Warn hub/GM 10-bolt question

[89 jimmy]

So I just installed warn premium hubs in my 89 GMC Jimmy. With the wheels off the ground and hubs in the locked position the front drive shaft doesn’t turn, but, the outer axle at the knuckle does turn. When hub is un-locked, the outer axle at the knuckle does not turn. I went into the truck and shifted lever to 4WH and spun the wheel by hand with hub locked and still no front drive shaft turning. Am I missing something here? When I actually drive the truck and lock the hubs it is in 4WD because I can feel the steering get harder to turn in sharp corners. When un-locked while driving back to normal steering. Does this sound right? Is this just the nature of the 10-bolt?

 

[rampage]

I’ve never checked it that way but it might just be the way an open diff works when you rotate a wheel. Do you know what type of diff you have (open, limited, locker)? What does the other wheel do when you spin one?
A better way to check your hubs is to spin the driveshaft, but this doesn’t guarantee that both tires will spin since there is drag from the disc brakes. You may need to lift one tire at a time and spin the driveshaft. And I hope you aren’t testing this on pavement.

 

[Blue85]

That all sounds normal. With you spin one axleshaft on an open differential, the other axleshaft can spin in the opposite direction. If both hubs are locked, you'll see either the opposite wheel or the driveshaft turn. Locking just one hub on an open diff does very little. Well, not that I recommend driving around like that...