailed it on the head. Most of the trail heads I visit have uneven terrrain. I often need to kick into 4lock to safely get in or out. In the end, it comes down to how you use your vehicle. For me, shift on the fly is a must. Free wheeling hubs would obviously be great for the fwy but I don't use it enough to justify the investment.

 

[steved]

I'm not sure. I'd probably opt for the sealed units ... ... ..... no springs, no cams, no slider gears, no loss of fuel mileage, everything stays lubed nice ... ... ... . yeah, I'd go with the sealed units.



Heck, I've driven over 5,000 miles and never came OUT of 4x4 before.



Besides, what am I supposed to do for a front wheel center cap



The ONLY thing that effects my fuel mileage is a head/tail wind ... ... ... . that's it. 1 horse, 6 horses, no horses, rolling hills, steep hills ... ... ... ... . wind and speed effect my mileage. It hovers between 11. 5 and 12, and locking hubs aint gonna make it 12. 5 to 13. I've ran with no front drive shaft, and didn't gain an ounce.



Yes, ujoints in service need used, seals in service need used, or they go bad just sitting there.



FOR ME, hubs make no sense. IF, IF, there was a mileage gain, then yes, I'd weigh the effects.

Again, sealed units have a finite life span... you end up buying a complete unit, I buy $100 in bearings for both sides (if they ever go bad). Its a trade off... I buy a higher dollar item initially, and probably never replace it... you continue to replace unit bearings, at a lower cost.



And 5,000 miles in 4wd with unit bearings is different than 5,000 miles in 4wd with hubs in what respect?



I bet keying the 1x4 decreases mileage too... don't forget the drag on the alternator... :-laf You were probably keying when the driveshaft was out, negating any gains...



As long as the seal has sufficient lube on it, it won't go bad... again, mine have been sitting "on the shelf" for 90k, they outlasted the OEM junk (that was moving) by 20k miles...



There are mileage gains, a lot of us have seen it... you can't deny that. Would everyone see a benefit? Probably not. As noted, the mileage gain was a side benefit... the main benefit was vibration reduction...



You know the only reason you won't buy them is because it will cut into to your "C"onstantly "B"uying addiction...



... "hub-hater"... that's too funny!!

 

[JHardwick]

The hub hater comments were meant to poke fun not to start a war.

No, no. SierraRam is taking offense, not me. I think you're going to more effort to prove that I need hubs, than I am to convince you that I don't



Keep up and I might buy me some, lol.

When someone chooses to ignore the laws of physics, that leads me to believe they are more emotionally invested in their opinion and not willing to be objective. Refusing to acknowledge that it takes extra fuel to create the friction that causes the heat in the front end is not logical. Insisting on mudding the waters by wanting some substantial increase in low towing mpg numbers is a diversion from the issue.

I fully understand that it takes energy to create heat, but it is all relative.



If I were "hyper-mileing" a short bed single cab, with the windows up, air off, tonneau cover on, incredibly easy on the throttle etc etc... ... ... ... ... ..... then, yeah, you might see a noticeable increase with hubs.



But at 18,000# GCVW, big square nose on the goose trailer, air on etc etc, the amount of energy it takes to turn that front end becomes less as a percentage of overall power being used at the crankshaft. Therefore, your not going to see any discernible gain.



That is not diverting the issue, it IS the issue.

 

[JHardwick]

You know the only reason you won't buy them is because it will cut into to your "C"onstantly "B"uying addiction...



... "hub-hater"... that's too funny!!

thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaats right :-laf

 

[JHardwick]

You've nailed it on the head. Most of the trail heads I visit have uneven terrrain. I often need to kick into 4lock to safely get in or out. In the end, it comes down to how you use your vehicle. For me, shift on the fly is a must. Free wheeling hubs would obviously be great for the fwy but I don't use it enough to justify the investment.

The biggest advantage I see for someone like you, would be if you had a locked front end, and needed to "unlock" one side or the other in a hairy off road situation.

 

[steved]

The biggest advantage I see for someone like you, would be if you had a locked front end, and needed to "unlock" one side or the other in a hairy off road situation.

Or if the lift was causing a driveline vibration from driveshaft angles...

 

[JHardwick]

Or if the lift was causing a driveline vibration from driveshaft angles...

This is true!

 

[RJWEST]

I have owned the truck with OEM hubs and with an EMS kit.

Best upgrade I have done... .



1. I do not like to have a Front bearing fail that requires Major

repair effort to fix.



2. I can engage low range on hard ground, and back roads

without tearing up the drive train, A pos'y rear and 4 wheel drive

on hard ground can really get get the drive train jumping.

Especially with a 3k truck camper. .



3. Slight improvement in MPG( I had a CAD , Empty, with a load the reduced friction is not as significant. I would expect the

NON CAD trucks would see a more significant MPG gain,

Plus Much less wear on the front" Diff/'U's" etc.



4. I believe the steering improved, Less spinning mass



5. Highway speed Vibration also disappeared...



6. I do not mind manually engageing the hubs, good excercise for

the wife... .



ANd , those wimps who need the ' easy ' way of engaging the

4 wheel drive, enjoy being a wus...

 

[JHardwick]

ANd , those wimps who need the ' easy ' way of engaging the

4 wheel drive, enjoy being a wus...

Now I'm mad ... ... ... . I'm not only a "hub-hater", but a wus and a wimp :-laf

 

[JHardwick]

6. I do not mind manually engageing the hubs, good excercise for

the wife... .

hmmmmmm, I might be able to work with that Oo.

 

[steved]

Now I'm mad ... ... ... . I'm not only a "hub-hater", but a wus and a wimp :-laf

You are now the official "wimpy hub-hating wus"... fitting... :-laf

 

[JHardwick]

You are now the official "wimpy hub-hating wus"... fitting... :-laf

hehehe, that's funny

 

[Matt400]

Its too bad they have to stick out so far, its an ugly mod but as in most cases, functional seems to go with ugly and non functional goes with looks.

 

[ColoradoKing]

Do the hubs actually stick out so you can't put on the lug bolt caps ('05 stock alloy rims)?

 

[steved]

Do the hubs actually stick out so you can't put on the lug bolt caps ('05 stock alloy rims)?

I drilled the front set of "caps" out for the hub...



#ad

 

[brods]

No, no. SierraRam is taking offense, not me. I think you're going to more effort to prove that I need hubs, than I am to convince you that I don't



Keep up and I might buy me some, lol.





I fully understand that it takes energy to create heat, but it is all relative.



If I were "hyper-mileing" a short bed single cab, with the windows up, air off, tonneau cover on, incredibly easy on the throttle etc etc... ... ... ... ... ..... then, yeah, you might see a noticeable increase with hubs.



But at 18,000# GCVW, big square nose on the goose trailer, air on etc etc, the amount of energy it takes to turn that front end becomes less as a percentage of overall power being used at the crankshaft. Therefore, your not going to see any discernible gain.



That is not diverting the issue, it IS the issue.

No, I do not have any illusions that you will buy hubs, nor am I trying to sell you on them. Your statements seem to indicate that they will not save fuel and that the amount they save is somehow relative to how much total fuel you use. Thats just not accurate.



We seem to be going at it from different angles. You are correct that even if the average guy gets say a 1 mpg gain, you will not see the same in your towing mpg. In that regard it is relative, but the total amount of fuel saved will be similar. Using the 30K mile example with the 17 mpg truck that gets 18 mpg with the hubs. That truck will save 88 gallons of fuel over the 30K miles with the free wheeling hubs. For your combination getting 12 mpg, you will burn 2,500 gallons to drive 30K. If you had the hubs you might only use 2,412 gallons of fuel to drive 30K (88 gallons less) and that would net you 12. 44 mpg.



Of course there are several other factors that will effect what savings anyone realizes, such as if an engine operating under heavier loads is actually operating more efficiently than guys running lightly loaded, etc. etc.



From my temperature measurements I think its safe to say most of the friction comes from churning the gear oil and turning the pinion and carrier bearings. The ujoints were just a little higher than ambient while the pumpkin, especially in the area of the pinion bearing seal was hot. The point being that removing the front driveshaft will likely give very little energy savings if the rest of the front end is still churning away.



I track my fuel, but have too many changes and varying conditions (towing, loaded, empty) to be able to say if any mileage improvements are due to the hubs or the smarty or whatever. I think I may have an idea for a quick and dirty mpg check between locked and unlocked...

 

[SierraRam]

I am not saying anyone needs hubs, just stating why i have them. To each their own. I only take offense when some states that what I said was not true. Glad we can all laugh at it.

 

[JHardwick]

I am not saying anyone needs hubs, just stating why i have them. To each their own. I only take offense when some states that what I said was not true. Glad we can all laugh at it.

I think your being a little "sensitive". I never remarked on any of your posts, and just claimed that I didn't think the lockouts fit my needs.





brods ... ... ... ... I'll get back with you, lol

 

[JHardwick]

I track my fuel, but have too many changes and varying conditions (towing, loaded, empty) to be able to say if any mileage improvements are due to the hubs or the smarty or whatever. I think I may have an idea for a quick and dirty mpg check between locked and unlocked...

Is that your disclaimer?