Free wheeling hubs conversion...

[go hard]

Hi all... Just a Query on free wheeling hubs conversion... Does any one have some info on installing free wheeling hubs on a landy/ rover... Is it an easy option ... May save some wear and tear and some fuel too...

Ant thoughts.....

[p38arover]

Unless you engage the hubs regularly, the diff won't turn and corrosion can set in. I've heard of brinnelling of the bearings also occurring but that may be hearsay.

I believe that tests have been done and the fuel savings are negligible.

Something else to break.

You have to remember to lock them when going off road.

Ron

[Debacle]

Many years since I have done this but from memory was pretty easy though take into account Rons comment. If things arent being used then they arent getting lubrication.

[mcrover]

Theres plenty of better things to spend money on on a landy, not worth it.

Had them on my S2a 88" and never unlocked them except once to see what it was like and it handled terrible heaps of understeer on gravel and didnt feel comfortable on the road but it could be that I was used to how it drove with them locked.

If your worried about fuel then look at fuel saving tips and dont worry about the hubs.

Whats your landy anyway mate?

[DarrenR]

As already mentioned, complete waste of time and effort.

Best regards
DarrenR

[ladas]

I would have thought that the point of a LR was perm 4wd.

Doubt if you would save much/anything in running costs.........

......and the ROI (return on investment) would be a veeeeeerrrrrrrry long time.

..............and what would you gain .........not much I would guess.

[D110V8D]

Hi all... Just a Query on free wheeling hubs conversion... Does any one have some info on installing free wheeling hubs on a landy/ rover... Is it an easy option ... May save some wear and tear and some fuel too...

Ant thoughts.....

Series vehicle.....sure why not. Will save some wear and tear on the front diff, prop shaft etc.

Easy enough to do.

[DeeJay]

Well, I beg to differ.
Firstly I've seen fwh go for around 30 bucks second hand, that would be recovered in fuel savings soon enough.
I had them on 2 series landrovers and a Nissan, all up maybe 200,000 plus klm, never any worries, as long as you engage them for 10 min every couple of weeks you wont get any corrosion issues.
The accelleration ?? ( on a series Landie??) top speed and steering all improved, and I'm sure the wear on front prop shaft, diff etc were reduced.
The only issue I ever had was the Selectro brand I had on the Nissan were the type that you grabbed with both hands and turned and in deep ruts they protruded and rubbed on the ground and when you reversed one could turn itself into the unlock position, but once I worked that out I simply turned it back, but it did happen a few times, from memory in reverse only.
And thanks for the laugh Ladas.
;)

[UncleHo]

G'day Go Hard :)

I assume that you are asking about them for a Series Landrover , which are part time 4 wheel drive, They are/were a common fittment to those vehicles, and they do save wear and tear on the front drive components, they also have a downside, that is, if they aren't engaged for about 50 miles in every 500, this is needed to lubricate the front swivel pins, which rely on the Oil in the swivels to splash feed the pin & bush, If used correctly, they will give a slight improvement in fuel economy but not much, they Do need to be engaged regularly other wise the front swivels and steering will wera rapidly.
I have AVM Freewheeling hubs on my 2a for 15 years now with no problems.

I hope that is of some help.

[JDNSW]

1. All coil sprung Landrovers except a few very early 110s, plus all Stage 1s and Series 1 prior to 1951 have full time four wheel drive, and fitting free wheeling hubs is not an option.

2. Free wheeling hubs may be fitted to most Series 1, 2, 2a and 3. The advantage is slightly better acceleration due to less rotating mass, a very marginal decrease in fuel consumption, probably not measurable, and a reduction in noise and vibration at high speeds.
How significant this is depends mainly on the condition of your front prop shaft. Theoretically they reduce wear on the prop shaft u-joints and front axle components, but in practice this may be more than compensated for by the fact that the stationary components, lacking movement and never warming up, are more likely to corrode. In particular, prolonged operation without the half shafts rotating is likely, at least on smooth roads, to result in poor lubrication of the top swivel bearing, leading to accelerated wear, loose swivels, leakage of the oil and consequent wear of the bottom bearing, u-joint, and, if left long enough, inner shaft bearing and ultimately wheel bearings. This can be avoided by engaging the hubs or engaging four wheel drive for short periods at regular intervals to spread the oil round.

I fitted free wheeling hubs to my 2a a couple of years ago - but they are engaged except when going on long highway trips. The only real reason I fitted them was because I bought the remains of a Landrover with them on for $15.

John

[ladas]

Well, I beg to differ.
Firstly I've seen fwh go for around 30 bucks second hand, that would be recovered in fuel savings soon enough.
I had them on 2 series landrovers and a Nissan, all up maybe 200,000 plus klm, never any worries, as long as you engage them for 10 min every couple of weeks you wont get any corrosion issues.
The accelleration ?? ( on a series Landie??) top speed and steering all improved, and I'm sure the wear on front prop shaft, diff etc were reduced.
The only issue I ever had was the Selectro brand I had on the Nissan were the type that you grabbed with both hands and turned and in deep ruts they protruded and rubbed on the ground and when you reversed one could turn itself into the unlock position, but once I worked that out I simply turned it back, but it did happen a few times, from memory in reverse only.
And thanks for the laugh Ladas.
;)

I stand corrected, I was under the impression that these hubs were $300 +...............so I looked and found a 2nd had set on eBay for .................


about AU$35.00

There you go, you live and learn.

...................still can't understand how you got the laugh though :mad:

[D110V8D]

Everyone gets a laugh out of a silly pom.....:p :p ;) :D :D :D

[ladas]

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LANDROVER-SERIES-FREE-WHEELING-HUBS_W0QQitemZ140107033908QQihZ004QQcategoryZ31348 QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

[JDNSW]

To add to the comments I made above - I have experience with several varieties of free wheel hubs - my preference would be the Warn hubs (which I have at the moment). But none of the hubs I have have been involved with have ever done anything worse than leak oil, although I have heard second hand of some types breaking.

In the 1960s Landrovers were often fitted with automatic hubs (can't remember the brand) - avoid these.

John

[DeeJay]

There you go, you live and learn.

...................still can't understand how you got the laugh though :angry:
__________________
'96 Disco 1 V8 - Sadly Rolled
2002 Disco II V8 - happy as larry

I seem to find humour where others don't :angel:
I did'nt mean to offend, but as I get older it becomes evident I am more in the 60's & 70's than I realize:eek:
It now occurs to me that you must have been thinking post 1980.
Cheers,
David

[Blknight.aus]

the worst bit is the dmage they do to the slip joint on the front propshaft, as it doesnt turn it bounces and bends in the slip joint (just a little to start with)

when it starts it gets a sag in it, this accelerates the wear and it gets worse..

come 4x4 time some years later you put it in 4 lo, lock the hubs and verily go at it only to have the slip joint fail leaving you with no drive or worst breaking and flailing at your engine.


the number of toyotas Ive seen in ADF service that get XXed for the front slip joint is just stupid.

[rick130]

I've heard of brinnelling of the bearings also occurring but that may be hearsay.


Ron

happened to an older series Troopy I knew of.
Definately less vibration/rumble in our GU Patrol with the hubs unlocked on road, although SWMBO leaves them locked in and doesn't realise, often.

[Dazza]

I have had Fairey freewheeling hubs on my 1971 Series 2a SWB for over 25 years without a problem. As mention before, just lock them on every once in a while to lubricate the swivels etc.

__________________
1971 Series 2a SWB

[Bigbjorn]

My memory of Series III, sold through our retail section at Leyland Truck & Bus, Brisbane, was that probably more than 50% were fitted with free wheeling hubs.

[Phoenix]

I've got AVM ones fitted, and so far the only major issue was that they allowed the wheel to fall off when the bearings failed, but that is an extreme case. The main thing I use mine for is ANZAC day when I parade the vehicle and use 1st low unlocked for the parade, however my fromt slip joint has a lot of play in it, and I didn't know it could cause a problem untill now.

Anybody got 2 sets of flanges for a 24 spline axle, 1 to use, and 1 to have the splines machined off for anzac day parades??

[cartm58]

any money spent modifying a 4wd is a waste ask any ex-wife of an owner

[scrambler]

any money spent modifying a 4wd is a waste ask any ex-wife of an owner
and most wives, too :eek:

Still, sometimes the new models are better. Shades of the Wife 1.0 thread from last year...

On topic - had factory locking hubs in a Sierra - no problems but no real difference I detected when driving with them on but in 2wd. No Land Rover experience - only recently bought my first P/T 4wd Landie and quite interested to see the outcome of this discussion!

[p38arover]

The main thing I use mine for is ANZAC day when I parade the vehicle and use 1st low unlocked for the parade,

An excellent point. In most cases one wouldn't want to use 1st low in "2WD" as the axles/diff might be at risk but in an on-road situation like that....

Ron

[JDNSW]

1....... The main thing I use mine for is ANZAC day when I parade the vehicle and use 1st low unlocked for the parade,.......

2. Anybody got 2 sets of flanges for a 24 spline axle, 1 to use, and 1 to have the splines machined off for anzac day parades??

1. Good point - free wheel hubs enable the use of 1st/low as a creeper gear for manoeuvring on hard surfaces - I have used it for this for backing a trailer in confined spaces.

2. Your set you are machining the splines off need not be 24 spline, could be ten spline.

John

[Phoenix]

LOL, that's a point, I hadn't thought about that!!!!

[barney]

without reading all of the other replies, so apologies if im repeating someone.
if you put freewheeling hubs on the front, ok, you can remove drive to the front wheels. but, without locking the centre diff (assuming it's a constant 4wd vehicle) you wont be going anywhere. if you lock the centre diff, you drive the front prop shaft, which in turn, drives the front diff and therefore the axles. so really not achieving anything other than making your vehicle less capable,(if you don't lock the hubs)
you will save a bit on a series vehicle, part time 4wd without the front hubs in will immobilise the whole front end. if it's ok for every other standard jap 4wd through the eighties and early nineties, it should be ok for an old landy

[Blknight.aus]

I've got AVM ones fitted, and so far the only major issue was that they allowed the wheel to fall off when the bearings failed, but that is an extreme case. The main thing I use mine for is ANZAC day when I parade the vehicle and use 1st low unlocked for the parade, however my fromt slip joint has a lot of play in it, and I didn't know it could cause a problem untill now.

Anybody got 2 sets of flanges for a 24 spline axle, 1 to use, and 1 to have the splines machined off for anzac day parades??


you have 2 options...


1. just remove the prop shaft for the day (Its a lot less naffing than changing the drive hubs all the time)

2. mod the interlock that makes the low range shifter engage the dog for the front axle but this means to get low range IRL you have to select low and high range at the same time.