My automatic hub lockers...

[Xearo69]

ok so these things are suposed to automaticly lock? ok well i used em a week or two ago and after i was done getting unstuck i went home and my friend said "u made sure to go in revers about 15 feet right?" nope.. so he said i was proabably still locked up front.. but i made right hand and left turns and didnt notice any jumping... next time i was in my truck i made sure to reverse before i took off.. anyway, today i was making a u turn in 2 high and my frot end started gallloping.. wth? are my auto lockers getting stuck locked?... how ez is it to change hub lockers? il get some manual ones next im i run out to a store.. i was told theyre like 30 bucks?

can they get damaged from being submersed in water or mud?

ok and normally in 4 wheel drive, is it the rear or front that jumps when u turn? on my old subaru with 4wd i think the rear would jump as the front end was open differential.. what was the rear? lsd? and in my 91 full size bronco what about that? open up front or lsd? and is it lsd in the rear? why was my truck galloping in a u turn in 2wd today? hub lockers stuck?!? im sooo confused!! :-& #036;

 

[Roadkill]

The hubs are a piece of cake to switch. The instructions are in the box or you can "pre-view" the instructions for Warn Hubs here. If your auto-lockers are from Warn, (3 screws in the cap) you will need a conversion "kit" which consists of new spindle nuts, lock rings, and jam nuts.

The auto-lockers operate on a cam device that requires at least a full rotation to lock or unlock in a particular direction. Hence the need to back up to unlock them when you are done with 4X4. (Actually, you need to drive a few feet in the oposite direction you were going in 4X4, so if you were last traveling in reverse, you would need to go forward unlock) Also when changing directions in 4x4, you have to go twice that distance to unlock and then re-engage in the oposite direction.

From your description it sounds like yours are either sticking, or you never unlocked them properly. If the hubs are engaged and it's "jumping" in 4x2 while turning, there are several possibilities.

1) transfer case is not actually in 4x2

2) some type of traction aid in the front diff (limited slip or maybe some kind of locker)

3) something binding in one of the axleshafts (one u-joint on drivers side, two u-joints on passenger side)

4) binding or damage inside the front diff

If the sticker is still on the drivers door jamb, you can post the axle code on here and someone will be able to tell you if it came from the factory with limited slip differentials.

As far as being damaged by submersion in mud or water, no not normally. But, like wheel bearings, they should be cleaned and serviced afterwards. Shouldn't be a problem since they have to come out to get to the bearings anyway.