I'm going to be using my brother's Ford as the truck in this thread, but my question is aimed more towards the manual locking hub mechanism..
On my brothers truck, he has manual locking hubs. In order for 4wd to be engaged, we have to get out of the truck and "lock" the hubs.
So here is my question: I asked my brother to just lock his hubs, and then I asked him to start moving forward. I noticed that his front drive shaft begins to move.. If he were to drive around with just the hubs locked, what does this mean? His front differential is moving when 4wd is not engaged, does this mean he has part 4wd even when 4wd has not yet been engaged??
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I believe the hubs lock in the axles back to the transfer case. The transfer case must be in 4wd for the front wheels to be driven. The locking hubs reduce the wear on the front wheel drive train when not engaged.
Locking Hubs
Each wheel in a car is bolted to a hub. Part-time four-wheel-drive trucks usually have locking hubs on the front wheels. When four-wheel drive is not engaged, the locking hubs are used to disconnect the front wheels from the front differential, half-shafts (the shafts that connect the differential to the hub) and driveshaft. This allows the differential, half-shafts and driveshaft to stop spinning when the car is in two-wheel drive, saving wear and tear on those parts and improving fuel-economy.
Manual locking hubs used to be quite common. To engage four-wheel drive, the driver actually had to get out of the truck and turn a knob on the front wheels until the hubs locked. Newer systems have automatic locking hubs that engage when the driver switches into four-wheel drive. This type of system can usually be engaged while the vehicle is moving.
Whether manual or automatic, these systems generally use a sliding collar that locks the front half-shafts to the hub.
Manual Locking Hubs
