manual hubs, what happens now?

ok so i just bought a 99 and I was not aware that they had manual hubs, I was used to my old TRD with the automatics.

anyway I didnt find this until I had already paid and the guy was long gone...

The driver side is in the free position and the passenger side is int the locked position and stuck. I am going to try and work it free and grease it up and hopefully that will fix it.

No telling how long it has been like that.....what damage could it have done?

When engaging 4X4 from the inside, what would the truck do then? do I have "3 wheel drive" or just 2wd since the front is an open diff?

Thanks

 

You have 2 wd still when engaging from the inside. It will turn the driveshaft and differential, but no power to either of the front wheels unless the manual hubs are engaged. I personally prefer manual hubs. You can use a 10mm wrench at a slight angle and sometimes free up the hub that is locked. If not, then you may need to remove it and disassemble/clean it.

 

well just got call from mechanic....he was taking it apart so he can see why it was stuck....he said that both wheels are free spinning and there is nothing behind the locker!!!

Is that even possible?

When I did the test drive and put it in 4X4 I could have sworn the steering felt heavier and truck sounded different......sux

 

so is he saying there is no cv shafts?

 

Just engaging the transfer would still make the truck feel different. Even without hubs locked.(in low range). Better?

 

Care to expand on that? Truck is still 2wd with hubs unlocked, so there is no binding etc. Unless you put it into low, that would feel different

 

unlocked hubs + 4wd = same as 2wd. The front shaft will spin but you wouldn't know it. 2lo would be gruntier and rev out sooner. Locked hubs and 2wd you'll notice at higher speeds. The front axle usually isn't balanced for beans so you'll feel vibration.

 

When you put transfer in lo you can creap without locked hubs. Do it on my downhill gravel driveway once in a while. And to the inexperienced it would and does feel different. Op also has 5 sp , could feel different than auto. Not sure on that though.

 

I've dealt with automatic trans and manual trans with manual hubs and neither feel any different. and they won't. With the hubs not locked, there is absolutely no place for the power to go. The driveshaft spins, the gears in the front spin, and the CV axle shafts spin, but that is it. No manual hubs means no power being transmitted to the wheels, and no way for it to bind.

OP, I second the request for more information from your mechanic. Is he saying that the manual hubs are missing internal parts?

 

Guess It must be my imagination. Wow been imagining since I got truck in 95! And I'm still saying when I am in first gear and hubs in free position that when I put transfer into low range the truck is different. You can here transfer. It's a fact when I come down my driveway in low range and 1st gear the truck is barely moving. When I disengage transfer in first it rolls down driveway quicker. It's a fact. Also didn't say anything about binding.haha

 

I agree with you man. I design gear systems for school and you have a notable amount of friction losses from spinning the transfer case and driveshaft even if your hubs aren't engaged and you don't have power to the front wheels. Some people notice this and others don't. Hell, some people even drive around the streets in 4wd and don't notice. Either way your engine is gonna have to work slightly harder with the transfer case engaged.

 

I think you are talking about things a little different than the rest. What me and the other guy are pointing out is that there is no difference in the steering or pull when engaging the transfer case. Your first post did not mention you were engaging LOW gear. Your second and third post have. Yes, the engine obviously will respond differently when in LOW 4wd. However we were discussing how the FRONT differential acts when the transfer case is engaged, and if there were any potential damage to the OPs truck by having one of his hubs locked, and not the other. Remember, you have 4hi and 4 low. Neither one will affect the front wheels or steering if neither manual hub is engaged.

 

I was responding to this statement that the OP made. I understand exactly how 4 wheel drive works on my taco. He stated it felt different and sounded different when he engaged the transfer. I never even mentioned front wheels being powered. Realize I bought the first Tacoma in Va! ( JUNE 95). I HAVE OWNED 10 4WD VEHICLES, of which 8 were manual hubs! Not all tacos,but all the same theory. Op might have felt vibes from engaging transfer. Thought I explained well enough but some jumped right on my ass. I'm not a 56 yr old dumb ass posting bullshit. Maybe I should have quoted op but damn, just following thread. Thanks for the comments though.haha lol

 

Thanks for being the one person to understand my point. Maybe could have been more descriptive,but even 4 hi can feel a little different. And yeah, I've locked in hubs in anticipation of needing and forgot more than once. Barely noticeable except little loss in power and mpg.

 

I apologize if you felt I was jumping on you. I was simply making sure the OP was properly informed. Yes, the OP mentioned the issue when he engaged 4wd, but he didn't mention engaging 4low, so I was going by his comment. In normal cases, simply engaging 4wd in a manual hub truck, he shouldn't feel any changes. I have owned a dozen manual hub trucks, and not a single one felt any different when I simply put it into 4wd. Sure they all suffer a minor drain in fuel economy, but you really would have to be counting miles to notice that. (Most of my trucks we would measure gallons per mile, not miles per gallon anyway! haha)

What the OP DID feel was that one of the hubs WAS manually engaged, and I am willing to bet that there is a problem there with a dirty, or gummed-up manual selector.

Sorry if you felt I was coming down on you. My apologies.

 

That's cool bama, appreciate that. Sometimes it feels like a chain reaction when someone doesn't agree. I do take some responsibility for not being more descriptive also. Anyway it sounds like 4wd didn't get used much on op's vehicle. Hopefully it's just hubs not working properly.I guess my suggestion to op would be to take hubs off and clean and inspect for proper working order.I don't know anything about the locker, so I can't comment on that part of thread.HAGD

 

Ok guys thanks for the responses....well my mechanic is an old asian man with very heavy accent and limited english skill.......
When I went to pick it up, he had not taken it apart.....all he did was jack up one wheel and then spun the tire and the CV axle does not move....that wheel hub is stuck in the "locked" position, so I guess that means there is something broken in that hub right??

he then jacked up the other wheel and this one too spins freely but when I changed the hub to lock, it spun but also moved the CV joint with the tire, when I unlock it the CV joint does not move.....that is how its supposed to work right?

Since the hub is "locked" but now working that means something has to be broken right?

Where do I buy new ones and how hard are they to replace....

Again thanks for the help

 

Very easy to replace. I think Bama Toy is a vendor and hopefully will hook you up. Both hubs might just need to be serviced though.
Edit:OP, apoligies for my vagueness on my reply.

 

take that hub apart and see if it was put together correctly. they may have installed it wrong and its not working correctly. check that before buying new parts.

and yea, thats how hubs work

 

It doesn't have to be broken, old grease and dirt may just have it gummed up. A good cleaning has fixed many 'broken' hubs.