When to engage manual hub locks

PS I mean mainly during touring when you dont need 4WD all the time only river crossings for example, to avoid getting in and out of car all day

I have a 1997 Holden Jackaroo with manual locking hubs. The owners manual says to lock the hubs and not engage 4WD and drive the vehicle for at least 20km every month. The reason being that rotating the front axles periodically like this prevents the lubricating oil and grease from becoming congealed.
I have had the habit for many years of engaging the hubs on days when I KNOW I will need 4WD, and disengaging them at the end of the day. I have had no problems with that and a lot of 4WD in 120,000km.
P.S. Keep checking that some feral hasn't locked ONE hub leaving the other free, when your vehicle has been parked somewhere (they do that).

It is fine.. All you are doing is making the front diff and drive shaft turn which turns the oil and greases which is good....
But it should use a little more fuel .... Whether or not you could measure it is another matter....
I kept mine (gq) locked in all the way along the OTL and only selected the transfer case accasionally....._____________________________________________

_____________________________________________

It does not do damage to the vehicle. With the extra diff spinning it will increase petrol consumption and make the steering a little heavier, possibly slightly increase wear in tyres / steering components but if you're only doing it occasionally, no probs. Its how I usually get around in my troopie. If it saves getting your thongs dirty in mud, im all for it.

Andi
Even with Auto-hubs they stay locked when you deselect 4WD until you reverse in 2WD for a few metres.
So on a given "off-road" trip you would spend most of it with the hubs locked in anyway.
So ..... no worries.
Cheers
OskarMrs Oskar on Big Red

The NSW Rural Fire Service has Troopies. We as a rule do NOT disengage the hubs, as you never know when you will need 4WD

When you go on a short 4WD weekend or day trip lock the hubs in before you leave home, that way you will never be caught out when selecting 4WD or low range.

You should get in and out of the car at rivers to check depth, and let things like diffs cool down!

Offroad should be fine to leave done all day.

It's not that many years ago that you had to buy a set of free wheeling hubs as an after market item.

New vehicles came without them so you removed the spline cap and kept them for spares in case the hubs gave up the ghost.Rosco

All ya gotta remember is to engage ya hubs before ya engage 4x4 and engage 4x4 before ya get stuck!!My Best Mates
Hooroo
Ray

Hi,
I've got a 81 cruiser and I always disengage the hubs when i don't need them. Having them engaged has got to wear out the front axle oil seals and diff flange seals quicker. The front axle seals are a real pain to replace, a day's work to put in a couple of $3 seals is something I don't want to do again in a hurry so I don't mind getting out and turning the hubs to "free" when I'm out of the rough stuff.
Paul, Mt Isa