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Manual locking hubs are located on the front axle of a 4WD vehicle. They are the small dials found in the middle of the two front wheels. On the outside, they appear simple, but on the inside they perform something extraordinary.

When driving your 4WD vehicle on minimal traction surfaces, it is essential that each tire has power and is fighting for every bit of traction. When four wheel drive is not being used, the front hubs are used to disconnect the front wheels from the front axle drive components. This would include the ring and pinion, axle-shafts, and driveshaft. Unlocking the hubs will allow the axle components to stop spinning, preventing the unwanted wear and tear on those parts. It will also help to improve the vehicle's fuel economy since there will be less resistance during roll.

Arthur Warn (of the Warn company) invented the locking hub in 1948. Until then, most 4WD vehicles were "full-time" 4WD and suffered from poor street performance, terrible fuel economy, and excess wear and stress on all the drivetrain components.

As years have gone by, all auto manufacturers have done away with manual hubs in favor of automatic ones. The primary reason for this came about when the SUV craze took the American auto marketplace by storm in the late 1980's and well into the 1990's. Everyone had to have an SUV because an SUV meant 4WD. The problem was that an overwhelming majority of these SUV drivers wouldn't know how to engage the 4WD system so manufacturers did what they could to make it as simple as possible and thus, automatic hubs.

As years went by, 4WD owners (especially off-roaders) have learned that automatic hubs aren't the wonderful amenities that the auto manufacturers made them out to be. As the vehicle aged, the likelihood that the auto hubs would work when needed diminished. It's a rule of engineering that when you take something simple and then complicate it, the chances for failure increases. Automatic hubs were no exception to this. Auto hubs are notorious for not working at critical times and for being weak under stress. Ask any off-roader about this and you may get an earfull of anger and bitterness toward the auto hub.

Manual locking hubs are stronger than their auto counterparts. It's for this reason that off-roaders will always choose manual hubs over automatic ones. Even if an axle with automatic hubs has been routinely maintained, the serious off-roader can not rely on it because there are too many circumstances for which it will fail or just not perform when the moment is critical.

Manual locking hubs are an ideal replacement for auto hub axles for their simplicity, reliability, strength, and low cost. The off-road marketplace has kits available that allow drivers to replace automatic locking hubs for manual ones.

Understanding how these units work will help you get the most out of them and they are much easier to upgrade and maintain than auto units.

Warn locking hub kits have been the industry standard in the 4WD and off-road market. They've been the choice of professional and amateur off-roaders for over 40 years and continue to outperform the other brands still today.

Tags: 4wd, autos, cars, drivetrain, driving, hubs, jeep, Jeeps, off road, outdoor, SUV, transmission, trucks

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