Convince me: drive flanges or locking hubs?

Ok, I'm getting close to moving to the front axle on the Tux-in-a-barn, although things are moving slower than I'd wanted because I seem to have come down with some kind of bug. Mostly fever, some coughing and fatigue. So I'm not likely to be doing as much as I'd wanted to. Maybe re-gasketing the diff, almost definitely not replacing that broken shaft yoke or pulling the E-brake drum off the transfer case.

Personal woes aside, I'm seriously considering equipping it with drive flanges instead of locking hubs. I've seen pics of Jeeps on here with both. Your job is to try to convince me which way to go.

 

Drive flanges or locking hubs?

Yes.

 

x2

 

Does this mean its a matter of personal taste, and there aren't any overwhelming differences in performance and bearing life?

 

Prior to 1974, all Jeeps were delivered with flanges. No locking hubs. Strictly an aftermarket thing.

Locking hubs are probably worthwhile if you put a lot of highway miles on your Jeep. I have them on my Jeep, but more because people expect them to be there, the auto-locking hubs it came with were broken, and I didn't want to try to find some flanges.

I don't think anybody has done a study comparing gear and bearing life with and without. Likely there is very little wear on the axle parts when there's no load. I predict the benefit to be somewhere between negligible and minor.

If that seems like a lukewarm endorsement... well, it is.

 

New Jeeps don't have hubs. What does that say?

 

I would say locking hubs are superfluous unless you do a LOT of highway miles, then they might save a little tire wear. I never use mine.

When CJ5's were new a lot of people (most) were one car families. I suspect the hubs were a attempt to civilize the jeep for everyday street driving use.

 

Mr. Warn's first set weren't even selectable. They basically turned the jeep into a DJ.

I do think it is a little quieter with the hubs disengaged, but then you can hear everything in an old jeep so that's not saying much.

This also reminds me of what happened to left hand thread lug nuts?

 

as said new jeep don't have hubs but they use a axle disconnect . they went away when the yj was born
I like the idea that free wheel hubs stop most of the turning parts in front end with highway use

 

I've got them on two of my hubs. One's on the wrong side, but I've got them.

 

I disagree that locking hubs are superfluous. I can feel the drag difference when the hubs are locked and when they are not when towing my Jeep. It has effected my fuel economy when towing as well.
Locking hubs were deleted because its cheaper to manufacture vehicles without them and there is less maintenance.
If you're planning to keep it factory or plan on a factory style restoration then I say drive flanges. That's what I plan on for my '57 restoration.
If not, then my choice is locking hubs. Load or no load a moving part will have more wear than a non-moving part.


Sent from my iPhone

 

"Load or no load a moving part will have more wear than a non-moving part."

Technically true I agree, but immaterial in practice, with early jeep front axles, in my experience. They were not 'deleted' in my opinion, since they were an add-on to begin with.

 

Locking hubs.
Hands down.
No brainer.
You're be crazy not to install them.
Do it.

 

I use locking hubs to reduce wear, what little increased wear their probably is.

Plus if you nick the axle tube really well, it shouldn't be an issue driving (or towing) home.
At least thats what friends who have done that tell me.

 

Yes! I did it to my '53 and my all original bone stock '49. I put a set of cutlass hubs on my 53 and found a set of nicely patinaed dualmatics for my '49. I notice a huge difference in the amount of additional power the 4 banger has without turning the front axles.

 

The only reasons I can think of to not use them would be trying to do a absolutely correct factory restoration or if the JEEP ever sees pavement. Other than that, I'd use them, and do.

 

I would keep the locking hubs... unlocked, broken shaft yoke doesn't sound like much 4x4 use. and there is no point in searching for a downgrade.
you can tell a huge difference between locked and unlocked hubs

 

Shaft yoke's broken on the rear, not the front.

As for the locking hubs, they're completely gone. A mechanic was going to replace them, but wasn't able to finish before getting laid off. So I'm going to have to buy one of the two. If there were still functional hubs, I wouldn't be asking the question in the first place.

 

They were deleted, on the XJ's, YJ's, TJ's, KJ's, etc. etc. which a poster above was alluding to. I agree, they were not deleted on CJ's.

 

Back to the basic physics: with the hubs disengaged, you are not wasting energy rotating the front driveshaft, diff, and axles. Increased economy and less wear-the reason lockout hubs became available in the first place. The other benefit mentioned, the ability to disconnect the axle when something in the assembly goes south is also very real if you do much trail. Ran into this a couple years back when my buddy's XJ blew a front axle u-joint big time. It was a royal pain in the posterior where if it had had hubs, would have been just a couple of extra winch pulls and would have been back at the trail head under its own power.

The latter is also why I run a full float on the rear (with drive flanges). Not only a lot stronger, but keeps the wheels in place if you do break a shaft and you can pull the drive flanges and driveshaft and motor home in front wheel drive. A whole lot easier working on an axle guts in the garage than on the trail.