Locking hubs

Ed Lapadura

Ed Lapadura

New member
I'm new to 4 wheel drives. Worked on a lot of them as I'm a auto tech and a fabricator/welder. Why do JK's not have locking/unlocking hubs? Does anyone make any? wouldn't it help fuel mileage?
 
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Big, dumb, lazy Americans.....

Because at some point in the 1990's offroading became somewhat of a cool thing for people to do, before that it was only farmers, hunters, and true outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers who ventured off pavement. Once the manufacturers learned of the growing market for offroading and the never ending supply of lazy asses wanting to have the look of an adventurer, but not do any of the work to actually be one, they decided to put "shift on the fly" in anything considered off road worthy.
 
Conman said:
I think a company called spyntec makes them for the JK.
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Spyntec does make a conversion, it's very pricey, it widens the front track width quite a bit, you would need new wheels with a much wider center hole to fit over the new manual locking hubs, and you would need to run spacers in the rear to match the front track width (unless the staggered look doesn't bother you).
 
I'm running the spyntecs on mine, best money I ever spent:thumbup: Yes, MPG will go up alittle bit simply because as you are driving the only things turning is the wheel rather than the entire front drivetrain. One of the other benefits to having it is that if you happen to damage that front drivetrain on the trail,simply unlock the hubs,drive home and deal with it at your leisure.

We are Jeep..Resistance is futile..
 
ridg3runner said:
I'm running the spyntecs on mine, best money I ever spent:thumbup: Yes, MPG will go up alittle bit simply because as you are driving the only things turning is the wheel rather than the entire front drivetrain. One of the other benefits to having it is that if you happen to damage that front drivetrain on the trail,simply unlock the hubs,drive home and deal with it at your leisure.

We are Jeep..Resistance is futile..
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Looked it up. Looks good. Thanks for your feedback. I'm looking at all the options. I don't know if I'll spend that much on a weak diff or source out 1 ton stuff and weld on brackets. I have two 9 inch centers from racing days gone by could build my own from scratch. I've built many housings for drag racing. Like I said looking at all the options.
 
new 001.jpg Like this one I did for a Camaro or a Dana like the one above. I guit my racing career in favor of wheel cause I was sick of waiting hrs to drive my toy for only 7 seconds
 
ridg3runner said:
I'm running the spyntecs on mine, best money I ever spent:thumbup: Yes, MPG will go up alittle bit simply because as you are driving the only things turning is the wheel rather than the entire front drivetrain. One of the other benefits to having it is that if you happen to damage that front drivetrain on the trail,simply unlock the hubs,drive home and deal with it at your leisure.

We are Jeep..Resistance is futile..
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I ran this kit on three jeeps with a total of 100,000 miles or so (give or take). I converted my jeep back to stock unit bearings. I can't say I noticed any difference is mpg or anything for that matter. Other than not having to service it. The money spent could almost cover a new prorock 44 housing.


Not saying it's a bad design or idea. But the jk unit bearings are damn strong require no maintenance what so ever.
 
Chris@OffroadEvolution said:
I ran this kit on three jeeps with a total of 100,000 miles or so (give or take). I converted my jeep back to stock unit bearings. I can't say I noticed any difference is mpg or anything for that matter. Other than not having to service it. The money spent could almost cover a new prorock 44 housing.


Not saying it's a bad design or idea. But the jk unit bearings are damn strong require no maintenance what so ever.
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That's good enough for me. Thanks
 
Chris@OffroadEvolution said:
I ran this kit on three jeeps with a total of 100,000 miles or so (give or take). I converted my jeep back to stock unit bearings. I can't say I noticed any difference is mpg or anything for that matter. Other than not having to service it. The money spent could almost cover a new prorock 44 housing.


Not saying it's a bad design or idea. But the jk unit bearings are damn strong require no maintenance what so ever.
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The MPH gains arent going to be off the charts by any means but any reduction in drag is always a plus. The mistake I made at the time was to install it on my D30. I'm going to 40's in the near future and will need a bigger axle, not sure if I can swap the kit to a 44 or not. The only pain in the arse I've found with the kit is the huge snap ring in the end of the housing that sometimes takes an act of God to remove. ( I drilled a small hole in the housing to ease with its removal, then plug the hole with silicon). It is a large price to pay for one machined part when the rest of the kit can be bought off the shelf.

We are Jeep..Resistance is futile..
 
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