ausubaru92 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Dad has a hilux that has freewheeling hubs that are recomended to be disenganged when driving in 2wd mode Why dont subes need freewheeling hubs??? Gannon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROGDOR! Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Getting out and locking the hubs is a pain. Subaru wanted a system that could be engaged on the fly from inside the car. But why didn't they just use automatic locking hubs? The world may never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrand Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 I asked that question a long time ago. MOst older 4x4's had lockout hubs available, were RWD with the front drive train added as an option. There are some who argue that they really fon't buy you anything in terms of wear and tear savings, I don't know. I have experience with 72 Dodge, 73 Chevy, 85 Ford and my 83 and 97 Nissans, all with Manual hubs on the front. Of course the subarus are(were) FWD cars with the rear added as an option, like my long gone 80 wagon. I am not an expert on Automatic hubs, have heard some negatives in terms of reliability and on some the drive cycle needed to lock and unlock them-to engage put in 4wd and drive straight forward 6 feet does you a lot of good when you drop in a hole and you need 4wd NOW to get out. I will say if you have lockout hubs, make sure they are good ones (and keep them greased)-I have seen the plastic ones fall apart at the worst possible moments, the hubs on my 97 Nissan got so bad I replaced them with all metal Warn lifetime warrenty hubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstSubaruGLwagon Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 i certinly enjoy the conveniance of push button shift on the fly 4wd. However I can understand the advantages of locking hubs. In 94 I baught a 1970 FJ40 landcruiser for $500 . It had push button 4wd and fixed front hubs. Just for fun I decided to look at the front diffy oil,, it was a metalic slime . I can only assume that that oil had never been changed and those front diffy gears had been turning over 25 years.. First thing I did was change the oil and put warn locking hubs on it. the results were less noise and a very smooth sharp turning raidius in 2wd. Oh and to show how much of a moron I am I sold it for 1500 At on time Mitsabishi had a SUV you had to back up 20 feet to disingage the hubs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 stock lockout hubs suck and I'm glad Subarus dont have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBrat84 Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Dad has a hilux that has freewheeling hubs that are recomended to be disenganged when driving in 2wd mode Why dont subes need freewheeling hubs??? Gannon I think to answer your questions... We don't have free-wheeling hubs because getting out to lock and unlock your hubs and drive forward and backward and crap is a PITA. Subes don't need freewheeling hubs because we have a lever or button that engages or disengages our rear-driveline. Right? IMO this is a much better design and less likely to CRAP OUT like freewheeling hubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archemitis Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 cuz its a car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirstSubaruGLwagon Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 I think to answer your questions... We don't have free-wheeling hubs because getting out to lock and unlock your hubs and drive forward and backward and crap is a PITA. Subes don't need freewheeling hubs because we have a lever or button that engages or disengages our rear-driveline. Right? IMO this is a much better design and less likely to CRAP OUT like freewheeling hubs. For sure, it is an easer setup, however,,,,even in 2wd the rear differincial gear and the pinon gear are still meshing and turning causing drag wear, not to mention the drive shaft UV joints and the carrier bearing are still turning. Even if you never used 4wd, rear differincial maintinance is still a must. but as archemitis said, "it's a car" so convience is more of a priority than utility. Don't get me wrong,,, I absolutly love the fact I can hit the button at 35mph and drop from 4wd to 2wd or vice-versa in my subee. That whole backing up to disingage the hubs in other vehichles, like the mitsabishi and some older Fords, is for the birds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subynut Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 We don't have free-wheeling hubs because getting out to lock and unlock your hubs and drive forward and backward and crap is a PITA. Yup. My dad had a 95 Kia Sportage that had the auto hubs die on him. I slid off the road because of those dead hubs. Subaru driveline is much better. Never have to lock/unlock any hubs and the maintenace is not bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Yup. My dad had a 95 Kia Sportage that had the auto hubs die on him. I slid off the road because of those dead hubs. Subaru driveline is much better. Never have to lock/unlock any hubs and the maintenace is not bad at all. Dealership gave me a KIA Sportage as a loaner while my Rio was getting some work done. I went down to this dirt parking lot that has a bunch of what look like mogels made out of dirt. Put it into 4Lo and locked the AT into 1st gear. I was impressed; had WAY more gear reduction than my Subaru! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subynut Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Dad's sportage was a 5-speed. I think low range is about 1.9:1. Yup overall, Dad and I were very impressed with the sportage. In fact, Dad was debating going back to a sportage. Then he test drove a 97 outback wagon with 114k miles on it. He decided to go with the Outback since he already had a truck. I've been toying going with a sportage. It does alot better off road than my Suby does, it gets the same mileage as my roo, and it's got a frame. However, the insurance would kill me: Too new of a car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted July 31, 2005 Share Posted July 31, 2005 I think the MAIN reason for having locking hubs is for economy. Take my 92 Dodge for example, driving back and forth to school I get 12.6MPG, but if I lock the hubs I get 11.7. Says in the manual to unlock the hubs when not in 4WD for better economy, but in bad weather leaving them locked is okay. I usually just leave them locked if the weather is going to be bad, since I'd rather just reach down and slap it into 4WD without having to get out in the blowing snow to lock the hubs. I think that since our soobs are so light, that having locking hubs, even automatic ones, wouldn't save much in fuel mileage so they decided not to do it.. But look at like older Cherokees, most of those didn't have hubs either... That and what's cheaper - a locking hub or just a splined axle with no hub at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffast Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 my truck has auto locking hubs turns twelve this year and i have no problems with it just push the button and your in 4 of course the sube is always in 4 but well you get the idea every one hates kia they suck i had to push my friends rio up a hill when we crammed five people in it. not because it wouldn't make it i made it to the top of the hill before the car did kia killed in action do not buy sry i just really hate kia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 Reasons for locking hubs: increases gas milage. The lack of half the drivetrains rolling resistance helps Reduces cost of drivetrain. The parts between the transfer case and the hub don't have to be rugged, because they are only used intermitantly. Drawbacks. They break. always at the wrong time. They get stuck. ANyone ulse used hot water and a hairdryer to get the hubs to lock in winter? Autolocking hubs are notorious for shattering or stripping. How many rear axels and differentials do you hear of going out on a subie? The rear end is built for full time drive duty, as used in datsuns, so it has no problem doing part time drive duty and just spinning the rest of the time. I personally find locking hubs a PITA, but they are so common that people get in the mindset that manual lockers are the best because they are better than autolockers, ignoring the fact that you don't need a disengagement option anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 every one hates kia they suck i had to push my friends rio up a hill when we crammed five people in it. not because it wouldn't make it i made it to the top of the hill before the car did kia killed in action do not buy sry i just really hate kia That's your opinion becuase not everyone hates KIA. I love my KIA Rio. It's a 2002 and much better than the 2001 and 2000 models. I have yet to have any major work done to it, there is a 10yr/100,000 power train warrenty (5yr/60,000mi bumper to bumper), it gets 30mpg with my lead foot driving, and goes 90mph on a regular basis; maxing out a 110mph. My car payments are $162/mo and insurance is $99/mo for it; that's cheap as hell for a 'new' car. It's a very economical solution to my requirments for a daily driver. I think you exceeded the vehciles limited capabilities. The Rio barely fits 4 ppl; let alone 5 ppl. I tried to push my Subaru with my Rio when the Subaru was dead. Couldn't move the Subaru; just slipped the clutch in the Rio. Did I blame KIA? No.... I blamed myself for exceeding the capabilities of my vehicle; the clutch in it isn't rated to tow/push another vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudduck Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 All a lock out hub does is idsconnects the wheels from the rest of the drive train. In a subaru, the rear drivetrain spins weather in 4wd or not. New jeeps don't have locking hubs, the front drivetrain just spins all the time. And yes, auto locking hubs suck. I would much rather just have everything spinning or jump out and lock in my hubs that always wondering if the auto locking hubs are working or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted August 1, 2005 Share Posted August 1, 2005 cuz its a car no... cuz its a SUBARU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 sry i just really hate kia Ok. But how do you feel about punctuation and complete sentences? I had a brand new Kia for 5 years. put about 125k on it. Never had any trouble. Sold it to my best friend. It died at 190k due to a redneck in a lifted ford f-250 and his apparent lack of familiarity with the meaning of a red light. Destroyed the Kia. But my friend walked away unharmed. Not too shabby for a $10k car with 190k on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSubaruJunkie Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 K.I.S.S Thats what its all about. Why dont we have them??? Cause we dont need them. Its one less part to fail and Subaru knew it would be beating around the bush to try to develop one. Our 4WD is nothing like that of a conventional truck with locking hubs. Our transfer case is completly different and our drivetrain is completly different. However, i thought of adapting locking hubs for the rear to run a locked rear end without having to remove axles when on the street. Idea never made it far. -Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumby Boy Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 However, i thought of adapting locking hubs for the rear to run a locked rear end without having to remove axles when on the street. Idea never made it far. -Brian Personaly i think that is a good idea why didnt the idea go far?? Everything i have heard about Kia has been extremly bad!!! except what has been said by Morgan M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Personaly i think that is a good idea why didnt the idea go far?? Everything i have heard about Kia has been extremly bad!!! except what has been said by Morgan M. Because its way easier to just unhook an axle than it is to retrofit and adapt some lockout hubs. Also note what Calebz said; and that was an older KIA. The newer ones are so much better than the older ones. I test drove a 2000 Rio and said NO WAY. Two years later I test drove the 2002 and could tell it was SO much better; financed $8,000 and had me a brand new car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausubaru92 Posted August 3, 2005 Author Share Posted August 3, 2005 Imagine a soob with locking front hubs U then have 3 modes of drive FWD 4WD RWD Without transfer mods Ohhh yeah:banana: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumby Boy Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 Because its way easier to just unhook an axle than it is to retrofit and adapt some lockout hubs. Yeah ok fair enough Also note what Calebz said; and that was an older KIA. The newer ones are so much better than the older ones. I test drove a 2000 Rio and said NO WAY. Two years later I test drove the 2002 and could tell it was SO much better; financed $8,000 and had me a brand new car i still will never buy a Kia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimscat Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 The biggest thing I have heard around here were I am at with the auto lockers is the electric drive motor that ingages the transfer case. Usually strips the gears out and from a few mechs that I know., its mostly from lack of use that does it. I dont know how my AWD really works but I love it. I have drove around trucks stuck in the snow. All I do is let the front spin slightly untill the rear kicks in and away I go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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