How do free wheeling hubs work

Some people like automatic locking hubs for the safety factor. With freewheeling hubs, it is possible to select 4WD inside the cab thinking that the hubs are 'locked' and then come across a bog hole only to find your hubs are in the free position and you are still in 2WD.

Freewheeling hubs were designed to reduce friction and the amount of moving parts in four-wheel drive vehicles. Learn more about 4X4 recovery course. Your freewheeling hubs can be permanently set to the locked position without any adverse effects. This means the vehicle is always ready to engage 4WD and you don't have to get out of the car to turn the actuator. Many station and mining vehicles spend their entire existence with the hubs locked.

If you drive mostly on bitumen and only choose to run with the hubs in the free position, then it's recommended to lock the hubs occasionally to provide 'splash lubrication' to the drive shafts. The manual also insists that the hubs are run in the same position on each front wheel i. In practise we lock the hubs whenever we anticipate the potential for having to use four-wheel drive and generally whenever you drive on unsealed roads.

There is nothing worse than having to climb over the bonnet or wade through knee deep in mud to lock the hubs because you didn't get through that last washout in 2WD.

We will normally drive on the highway with the hubs in the free position and lock when drive on unsealed roads. Part-time four-wheel drive vehicles are designed to operate in conditions of poor traction, on steep hills and on loose or unreliable surfaces. Making tight turns on bitumen or concrete can damage drive line components and wear out tyres. A part-time four-wheel drive rotates the front drive shafts and rear drive shafts at the same rate.

The front wheels need to rotate at a greater rate than the rear wheels to make a turn. Free wheeling hubs were initially designed to minimise the amount of friction and moving parts in 4WD vehicles. While the fuel savings are negligible when the hubs are disengaged, there are other advantages such as lower noise levels, less vibrations from the drive train, less wear in drive line components, and a generally smoother ride without the need for aftermarket suspension.

How do free wheeling hubs work? Many station and mining vehicles spend their entire existence with the hubs locked. If you drive mostly on bitumen and only choose to run with the hubs in the free position then it's recommended to lock the hubs occasionally to provide 'splash lubrication' to the drive shafts. The Nissan owners manual in the Outback Crossing ute recommends driving at least 16km per month to provide this lubrication.

The manual also insists that the hubs are run in the same position on each front wheel i. In practise we lock the hubs whenever we anticipate the potential for having to use four wheel drive and generally whenever we drive on gravel even though we tend to drive in 2WD on gravel roads. There is nothing worse than having to climb over the bonnet or wade knee deep in mud to lock the hubs because you didn't get through that last washout in 2WD.

We will normally drive on the highway with the hubs in the free position and lock them between stops about once a week, more if we are racking up the kilometres. Part time four wheel drive vehicles are designed to operate in conditions of poor traction, on steep hills and on loose or unreliable surfaces. A part time four wheel drive rotates the front drive shafts and rear drive shafts at the same rate.

The front wheels need to rotate at a greater rate than the rear wheels to make a turn. Because the front and rear drive lines are coupled and operating at the same rate things begin to get ugly. Steering becomes difficult as the front end 'understeers' while the drive line starts to 'bind'.

Something has to give and this 'driveline binding' will result in jerky movement, tyre spin and eventually component failure. Usually expensive components like axles, differential gears or transfer gears.

Driving in four wheel drive on sealed surfaces is to be avoided unless the car is designed as a constant 4WD. If your car has free wheeling or automatic locking hubs it is a part time 4x4. We check the position of the hubs every day just by keeping them clean. A dab of paint on the indicator arrow and the preferred position either locked or free makes them easy to glance at when you walk past. Even with a gas guzzling petrol engine, if Katie was driven with care and respect, the fuel difference was negligible.

I am sure this debate will be going on until all the old part timers are dead and the full timers have taken over for good!! Have played a leading role in developing their courses into, probably, the best off road training courses, globally.