Should you be able to turn the front drive shaft by hand when not in 4WD?

Craig Waite

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I'm new to the forum and to wrangler TJs. My question....how does the front axle engage when in for wheel drive? Should you be able to turn the front drive shaft by hand when it's not in four wheel drive? I'm used to the old CJs where you have to lock the hubs in. I'm not understanding how the front wheels are locked in when in FWD and free wheeling when not.
 
The connection is inside the transfer case not the front differential.

So the front wheels the front axles and the differential and and drive shaft turn all the time... When you engage the vehicle into four-wheel drive the connection is made inside the transfer case... And then the front is actually driving along with the rear .

Older 4 wheel drive vehicles and some Modern four wheel drive vehicles have locking hubs where you can either electronically or manually disengage the hubs so that only the wheels turn and
not the rest of the front drivetrain.

I don't know why or exactly when that Jeep shows to go this direction.

Ultimately it creates a very simple way of engaging all four wheels into 4 wheel drive without having to get out of the vehicle into knee deep mud or snow .
 
Simple answer. The transfer case put the front drive shat in a neutral state. The front tires turn the drive shaft while in 2wd but it is not connected to the power.


More information but not jeep specific.

 
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Pretend like your CJ didn't have unlocking hubs. How would you get into or out of 4WD? That is how the TJ 4wd works.
 
Makes you wonder why they did away with the locking hubs.
They are just making people more lazy. Really..... It's that hard to get out and lock your hubs to save wear and tear on other parts when you don't need them turning? Sure, some people say "then I don't have to get out in the mud or snow to turn them when I get stuck". When you start wheeling and think getting stuck is a possibility.... turn them then. When you get back to a good road....turn them back to Free.
 
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I imagine there was an element of cost cutting involved, as well. Locking hubs add complexity to the manufacturing process. The ease of use is probably more of a incidental benefit, than one of design intent.
 
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I'll guarantee one thing, I've seen a lot more broken manual hubs on the trail than I have unit bearing hubs. I broke one of my Warn hubs several years ago after it collided with a big rock. :)
 
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I'll guarantee one thing, I've seen a lot more broken manual hubs on the trail than I have unit bearing hubs. I broke one of my Warn hubs several years ago after it collided with a big rock. :)

Why do you think that is? More moving parts, or perhaps the guys with manual hubs are just pushing their Jeeps harder?
 
On the surface I blame the lack of manual locking hubs to be right in line with the lack of leaf springs and something else I commented on earlier this week but can't remember due to a Traumatic Brain Injury I received 2 years ago.

Regardless, I can, and will, admit that dropping the manual locking hubs is probably an improvement. The new hubs will never bang into anything, are less likely to fill with mud and shouldn't cause the front axle to wear out any faster than the rear axle. It might wear out just a little faster and steal a little bit of MPGs while still locked in 2wd but I wouldn't expect either to be enough to tell.
 
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The connection is inside the transfer case not the front differential.

So the front wheels the front axles and the differential and and drive shaft turn all the time... When you engage the vehicle into four-wheel drive the connection is made inside the transfer case... And then the front is actually driving along with the rear .

Older 4 wheel drive vehicles and some Modern four wheel drive vehicles have locking hubs where you can either electronically or manually disengage the hubs so that only the wheels turn and
not the rest of the front drivetrain.

I don't know why or exactly when that Jeep shows to go this direction.

Ultimately it creates a very simple way of engaging all four wheels into 4 wheel drive without having to get out of the vehicle into knee deep mud or snow .
The connection is inside the transfer case not the front differential.

So the front wheels the front axles and the differential and and drive shaft turn all the time... When you engage the vehicle into four-wheel drive the connection is made inside the transfer case... And then the front is actually driving along with the rear .

Older 4 wheel drive vehicles and some Modern four wheel drive vehicles have locking hubs where you can either electronically or manually disengage the hubs so that only the wheels turn and
not the rest of the front drivetrain.

I don't know why or exactly when that Jeep shows to go this direction.

Ultimately it creates a very simple way of engaging all four wheels into 4 wheel drive without having to get out of the vehicle into knee deep mud or snow .
Thanks so much for the explanation. That is how I figured it worked but wasn't sure. You have been very helpful.
 
The connection is inside the transfer case not the front differential.

So the front wheels the front axles and the differential and and drive shaft turn all the time... When you engage the vehicle into four-wheel drive the connection is made inside the transfer case... And then the front is actually driving along with the rear .

Older 4 wheel drive vehicles and some Modern four wheel drive vehicles have locking hubs where you can either electronically or manually disengage the hubs so that only the wheels turn and
not the rest of the front drivetrain.

I don't know why or exactly when that Jeep shows to go this direction.

Ultimately it creates a very simple way of engaging all four wheels into 4 wheel drive without having to get out of the vehicle into knee deep mud or snow .
 
It's interesting to note that the new JL has a disconnect in the axle that will stop the DS from spinning now (YJ had something similar when they first came out).

The move away from locking hubs was also a marketing thing. Automatic 4x4 is what they used to call it and it was a pretty big thing back in the 80s.

I've got a wagoneer axle that still has locking hubs and I can tell you the items in it are certainly less stout than what my TJ has. Also rebuilding selectable hubs is a pain. Getting out a shaft is a 30-minute process while getting a unit bearing axle shaft is minutes.