Locking hubs.. take my money!

[ShadowsPapa]

Adjust the pinion angle. Vibrations from lifting a Jeep have always been a problem. One way to deal with it is to put locking hubs on it, a much easier and less expensive way is to get adjustable upper control arms and fix the actual problem.

You'll still have the same vibrations in 4H.
All you do with the hubs is - the same thing a FAD does. Stop that front driveshaft from turning.
Those with a FAD don't have the problem after lifting unless in 4 wheel drive, and then hubs won't do anything for it.

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[DanJT]

I can connect a fad on the fly with a handful of tools and a hose clamp, but have a locking hub go to pieces................ unless you carry a spare, which i recommend. I had a locking hub blow up on my Ford.

I have seen many locking hubs blow up, believe it or not I haven't ever had one to.
Maybe I was just lucky. I have installed a lockout hub on my 1978 Chevy Scottsdale truck. I was the ripe old age of 18 at the time.

 

[Rusty PW]

On my Power Wagon. I had RCV axles and a Danatrac free spin hub kit. Figure a heavy 3/4 ton truck with 37" tires. The hubs were the fuse that would break first before anything else in the front driveline. They were the easiest to change. Always carried a spare hub. Never needed it tho.

 

[dajudge]

You'll still have the same vibrations in 4H.
All you do with the hubs is - the same thing a FAD does. Stop that front driveshaft from turning.
Those with a FAD don't have the problem after lifting unless in 4 wheel drive, and then hubs won't do anything for it.

No you won't. Unless there is something wrong with the axle, the vibration is coming from the driveshaft spinning and the pinion angle not being correct. Without the FAD the driveshaft spins all of the time. This is the same issue that the XJ, TJ, LJ, JK, ZJ, WJ, etc. all have. It isn't just when you are in 4 wheel drive because the driveshaft is always spinning.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

No you won't. Unless there is something wrong with the axle, the vibration is coming from the driveshaft spinning and the pinion angle not being correct. Without the FAD the driveshaft spins all of the time. This is the same issue that the XJ, TJ, LJ, JK, ZJ, WJ, etc. all have. It isn't just when you are in 4 wheel drive because the driveshaft is always spinning.

Only if you don't have a FAD. And unless you have a newer JT, you have a FAD.
Don't have to school me on 4x4 systems ......
If you have a FAD, the drive shaft is not always spinning because the carrier isn't spinning. The spiders are.

 

[dajudge]

That'll fix the pinion angle problem, but what about the caster angle problem you created?

If you put bigger tires and a lift the caster needs to adjusted anyways. It is true that it has to be a balance between the two. If you have a newer Jeep without the FAD you should probably go to some of the older JK, XJ. TJ, forums and look at the millions of posts about fixing the front vibrations on lifted Jeeps. Without the FAD it requires much more finesse to make them smooth. It took me a lot of fiddling with my XJ to get it smooth at highway speeds and find a caster that works, but it works. Correction brackets do this for you but you get a lot more adjustability by using adjustable control arms.

 

[dajudge]

Only if you don't have a FAD. And unless you have a newer JT, you have a FAD.
Don't have to school me on 4x4 systems ......
If you have a FAD, the drive shaft is not always spinning because the carrier isn't spinning. The spiders are.

Exactly! But I thought the point of this thread was the newer JL/JTs without the FAD?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Exactly! But I thought the point of this thread was the newer JL/JTs without the FAD?

Might be .. not sure what the real point was
There's several big threads here about vibrations after life. Some were in 4H though, and that's a DUH thing. But for others it's non-FAD JTs that was the issue.
The higher the lift, the harder to tweak out of it.

It's worse with short drive shafts.

 

[BourbonRunner]

I have seen many locking hubs blow up, believe it or not I haven't ever had one to.
Maybe I was just lucky. I have installed a lockout hub on my 1978 Chevy Scottsdale truck. I was the ripe old age of 18 at the time.

Same here. Fortunately ive never had one explode on me either. Seems like minimal gain for maximum investment. At $3K you're well on your way to a stupidcharger kit if you really wanna blow things up.

The only reason I put locking hubs on my old 2G 4Runner was because I was in there doing wheel bearings and had a set I snagged from the junkyard off an old Toyota pickup. I *might* have gained a small improvement on the MPG. And the only reason I got them off the junkyard truck was because I was scavenging for other parts and had a why not moment. But that was a CV, not a SFA and logically it made sense. In practice it sucked when it was snowing.

 

[nbennettksu]

Just convert to a one piece shaft and be done with it. No need for a fad or locking hubs.

I have an upgraded Spicer 44 Advantek with no FAD and the amount of noise I have was concerning (until I saw this video)

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