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Do I need to back up


XTC90BII

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1990
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4wd
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Do what you can with what you have where you are
When I unlock my manual hubs on my 1990 BII and go back into 2 wheel High from 4 wheel High do I need to back up first to disengage the hubs? Or can I just unlock them shift back into 2 Wheel High and go on my way? With all this snow here in the Midwest I have for the first time since owning the BII (bought in Aug 2015) engaged the 4 wheel drive. The BII has done really well the 12-13 inches of snow.

Dennis
 


JerryC

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Hi Dennis,
Just unlock them, the backup thing is for automatic locking hubs.

You can drive in 2high with the hubs locked and it won't hurt anything except your mpg.
You should do that from time to time to keep the grease in the bearings good and to sling some gear oil around around in the front diff to keep a coat of oil on everything.
Think of it like running your engine every so often when it sits unused for a while.

I know what you mean, I bought my BII just to be a winter beater and it's been five years since we have had enough snow to need 4wd. Up until this storm its been a good luck charm and kept the snow away! Good luck charm or no fun charm, I'm not sure :)
 

XTC90BII

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NW Arkansas
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1990
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Ford
Engine Size
2.9
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4wd
My credo
Do what you can with what you have where you are
Jerry C

Thanks for the tip on driving with the hubs locked in 2 wheel high just to keep some gear oil around in the front difff. I did not know that you could or should do that.

Dennis
 

wildbill23c

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You can just unlock them but until you drive in the opposite direction for about 10 feet they're going to remain engaged as they remain under tension, yep same for auto hubs as well. Until you reverse direction from whatever way you were going when you shifted out of 4WD you'll have to backup a few feet for the hubs to disengage manual or automatic hubs, doesn't matter, still have to backup a little bit especially if you were under load when you stopped and shifted out of 4WD or if you were moving and shifted out of 4WD. The springs won't release the hub engagement until the tension is off the hubs, so backing up is the way to get them released. If its cold it may take a bit longer to get them to disengage, mostly the auto locking hubs, the manual hubs seem to disengage within a few feet of driving forward or backward, occasionally they'll disengage when you turn the hub lock back to free if you've been driving in 2WD for a while.

I've had the hubs engaged several times from about November through March or occasionally April. Doesn't hurt anything. And the manual for many vehicles says to run your vehicle with 4WD engaged every so often to keep things lubricated, not much of an issue with today's live axle vehicles or AWD vehicles, but with the old school manual 4WD systems its a good thing to do occasionally to run them in 4WD for a few miles...You can do it on the highway as long as you aren't trying to make sharp turns.

Yep these little Bronco 2's do quite well in snow, love mine in the winter...and up until this winter I haven't used the 4WD in mine much maybe 2-3 times since I've had it, yep I think about 2015 or 2016 is when I got this Bronco 2.
 

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