Driving without front drive shaft

[joshgoble]

It would be nice if there were aftermarket locking hubs for one..

 

[u2slow]

It would be nice if there were aftermarket locking hubs for one..

Not really. Good quality unit bearings (like Timken) are simple, strong, and last plenty long.

I picked up some Explorer hub stuff from a guy that that was modifying it for a jeep TJ. (He'd given up). I got no further. Pretty small/flimsy mechanism to work with the 5x4.5" pattern.

 

[burntkat]

I'll have to track down a 2wd Liberty to see what the front setup looks like. There has got to be some sort of setup to take the side load.
I honestly didn't realize there was such a thing as a 2wd Liberty.

 

[u2slow]

There has got to be some sort of setup to take the side load.

Or the bearing is simply made differently.

I believe Chevy and Ford also began producing 2wds around '99 that were just using 4wd unit bearings with a tin cover pressed on over the splined center hole.

 

[joshgoble]

Not really. Good quality unit bearings (like Timken) are simple, strong, and last plenty long.

I picked up some Explorer hub stuff from a guy that that was modifying it for a jeep TJ. (He'd given up). I got no further. Pretty small/flimsy mechanism to work with the 5x4.5" pattern.

I was mainly thinking about fule milage because it makes a big difference without the front drive line in, mileage wise around 4 to 5 miles a gallon on the crd depending on how hard you push it. I dropped from 37 miles to the gallon to 32 to 33 miles to the gallon when I reinstalled the front drive shaft. If it had locking hubs to where the wheel bearing were the only moving parts instead of the front drive train and transfer case being turned it wouldn't surprise me if it wouldn't get around 40 ± mpg.

 

[u2slow]

I was mainly thinking about fule milage because it makes a big difference without the front drive line in, mileage wise around 4 to 5 miles a gallon on the crd depending on how hard you push it. I dropped from 37 miles to the gallon to 32 to 33 miles to the gallon when I reinstalled the front drive shaft. If it had locking hubs to where the wheel bearing were the only moving parts instead of the front drive train and transfer case being turned it wouldn't surprise me if it wouldn't get around 40 ± mpg.

I would doubly recalculate for accurancy. If it was that significant on a V6/6spd I would have noticed. This is hotly debated in Dodge Ram forums, and consensus of perhaps 1mpg difference. The trade-off is having the front drivetrain stagnant and possibly seizing up from lack of use, vs being exercised.

Edit: the nv242 wouldn't be very happy in full-time mode if the hubs got left unlocked by accident.

 

[Jeremy-WI]

I saw I slight improvement in gas mileage when my front driveshaft was out. from 20 mpg to about 22 mpg. I removed it to replace the starter and notice the rear CV of the front shaft was shot, so I left it out until the new one arrived