Well we got 3in of snow last night and it not going to stop tell tomarrow and the roads are very slick. Is it bad for the front diff. to leave the hubs locked in so all i have to do is shift the t-case to 4H when i need it and back out when i don't?

Thanks

 

Mine have been locked in for 3 months now. Gonna be locked for another 3. Not a problem. Been doing that on trucks up here for years.

 

Thanks for the reply good info. I asked because i had an 84 ford that i got form my dad that when i was 16, he did that and stripped the gears the the front diff

 

One more ?. how can i find out what the gear raito is in my axle when the paper under the hood is gone and the tags on the diffs are ether gone or can not be read anymore

 

The easiest way is to jack up the rear of the truck and put it completely up on jack stands then put blocking in front and behind the front wheels to keep it fro moving. Next, put the trannie in neutral and make sure the parking brake is off. Next, climb under the back and make a line on the drive shaft where you can see it and a reference line on a wheel, doesn't matter which. Next, while you're watching the drive shaft line, rotate the wheel one full rotation (either direction, doesn't matter) and count how many times the line on the drive shaft makes a full revolution. If it makes 3 revs then you have the 3.07s, 3 1/2 revs means you have 3.55s, and a little more than 4 revs means you have 4.10s.

 

thanks for the info i will have to try that one of these days

 

Rebel Horseman's way is the best way to know "for sure," but you'd probably know if you had 4.10's. If you can cruise on the highway or interstate without the engine sounding like its about the blow, you probably have 3.54's.

 

this happenend to me the other night...2" of snow and i locked the hubs and shifted into 4wd when i needed......when i got on the highway i took it out of 4 and the hubs were still locked and around 60 mph the front started shaking/vibrating like mad so i pulled over and unlocked them

is that normal? i know i probably shoulda unlocked them, dumb move

 

Mine vibrates to but i think its that the U-joints in the front axle are as old as the truck. Just one more thing on a long list of things to fix.

 

My understanding is w/o o/d the truck has 3.07's, with o/d has 3.54's, engine screaming at hwy speeds has 4:10's. I'm not sure on this, though. Reb's way is most accurate w/o tearing it open to count teeth.

 

I had my hubs locked for 3 weeks when we got ice in KY last Jan. It never vibrated at hwy speeds, so you may have a bad u-joint.

 

I usually try and keep it under 55mph with the hubs locked just to save a little on the wear and tear. Usually with the hubs lock the roads are crappy and you can't go that fast any how.

 

I've run mine over 70 mph with the hubs locked and no problems. If you are having vibration I would think the hubs or the universals need serviced. Some members actually drag race with the hubs and the 4wheel drive engaged to get better launches.

The serial number and ratio should be stamped on the axle tube. You might need to remove some paint to find it. Mine were pretty light read.

 

i just pull the cover and count the teeth and do a little division....most ring and pinion sets have the number of teeth stamped on the ring gear....

 

Vibration while in 4wd going straight is usually the driveshaft. Check the double cardan joint for play. If you get it rebuilt, get the shaft balanced... I have my hubs locked in in excess of 80 regularly.