On the last snow we had i had to go to work. went out and stated my truck, turned the **** for the 4wd (the light came on). let truck sit for like 10 mins and went out to go to work. slid down the driveway and got stuck, im like this should be easy to out i have 4wd. WRONG, the hubs would not lock. Does anyone have any idea why this is happenin? could it be from not using it or is it more serious? thanx for the input.

 

When the t-case is in 4wd, put the tranny in neutral and have someone push the truck and watch the front d-shaft, if it is spinning, then the t-case is in 4wd, if not its the t-case.

The 97 has the pulsevacuum hubs, dunno exactly how they work, but you can upgrade to locking hubs. Thats what I would do, even if the auto-hubs were good.

 

http://www.warn.com/truck/hubs/standard_hubs.shtml do yourself a favor and buy them

 

I don't think they put vacuum hubs on Rangers until 98

 

eh maybe, I forgot they didn't have that until the SLA suspension.

 

yea, the 97 if it has auto hubs will be mechanical automatic hubs, they suck and go bad all the time. definitly get yourself a pair of the warn jeep manual hubs, part number 37780, they are the same thing as the warn hubs for the ranger, only they are a much stronger case. they look and work the same as the 29071 but are stronger (and are about the same price too). you will need the spindle nuts from a manual hub setup, but dont wast your money on the "spindle nut conversion kit" crap from warn, go by a NAPA or another parts store and get the spindle nuts from them for a 93-97 ranger with manual hubs, it was part number 28068X from a place here and it was called a nut kit. here is a full writeup on replacing the automatic hubs and nuts with the manual hubs and nuts, with pictures and everything. http://www.therangerstation.com/Maga...r2002/hubs.htm you won't have to worry about whether or not you will have 4wd from now on (unless your electric shift motor goes), you just lock the hubs yourself and put it into 4x4. you can also leave the hubs locked in all the time if you want and wont notice any difference as long as your front end parts are in good condition (bearings and u-joints).

 

man thnx guys for all the info. when ever it gets warmer out my dad and i are takin the tires off to see if it is just the hubs or more. Jason and Zach thanx for the sites. also Jey thanx for the idea ill try it out and see what happens

 

i will put $10 down its the hubs its such a common problem its not even funny man. and its just a joke putting the new hubs on its so easy

 

Hay I am new to the site. I was looking for people with the same problem as me. I noticed that the guy with the red ranger had what sounds like the same problem. But, the info given to swap hubs was for a 97 and I have a 98. I dont know if they are the same if so thats great i will refer to the previous info given. I have had dealers look at the problem, auto shops tryed to diagnos it. They say the problem is the vacum hubs and my transfer case motor is supposiddly bad. I just really like the idea of a whole new hub set up. If you have any info that would help it would be greatly appreciated. I am about to start to build my truck up but I need to get the four wheel drive figured out first.
Thanks Its getting late out here in cali so let me know , goodnight

 

on you're 98 there are no manual locking hubs that you can replace things with, but there are 2 options for you to have the hubs lock in full time like the 2001.5 up rangers with live axles.

first, the free option, follow this write -up and you can get your hubs locked in all the time.

second, the more expensive method, follow this write-up and swap in hubs and such from a 95-up explorer or 2001-up ranger and get the newer live axle setup.

neither one is very difficult, the second one does require getting a good amount of parts and swapping things around. and dont worry about your hubs being locked in all the time, if it was a problem than the 95-up explorers, 2001-up rangers, and virtually ALL jeep products would not have that setup from the factory.