I just got off the phone with our local 4x4 shop,.. The guy said shortly, there should be a Hub conversion kit to unlock the front axles from the front drive shafts.. This should help increase Mpg..

 

Who will make the kit & how much will it cost?

 

I wonder if its the same people who make the 2nd gen kit. That one is about 1200$

 

1200 bucks? that's a lot. How much mileage do you expect to gain? I don't know about the 3rd gens, but the 2nd only turn the axle shafts, so I cannot imagine much mileage gain.

 

It's not only about mileage. This will also offer us 2WD LOW, and rebuildable, greasable hubs instead of these ones that have to just be replaced when they're worn out. I might consider this after my warranty runs out.

 

2wd Low-never thought about that, it would be nice

 

That's alot of MPG's you could get for $1,200.00, let's see, $ 2.00 a gallon by $1200 = 600 gallons of fuel??? Maybe 6 months of fill ups

 

Good idea if it ever is put into production, I will be on the fence for the release..

 

Um, that math doesn't make any sense. You would have to multiply the gallons used by the amount SAVED not the cost of each gallon. My guess is you'd save .25 to .5 mpg. So, if you used to get 20mpg (just for round #'s) and now you're getting 20.5mpg, you can now go 20500 miles instead of 20000 miles on the same amount of fuel. So in however long it takes you to drive that far, you will have saved almost enough to fill ONE tank. See, it's hardly worth it for that reason, however I still want 'em, just because that's the way it should have been done in the first place, if DC's primary motivation wasn't to save $$ in manufacturing.

 

I don't know about everyone else, but I love having "instant" 4x4. These things are so tail happy that I wouldn't want to fuss with locking the hubs. Locking hubs are just one more thing to break. I agree with the above that it would take quite some time for this mod to pay for itself.

 

The savings will be seen in other areas, such as drive shaft u-joints, Bearing wear, not to mention the possibility of the transfer case. the savings will materialize faster than you think. I have a friend that actually removes his front drive shaft on long highway trips. Is would be worth the labor for him in a short time...Just my 2 cents
Yes he did remove it this week on his way to South Dakota

 

I have heard a couple of people say that front u-joints tend to wear out (freeze up) from not being used on rigs with disconnects...it may work both ways.

I personally don't mind mine spinning...

 

I agree with cquestad and the others, probable gains aren't nearly wortht the extra expense, effort, and introduction of new parts to break. (Hubs do fail).

The only reason that makes sense to me is if you are a hard core offroader and want something you can replace in the field (torque fuses).

 

Hubs fail whether they're solid, non serviceable type like we have, or manual. My Jeep TJ has the same basic front hubs as our trucks, although Dana instead of AAM (almost identical to the 2G trucks but w/o axle disconnect), and I have had to replace the hubs 4 times. The problem is, once the bearing goes out, the whole thing is shot. I agree that if you only take your truck offroad on rare occasion it may not be worth it, but for those of us that rely on our trucks to carry us up 40% grades covered with rocks over off-camber obsticles while loaded with a half ton of camping gear, the hubs would be a nice option, because they will fail more often, and it would be nice to replace a $40 bearing instead of a $400 hub assembly. Am I going to run out and pay 1500 bucks for them asap? Heck no! I'm sure the stock ones will last for quite a while, but since I plan to keep my truck for a looooong time, it will probably eventually get them, especially once more manufacturers start making parts for the AAM units and the price comes down.

 

Good point...I would replace once the OEM's are wasted.