Non-working automatic hubs now work

[Skydiver]

Hi Johnny,

Rotating the front drive shaft forces the auto hubs to lock in. While in 2wd your front drive shaft is in a neutral state. You want the truck in 2wd so that you are able to turn the front drive shaft by hand. If the autos work properly, they should lock in and your wheels will begin to rotate.

While in Park or Neutral and engine on or off, your Auto Locking Hubs serve no function or change state/function even as you engage/disengage the Transfer Case. Mechanical rotation of the front drive shaft is what will force autos to engage.


Hope this helps explain things.

 

[NWmrTim]

4x4 engaging problems

start here:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202166

one thing DeRocha mentions is the shift motor. My co worker has one and all we did was replace that washer / bushing - didn't even have to take the shift motor off. Cost was around $1

 

[MustangDos]

Thanks for the post. I had the same problem w/ mine over the weekend, actually, it's been going on for some time now. The clicking/grinding noise has been with me for months. I figured it was still working, so why bother. Well, I really needed my 4x4 because of all the snow we got. I found myself on a 3 foot drift and was trying to rock my way out. 4wheel low was engaged and I noticed the grinding getting louder, then completely stopped. I got free but noticed that I wasn't really getting the grip that I normally do. Got home and went to go through another 3 foot drift, got sideways and I was stuck. Front wheels would not spin at all. 4wheel High and Low where lit on the dash, but no action. Neighbors got me out. Parked the truck in my driveway, jacked up it up and was checking everything. With 4wheel high off, the front axle spun free. 4wheel on, it was locked. Only tried the passenger side. Didn't realize they were independent till now. Front drive shaft wouldn't move w/ the truck in drive and in 4wheel high when I tried to turn it manually. It was free in Neutral and 4wheel high off. I replaced the shift motor, found a burnt off wire for Wheel low. Replaced the hubs w/ ones that I had laying around. Still nothing...I'm going to try to clean the hubs when I get home in the am...hope this works...Any other suggestions?!

 

[backfrmcolorado]

Ha HA My auto hubs are shot, I dont think cleaning them would be possible. Im only the third owner of my X and i knew the previous owners, both said they never used 4X4. When people ask me if its 4X4 i jusy say no... I do however have a locker in the back so i can do ok when the going get tough.

 

[mrroof1]

By 'HUB" you mean the cap you take off after the lug nuts and wheels are removed right?? and spindle mechanism is that scary lookin thing below....doe its come off too or do you do all your cleaning in the "cap" or Hub if that is what it is called

 

[FarmTruk]

OK...

So I'm cleaning out my hubs. They were absolutely packed with nasty black grease. I've spent about an hour with brake cleaner and gasoline, soaking, working them back and forth, and feel they are relatively clean.

I'm heating up some ATF to soak them for a while.

The question is....when I got most of the grease off the hubs, I noticed that one has a rubber "O-ring" or gasket around the flange's backside, where it mates to the rotor hat. The other did not.




Nor does either axle have any "thrust washers", either steel or plastic, between the axle cam and the "C-clip" which secures the cam mechanism onto the axle.

double

I've never noticed either this o-ring seal or thrust washers during the multiple times I've had the hubs off to clean/repack the bearings. Heaven only knows how long it's been missing.

Is this a mission-critical? I presume that I need it. But with nasty weather bearing down, I'm hoping to at least get the 4x4 functioning.

 

[DeRocha]

...I noticed that one has a rubber "O-ring" or gasket around the flange's backside, where it mates to the rotor hat. The other did not.

Nor does either axle have any "thrust washers", either steel or plastic, between the axle cam and the "C-clip" which secures the cam mechanism onto the axle.

I've never noticed either this o-ring seal or thrust washers during the multiple times I've had the hubs off to clean/repack the bearings. Heaven only knows how long it's been missing.

Is this a mission-critical? I presume that I need it. But with nasty weather bearing down, I'm hoping to at least get the 4x4 functioning.

The "O" ring which is in the hub flange is used to help seal out the elements so that crud doesn't make its way into the inner hub assembly (as well has prevent grease from leaking out and being thrown onto the brake rotor).

The thrust washers are paper thin washers used on some models to provide a more positive engagement between the inner cam and the ears within the automatic hub. If your hubs worked in the past without them, then you probably don't need them. Are you having an issue with your 4x4 system?

Both items are not critical in terms of preventing you from activating 4x4.

 

[FarmTruk]

... Are you having an issue with your 4x4 system?

Both items are not critical in terms of preventing you from activating 4x4.

I have no idea when the washers and o-ring disapeared. The rotors have been off this thing several times, and the hubs volunterily come off when I take the wheels off, so who knows?

My auto hubs haven't worked right for about 3 years or so, as close as I can recall. Never really engaged them much. It started as a ratcheting and being stubborn to disengage. Ratcheting kept up in 4x2 for up to a 1/2 mile.

Last winter, they were no-go, not even making a noise. I got stuck in some fresh powder, suffering the indignity of my buddy towing me behind his Tacoma.

:/

Hubs fell down in priority this past year till I realized the snow was coming again. Cleaned them out this past weekend. They were thoroughly and well packed with grease.

Didn't help. I DID realize the hub's outer 3-prong cam has no spring action. Just rattles up and down free about 1/4". I've yet to even get a really good look at the hub mechanism disassembled. Found one good link with pictures of the operation with outer hub casing removed.

I seem to have a broken "wavey" spring that gives the pressure to engage the outer cam. Also about 1/16" play up/down of the hub's cam mechanism.

There was still a small amount of dirty grease draining from the hubs after a pretty good soak/clean/ATF, but hardly enough to affect operation if hubs were good, IMO.

I know I need to follow the forum's excellent troubleshooting guide. I've read several stickies and threads, but just haven't crawled under to rotate the shafts.

I hear the 4x4 module in the back clicking. Dash and panel 4x4 illum. I have 2L.

Hubs are most likely blown. I've been perusing the Warn units, and have pretty much made my mind up to convert to manuals as my HiLux has. It's more time than $ now, but neither are that plentiful.


I'm also considering the heavier Jeep hubs, and have been reading old threads with pros/cons. As I don't have plans to beef up the rest of the front axle in the forseeable future, probably wouldn't be needed, though.


On a side note...I've also NOT ruled out the possibility that the transfer case selector gear, worm gear or motor are not the culprit. I've studied the stickies here, but just haven't crawled under with a wrench to check.


Hear's another question I have...with both dash and panel 4x4 lights illuminating, as well as the fact that I engage 2L (when selecting 4L), that would be a sign the transfer case is operating? Yes? Maybe?

Regardless, cleaning the, most likely blown, auto hubs allowed me to study how they work. They'd always been an enigma to me. Push button, work not/work. That was the extent of my knowledge of them.


Sorry for the book. Glad for any feedback.

 

[DeRocha]

The 4x4 dash and button lights only come on when the T-Case geared selector has correctly shifted into 4x4.. Basically there are some wire fingers attached to the cover of the geared position sensor as seen below. When the shift motor is rotating the the fingers on the cover make contact with the metal strips on the sensor.. Only when it its the metal strip that coincides with 4x4 will the 4x4 light come on. The same for 4x4Low..

Geared position Sensor

Cover

 

[Mixer]

To JohhnyRook:

Quote:
“My 4x4 is not engaging“.

You go on to explain your problem and how you are going about solving it.

I have a similar problem with my 91 Ford Explorer .

Here is my quick fix for getting traction in the wet grass with only two wheel drive.
I loaded about ¼ ton of concrete blocks in the back,
they are a great substitute for four wheel drive.

======================

Before I start throwing money and parts at a 21 year old explorer (your hub washing sound good for openers) if washing your hubs fails -- we must look elsewhere --the dashboard buttons, lights, the transfer case motor and its controlling brain and switches.

I have a dark plan in mind to attempt to discard the transfer case motor and use my reversible electric drill to operate the in or out feature of the transfer case.

I am no stranger to working in the mud.

This is for me to decide -- not that accursed electronic brain.

Mixer.

 

[manaen]

sweet thread-res-erection


The motor needs to stop and specific locations so it would need to us the existing gear/contact system. It may be just as easy to convert it to a manual stick engagement.

 

[yragsapo]

Once you drain the ATF fluid out of the hubs, what kind of grease to you use to replace the grease you washed out? Can you use the same kind of grease that you use for the chassis?

 

[Terry_Jim]

Yes, the same grey Ford Moly grease.
Go crazy with it in the wheel bearings
,but a light coat in the auto hubs will do.

 

[CBOliver]

Sometime over the summer the auto-locking hubs on my 94 Limited decided to quit working. They would sometimes engage (when they didn't, they would instead make a horrible grinding and/or clunking noise), and when they did engage, they would then not disengage - or one side only would disengage. I would have to jack the front end up, hold the wheel, and jiggle the drive shaft forward and backward by hand to get them to disengage.

Now I know you rabid manual-hub-loving freaks here think it's great fun to get out and schlup around in the mud and snow every time you want to turn your 4wd on and off, but call me crazy - I'd rather just sit in the comfy dry warmth of my truck and push a button. So I read up a bit here, and decided to have a look at them.

The hardest part was sending my wife to NAPA to buy the "cheapest bottle of automatic transmission fluid they have." The guy there, bless his heart, refused to sell her the cheapo NAPA brand, saying, "you don't really want to put that in your car." When she told him that it was actually for "the wheels on my husband's truck"...well, let's just say he shook his head, figured she was a dumb blonde (she is not - well, she is blonde, but not dumb) who had no idea what she was talking about, and sold her the cheapo fluid.

When I pulled the hubs off, they were absolutely PACKED with grease, as was the mechanism on the spindle. I bought a big can of brake cleaner and cleaned all the grease off the spindle mechanism. I filled the hubs with brake cleaner a couple times, worked the spring mechanism up and down, and emptied it, each time watching gobs of grease fall out. Then I filled them with hot ATF, let them sit a half hour, dumped them out, and did it again. The second time I let them sit overnight full of ATF, then dumped them out and let them drain for an hour or so.

Lastly I put a thin film of new grease on the spindle mechanism, fitted the hubs back on...and hey presto, they work better than they ever have.

So if you are having problems with your automatic locking hubs, don't be swayed by the fanatical "you must convert to manual hubs" cult that hangs out here - a little bit of cleaning and chances are you'll be as good as new!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS POST!!!
This exactly what I was looking for! I just bought a 1994 Explorer 4x4 with electric/auto hubs. Unfortunately it ended up having a broken steering box so has been parked for over a month while I came up with money for a used one, got that yesterday! Any way I was getting it ready to remove the old box pulled off front wheel (I know nothing about auto hubs) and the center cap/hub cover whatever it is called came off with the wheel, seemed strange then I flipped the wheel to slide under the the edge of the body as I always do and the cap fell out! I immediately picked it up having a bad feeling as I was sure no dirt should get in there of course it had gravel and mud stuck to the thick black grease that was all over everything. I came here to get info on the hubs as I was not sure there should be thick black grease in there or if the cover should come off like it did. My brother said it should be dry in there and should have some kind of clip to hold the cover on. You answered my first question completely now I just need answers for the cover. A diagram as to the parts that should be in there would be awesome because I suspect the previous owners weren't real bright mechanics. I am amazed with the overall condition of it but have found several stupid fixes I am redoing along with why they disabled all the power windows because the driver side quit working, why they drove it with the exhaust manifold disconnected from the muffler, a battery that froze solid, battery cables fell apart when installing new battery and the sun roof is taped shut. But she fires up every time and runs really well and should have more power when I fix the muffler! Hope to be driving it by Friday!