mustangwarrior

my '96 4x4 has 31" tires, no rubbing, today i locked the front hubs in but did NOT engage 4 wheel drive, when i turn corners i can feel the wheels hop when i straighten the wheel back out, they do not do this when free wheeled, and i have never had this problem b4 having them locked during normal driving conditions, what could be the problem?

BassAckwards

ummmm... locking your hubs keeps your wheels from turning at different speeds, which needs to happen in a turn doesnt it?

I'm not trying to be a smart ***, I'm actually asking as well because I'm not 100% sure I'm right.

As far as I knew locking your hubs keeps your differentials from allowing your wheels to turn at different speeds in a turn

mustangwarrior

the manual hubs upfront allow you to lock and unlock the axle, when unlocked the axle spins freely allowing the wheels to spin freely increasing gas mileage and wear and tear, so i can engage 4x4 but without the hubs locked nothing happens, in a "stock" truck the automatic hubs will do this on their own, someone correct me if im wrong

skizriz

Are you sure the 4wd is dis-engaging??? May be out of adjustment and not disengaging.
You may be normally driving in 4wd with the hubs unlocked.

Lock in the hubs, leave it in 2wd, take it on some gravel or dirt, and see if the front tires grab or not.

mustangwarrior

i need to check that yet, i was having trouble getting it to engage in the past, other tah that, bump?

kingsandman

Your hubs are locked in, you're spinning everything in the front end while you're driving. Driveshafts, front diff, front axles, everything is turning. You're just not putting any power to anything. On dry pavement, you're going to feel it, a bad u joint at the axle will make it feel worse.

mustangwarrior

ok well 4x4 is disengaging, and i understand everything is moving but it has never been this bad before, usually we stop at my buddy's house, i lock them in and then drive 5 miles to the mud hole with only i little difference, right now the wheel jerks about 6 times when straightening out, it feels like 4x4 is engaged, well now i need to get the bolts broke loose on the hub, any tips for that?

kingsandman

If you have greaseable u joints and ball joints, start there. Ram some grease in there and take it for a drive with hubs locked in. A u joint that's tightened up will make you really feel it. Get the right allen key for the hub bolts and hope for the best.

mustangwarrior

i have the right ones, spun the inside of one of them last time and walked away before more damage was done

Iron bottom

First, most 4X4 systems have open diffs on the front which allows the outside wheel to turn faster in a turn. Locking the hubs does not turn an open diff into a locker or limited slip. You can order or install a locker or limited slip, but they are really aggravating to drive in some situations. I don't think the front diff is binding up. The transfer case is what generally what binds up. It does sound like the transfer case is still engaged, but since you've checked, I would rule that out.

I am thinking you have a U joint problem, or perhaps a steering linkage or suspension problem. I drove a '96 4X4 for over 250,000 miles until it got wrecked, but never had any 4WD problems, so this is just speculation. Anyways, good luck finding out what's going on.

Might want to look at the front brakes also. Frozen piston or the like.