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My new Super Duty has locking hubs to have the option to lock them in manually. Not so "way Past"
Sure because the 13th gen F150 was first released in 2015 (and ran until 2020).
I guess I should have said "I don't think Ford has widely used vacuum controls in a while (when designing or completely redesigning a vehicle)".
Everyone is trash-talking locking hubs buy my geo tracker with its locking hubs and manual transfer case could do something my sasquatch bronco can't... 2 low
It wasn't actually useful but it was technically possible.
It wasn't actually useful but it was technically possible.
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Alright story time.
For most of its life the Bronco has been offered with limited slip differentials and hub lockers. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ford referred to their limited slip differential by the marketing term "Traction-Lok"—so if you see that in older Broncos (or Ford vehicles in general) its just a specific type of limited-slip differential. The front axle/drive shaft would only spin when the transfer case was in 4x4 mode, and it would only be "locked" when the hubs were locked to the axles.
In the 1980s with the 3rd generation Bronco, Ford introduced the automatic locking hubs. Automatic locking hubs were wildly unreliable, so most serious off-roaders stuck with the manual locking hubs.
And then came the mid/late 1980s. That is when Ford tried to market the Bronco more towards families and started included more "luxury" features such as the relatively popular Eddie Bauer package/trim. They went a little too far in my opinion, and in 1986 and 1987 Ford removed the front limited-slip axle option. Luckily in 1988 it was added back.
Generation 4—starting in 1987—is also when Ford offered an electronic shifting transfer case rather than the chain-linked system. It was actually not a horrific system, but most serious off-roaders stuck with the manual transfer case for reliability after being burned by the promise of automatic hubs. Both manual hubs and automatic hubs were offered throughout generation 4, and the automatic hub feature in combination with the electronic transfer case was given the fancy marketing term "Touch-Drive".
1992, in my opinion, was the last "good" year of the Bronco. Safety regulations introduced in the early 1990s meant the Ford Bronco hard top was no longer removable. You could still remove it if you really wanted to, but it was no longer a feature Ford avertised about the Bronco, and removing the top shell also mean you lost the rear seatbelts. And by that time it abundantly clear the Bronco was on its way out and new 4-door SUVs like the Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee XJ were on their way in. Truthfully I don't know if Ford even offered a limited-slip on 1993-1996 Broncos.
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By the mid-to-late 1990s, manufacturers starting trying to figure out how to offer 4x4 systems without dealing with the relatively unreliable automatic hubs, and without compromising on-road travel and safety systems such as anti-lock brakes. The first was locking differentials, which have been around since the 1970s but weren't widely included in passenger off-road oriented vehicles. As most of us probably know... it allows the differential to stay open when on-road to allow the tires to spin at different rates. Off-road, they can lock up for for consistent torque to all tires. So the only thing left to solve was the automatic hubs. There was two solutions for that, both of which have been covered by @Jdyount already.
The first solution was just to lock the hubs to the axles, and let the axles/driveshaft spin along with the movement of the front wheels. The front driveshaft would remain in neutral inside of the transfer case, so no power would be sent to the front wheels, but it would still spin along with the rest of the vehicle. If you have the EMTC (Advanced 4x4) in your Bronco, this is the system you have. This is also the system in the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
The second solution was to lock the hubs to the axles, but include a Front Axle Disconnect system (aka: FAD). As @Jdyount mentioned, the only thing that spins is the spider gears when the axle is disconnected. The benefit of this system is that it reduces rotational mass, which theoretically would reduce wear and improve fuel economy. It effectively does the same thing locking hubs do, but it just locks and unlocks at the drive shaft rather than the hub. If you have the ESOF transfer case (Part-time 4x4), you have a FAD Actuator in your Bronco.
For most of its life the Bronco has been offered with limited slip differentials and hub lockers. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Ford referred to their limited slip differential by the marketing term "Traction-Lok"—so if you see that in older Broncos (or Ford vehicles in general) its just a specific type of limited-slip differential. The front axle/drive shaft would only spin when the transfer case was in 4x4 mode, and it would only be "locked" when the hubs were locked to the axles.
In the 1980s with the 3rd generation Bronco, Ford introduced the automatic locking hubs. Automatic locking hubs were wildly unreliable, so most serious off-roaders stuck with the manual locking hubs.
And then came the mid/late 1980s. That is when Ford tried to market the Bronco more towards families and started included more "luxury" features such as the relatively popular Eddie Bauer package/trim. They went a little too far in my opinion, and in 1986 and 1987 Ford removed the front limited-slip axle option. Luckily in 1988 it was added back.
Generation 4—starting in 1987—is also when Ford offered an electronic shifting transfer case rather than the chain-linked system. It was actually not a horrific system, but most serious off-roaders stuck with the manual transfer case for reliability after being burned by the promise of automatic hubs. Both manual hubs and automatic hubs were offered throughout generation 4, and the automatic hub feature in combination with the electronic transfer case was given the fancy marketing term "Touch-Drive".
1992, in my opinion, was the last "good" year of the Bronco. Safety regulations introduced in the early 1990s meant the Ford Bronco hard top was no longer removable. You could still remove it if you really wanted to, but it was no longer a feature Ford avertised about the Bronco, and removing the top shell also mean you lost the rear seatbelts. And by that time it abundantly clear the Bronco was on its way out and new 4-door SUVs like the Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee XJ were on their way in. Truthfully I don't know if Ford even offered a limited-slip on 1993-1996 Broncos.
---
By the mid-to-late 1990s, manufacturers starting trying to figure out how to offer 4x4 systems without dealing with the relatively unreliable automatic hubs, and without compromising on-road travel and safety systems such as anti-lock brakes. The first was locking differentials, which have been around since the 1970s but weren't widely included in passenger off-road oriented vehicles. As most of us probably know... it allows the differential to stay open when on-road to allow the tires to spin at different rates. Off-road, they can lock up for for consistent torque to all tires. So the only thing left to solve was the automatic hubs. There was two solutions for that, both of which have been covered by @Jdyount already.
The first solution was just to lock the hubs to the axles, and let the axles/driveshaft spin along with the movement of the front wheels. The front driveshaft would remain in neutral inside of the transfer case, so no power would be sent to the front wheels, but it would still spin along with the rest of the vehicle. If you have the EMTC (Advanced 4x4) in your Bronco, this is the system you have. This is also the system in the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
The second solution was to lock the hubs to the axles, but include a Front Axle Disconnect system (aka: FAD). As @Jdyount mentioned, the only thing that spins is the spider gears when the axle is disconnected. The benefit of this system is that it reduces rotational mass, which theoretically would reduce wear and improve fuel economy. It effectively does the same thing locking hubs do, but it just locks and unlocks at the drive shaft rather than the hub. If you have the ESOF transfer case (Part-time 4x4), you have a FAD Actuator in your Bronco.
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Clearly the OP was referring to differential locker not hub.
I am not sure that is true of all new. Some may still use live axle like my Explorer where it is always engaged and there is no hubs. The explorer is 20 years old tho. Even in 88 there were auto locking hubs available that do what you describe here.
What you describe here sounds like a live axle. There is no disconnect so you pay the penalty of wear and MPG, but it allows for easy switching in and out of 4WD without having to spin up the front axle. In my manual locking hubs of my Bronco IIs I would just lock them for the winter season which would allow me to switch on the fly from 2WD to 4WD without having to stop and lock. I feel this was better than the auto locking hubs that were available at the time on the Bronco IIs which could still lock with moving but had to first get shaft engaged and up to speed before engaging the transfer case.
By the way, running locked cost me 1.5 MPG on that Bronco II, 22 MPG unlocked 20.5 locked. I believe running it for extended periods and especially all winter with all the corrosives on the road helped keep that front drive train from getting corroded up.
I have been meaning to look to see if my front shaft is disengaged when in 2WD so don't know either. I sense that with the effort for maximum MPG that there isn't a live axle but some sort of auto locking hub.
To kind of expand a little on how the axles worked:
Before 1980 Ford used solid front axles on Broncos, both the Early Bronco and the Gen1 FSB.
The Broncos of the 80's and 90's used a TTB (twin traction beam) Dana 44 front axle. This was a hybrid IFS/solid axle. The pumpkin was mounted to one of the beams, and floated up and down with it. That side had an axle shaft that used one U-joint (to allow for steering). The other side had an inner and outer axle shaft , both with u-joints, that telescoped together to allow or articulation. It was strong, but really didn't work the best with articulation and was impossible to keep geometry correct with any kind of lift.
TTB being a hybrid axle, it retained a lot of features from a solid axle. Like the hollow spindles which the wheel bearings mounted to and the axle shaft ran through. This allowed those axles to use pretty much the same locking/automatic hubs.
The 2021 Bronco is true IFS. It uses drive axles (cv's) and unit bearings. No good way to incorporate a locking hub at the wheel.
I actually did a solid axle swap on a 91 (axle was from a 78). Gave me a ton more articulation over TTB.
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I hope it comes with the crotch vent too!
GM Trucks- at least ones I have owned- including my most recent 2019 Silverado LD 4WD had independent suspension in the front. The transfer cases all had manual shifters direct into the transfer case. When in 2WD the transfer case was disconnected and the front differential was also disconnected- at the differential. The half shafts spin all the time but the drive shaft does not. So the gears in the front differential are not engaged. The front drive shaft will spin freely when you are under the vehicle with all 4 wheels planted. The "Hubs" are locked all the time, thus spinning the half shafts. This is second best to having locking hubs as at least the front drive shaft is not spinning. I thought that perhaps the Bronco had this but it seems the front differential is always engaged and spins the front driveshaft and front differential 100% of the time. So in 2WD only the transfer case is disengaged. This will affect gas mileage about 2 MPG for sure. It's practically no difference than being in 4WD full time.
I miss those locking hubs- I'd much rather have the 2 MPG- where I benefit 99% of the time I use the vehicle- which is on the street. I don't think back in time some people even then understood the locking hubs- and either left them locked most of the time when they should not have or left them unlocked and ended deep in a mud hole, then attempted to engage them.
I miss those locking hubs- I'd much rather have the 2 MPG- where I benefit 99% of the time I use the vehicle- which is on the street. I don't think back in time some people even then understood the locking hubs- and either left them locked most of the time when they should not have or left them unlocked and ended deep in a mud hole, then attempted to engage them.
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Me in my 80‘s Toymota showing my friend how it does off road in mud…
Me: oops I think I’m stuck.
Friend: did you lock your front hubs before driving into this mud hole?
Me: ummmm… how about you lock the passenger side hub and I’ll lock the driver side hub?
Friend: it’s your truck. You get out and slog thru mud.
Me: oops I think I’m stuck.
Friend: did you lock your front hubs before driving into this mud hole?
Me: ummmm… how about you lock the passenger side hub and I’ll lock the driver side hub?
Friend: it’s your truck. You get out and slog thru mud.
What? The F-150 has done this for decades. It's had a "true IFS" since '97 and has used vacuum-actuated automatic hubs to connect the front wheels to the CV axles.
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Would love to have locking hubs as my '16 super duty has. Less drag and component wear (won't work with auto 4wd though). How often do you use 4wd anyway. I'm a dinosaur and don't mind locking hubs when necessary and mechanical engaged transcases. They have always worked when I needed them over the last 45 years, not just when they decide they can engage.
Good for him. Let him replace tractor tires at $2800.00 per tire, that get road worn while hauling anhydrous, fertilizer carts, or mint plummage wagons.
Or maybe he keeps a 100hp small tractor around for just those applications.
He can than cruise at 15mph from the field to town.
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