Locked hubs and disengaged transfer case = ?

My old man would occasionally run with the hubs turned in, and the t-case in 2wd. He would stuff it down in 4wd when he needed it.

What can happen if I decide to do the same? I know the gas mileage won't be as good. Will this tear things up?

wont hurt anything except gas mileage

My dad does the same thing to "get everything lubed up". Since no power is applied though the transfer case, the only additional friction is from the axles/halfshafts. I wouldn't run it permanently like this but temporarily it should be fine.

I used to do it on my old F150 if I knew I was going into a spot that was rough. You'll be happy when you remember that you don't have to get out in the muck and turn the hubs in, just throw the lever/switch in the cab.

Aren't a lot of jeeps built like that? No axle disconnect or hub locks, front driveshaft spins full time. I always thought the real reason for the hub disengagement was to eek out the extra .5MPG or whatever it gained you in a truck that got 12mpg, at which point that .5 extra makes a noticeable difference in fuel costs. I'd guess modern, synthetic, lubricants in the diff, CVs and u joints nullify a lot of that gain. With virtually no load on the components when there isn't power going through them, there would be very little additional wear from letting them spin full time.

Yep, I know most Samurais came with drive flanges on the front and work like this.

As long as you're going in a straight line and don't have any wheelspin while shifting, you won't hurt anything. If you're turning or have wheelspin, the difference in F/R driveshaft speed will cause a gear grind when you try to go into 4WD.

I do this in both of my trucks regularly. I might want the four wheel drive going through a ditch or starting on an icy uphill intersection followed by dry pavement.

we have only done it when we are about to go somewhere that we will get potentially stuck, its a lot easier to lock the hubs before entering the trails then when the hub is in 3 foot of water... been there before

If I'm headed out to cruise in the woods in the Samurai, I lock the hubs before I leave and unlock them when I get home. Even with the hubs locked I get 20+ MPG.

Used to do this with my F450 service truck when bouncing from job site to job site. Full lock turns will bind, otherwise it didn't really make a difference.

My F150, like Spinout said, binds on tight turns. I lock the hubs in snow only. I'd like to make a tight turns without spilling my drink. Maybe some more tire wear?

Old Land Rovers didn't have locking hubs either. In other words, no worries.

In reply to N Sperlo:

Bad U joints or just too much angle on them?

Locked hubs with a disengaged transfer case are like a fwd car in neutral, you could do it forever. Results will be slightly worse fuel economy and increased wear on c/v axles, like the difference between a fwd car in neural and a c/v axle sitting on a bench.