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Old 08-13-2015, 08:38 PM   #1
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05+ Ford locking hubs

From all appearances, the 2005 and newer Ford Superduty hubs fail a lot less than the older ones. They also seem to fail in the locked position, which is much less fatal.

Nonetheless, I've had a hard time with the passenger side one for a while now. This past Sunday I could not get the drivers side one unlocked at all after 20 miles of rocky road (a couple miles of which might qualify as trail).

What I did know is that my van doesn't track as nicely as it usually does with one of the hubs locked. This made for a bit more work on the drive home than I really wanted. It also costs about 1mpg (not that big a deal for one trip). What I didn't know is that I could have just pulled the locking hub out and driven without it. Three screws on the face, and then some pliers to pull it out by the standoff tabs. Super easy.



The failure seems to be in the plastic carrier no longer grabbing the gear that slides in and out of position. I sort of wonder if I could have just gotten one of those from Ford, but I didn't find a part # in the vehicle diagrams. (There might be a rebuild kit?).

Two entire hubs from Ford were very similar money to a set of aftermarket hubs that Warn started shipping earlier this year. The Warn hubs come with a lifetime warranty, so I went that route.

The Warn hubs are almost entirely metal, save for a large spring retainer that could possibly be left out. They look like they would fail in the unlocked position if the cap/dial was damaged. The more likely failure mode seems that the wavy spring goes limp, in which case they'd fail locked (but could be pulled).

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Old 08-13-2015, 10:18 PM   #2
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Re: 05+ Ford locking hubs

The Ford dealer in Bishop, CA told me the passenger side locking hub was bad on my 2008 Quigley with 120,000 miles, so I had them replace both sides. The new ones certainly lock and unlock easier, but I had to take them at their word on the bad one.
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Old 08-19-2015, 01:03 AM   #3
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Re: 05+ Ford locking hubs

I've been contemplating why these stuck, and I think I have a reasonable theory now:

The new hub gears are a much tighter fit than the old ones. This suggests that the old ones could have had some play, which may have lead to them binding on release.

I think finally understand the idea of backing up after unlocking fully manual hubs now. It's just to release any potential forward pressure between the meshed gears, that might have created enough friction to keep the spring from pushing them back into the unlocked state. No real need to move any distance, just enough to turn the hub back a couple degrees.
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Old 08-19-2015, 03:52 PM   #4
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Re: 05+ Ford locking hubs

I didn't have a good reason, but have always put it in reverse after unlocking the hubs, etc.
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Old 08-20-2015, 12:27 AM   #5
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Re: 05+ Ford locking hubs

My first (and only other serious) 4x4 was an 89 montero and it had automatic hubs that required real backing up, so it is a bit of a habit. However I'm glad I finally understand the point with (these) manual hubs. -- In hindsight, I regret not servicing the transmission in the montero when it exited daily driver duty and really learning how to use it without worrying about doing damage.

BTW, the gears in the Ford hubs are very similar to the Warn hubs. I seriously doubt that one set is superior to the other (cost is very similar, so it doesn't much matter). The rumors that they were made by Warn are very likely true. After some contemplation, I think the plastic parts outlasted the actual gears, so they are probably fine. Who knows if they were abused before the axle came into my possession (FWIW, and very much IMO, the only, but a very significant, reason to ever buy a new car).
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