please help

[sappermk2]

gentlemen... i am a recent member to your club. been dreaming of solid axle frond chevy for years... finally, since returning from the "desert".. bought a 1990 'burb. well truck runs ok. my limited knowledge of HUMVEEs helped with CT inspection and all the BS.. but today, backing out my wet drive way, i got stuck.

Aparently, the 4wd is INOP. i can shift into 4lo, and the rears spin, like in 4lo. 4hi: same crap.


my guess is hubs. is this possible? what else should i look for?


please help. i have a horribly rusted 1 ton ready for donation. but im not ready. can i buy a cheap set of MM hubs and get 4x4?

im a noob and need help

 

[rufusbooth]

Sorry to hear that you are having problems right off the bat but we are all here to help out.

Given your description I am guessing that you have "auto" hubs. I don't have much experience with them as I have always had manual. My understanding of how they work is that when in reverse the hubs will unlock and you will have no 4WD. I am sure if I am incorrect somebody will jump in and correct my limited knowledge.

My opinion is grab your self some Warn premium hubs and don't look back if you do have autos. They are super simple to install and should not take more than 30 min to do.

I hope that helps and welcome to the club!

Cheers,

Rufus

 

[oakknight]

auto hubs

My first k-5 had factory auto hubs .. In order to engage them you had to put the vehicle in 4wd , and then drive forward to engage them. 100-200 ft was good to ensure they were locked. once locked and in 4 wd you could drive forward or back ward . To ten disengage them you placed the t case in 2wd and then drove in reverse a couple hundred feet to ensure that they disconnected.
To determine if it is the hub failing or another component plut your vehicle into 4wd and have an observer look at the front axle shalts ( careful not to run over them lol) if your in 4wd and everything is working ok the front axle shafts will turn as you drive. If they are turning and you do not have 4wd then your hubs are either not engaged properly or broken. If the front axle shafts are not turning. go to the next step

Next is to see if the front drive shaft is turning . While in 4wd the front shaft should turn at all times ( but not in 2wd). if your shaft is turning but your axles axle shafts are not , then suspect is the front differential.
If the front shaft is not turning while in 4wd then the t case is the suspect.


Im not a mechanic , but just a basic thought and suggestion on how to trouble shoot your 4wd woes .. Good luck

 

[sappermk2]

thank you very much for the replies... After about 30 min of the "rocking" technique, i shamefully extracted the 'burb from my front yard...

"oakknight" i dont have a manual to read, so, if that is true (100-200 ft) that would explain alot of what happened when i buried the 'burb in axle deep mud in my lawn THEN requested 4wd.

Hubs are now on order as i watch snow fly (expecting 12").. thank godness the daily driver is an Audi... but i will drive the 1/4 mile to engage 4wd to see if that was the issue..

Thank you.

 

[Vee]

also keep in mind, if you don't have lockers and 1 wheel on each axle is slipping, then you will get stuck. the differential will send power to the tire w/ least resistance. so if you have 1 wheel on pavement and the other in the mud, the 1 in the mud will spin and the 1 on pavement will not, and if that's the case front and rear, you're stuck

 

[sappermk2]

problem solved. put Warn premiums in and, wow... "selectable" 4wd.


thank you.

 

[rufusbooth]

Sweet! Glad that solved your issues! now, you have "2 wheel drive" ;-)

next lockers! trust me...it is an addiction! they call it $X$ for a reason!

Cheers,

Rufus

 

[sappermk2]

haha.. yes i know my fancy "off-set 2wd" is junk.. but on my broke a$$ budget... 4" amd 33's are first... i have a set of 3/4 axles thay will be used... some day..

 

[oakknight]

glad your up and running ! Manual locking hubs are much stronger than the autos