Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi we have just bought our first 4x4 its a nissan terreno series 1, we took it to magnetic island this week and I had a couple of sticky situations that required low range however in both circumstances it did not feel like I had 4 wheels doing the same job, we have free wheeling hubs which say automatic on the stub in the center of the wheels its a five speed manual, also on that note while having a look i noticed that the stubs get quite hot both front and rear even when only using 2wd is there a trick to make them lock or have i just bought a head ache :(

i'd say you bought a headache .... if it had free wheeling hubs
the dial on the hub on the front would have "free <------------>lock"
on it


i'd say u have auto locking hubs

Auto hubs are not true free wheeling. Normally the front axles are still still rotating, just not connected to the diff on one or both sides. Most 4WD vehicles are really just 2WD unless you have front and back lockers.

mine hasnt got lockers but i still think its a 4wd >_<

I have no idea how terrano's work, but the vacum operated hubs toyota release are just that, vacuum operated, meaning they switch on when you press a button on the dash or on the side of transfer case shifter, or even automatically when its placed in H4.

Id assume the terrano system is similar, ie vacuum operated if they say automatic.

I think what Nev62 is trying to say is that even in 4 wheel drive, 2 wheels can spin (one in front, one in rear) since with open diff centres, only one wheel on each diff has to spin.

sorry guys your right auto hubs is what they are , so what you guys a saying is that unless I have a locker fitted (it sounds like the air locker is most popular type) that the wheels work independantly for example I was moving up a steep hill in low range and it was heavily corroded track i had the front two wheels up on the flat part of the track and the rear ones in a 30 - 40cm deep hole and when they reached the edge they spun like crazy trying to climb but the front ones just sat there ie not spinning like the back ones im just freakin out as like i said that was the first time i had 4x4 anywhere and dont know all the dynamics involved will be joining a club i think and thanks iv gone from boats to this and its nice to see people sticking together

4wds off the shelf will have one front tyres spin and one rear one spin
and it'll always be the one with the least amount of traction
usually opposite diagonal tyres

doubt your vehiclel comes with a limited slip diff
dunno if there are airlockers or any other types of lockers to suit ur rig

hi hoonz just moved to townsville this week can i come to the next meet im in kirwin myself my rig is not modified yet however many are to be done some experienced advice would be great.

bradmitchell wrote:sorry guys your right auto hubs is what they are , so what you guys a saying is that unless I have a locker fitted (it sounds like the air locker is most popular type) that the wheels work independantly for example I was moving up a steep hill in low range and it was heavily corroded track i had the front two wheels up on the flat part of the track and the rear ones in a 30 - 40cm deep hole and when they reached the edge they spun like crazy trying to climb but the front ones just sat there ie not spinning like the back ones im just freakin out as like i said that was the first time i had 4x4 anywhere and dont know all the dynamics involved will be joining a club i think and thanks iv gone from boats to this and its nice to see people sticking together

nup the front wheels will always have the same amount of torque applied to them as the rear

which means at least one front wheel has to be spinning if the rears are spinning.

im not sure exactly what autohubs are, but if they are vacum operated they are exactly the same as a manual hub, only its done automatically, by vacuum. (either a button engage on dash or somewhere, or it auto engages when you shift H4/L4)

bradmitchell wrote:hi hoonz just moved to townsville this week can i come to the next meet im in kirwin myself my rig is not modified yet however many are to be done some experienced advice would be great.

yep next meeting is 19th of april at the thuringowa city council chambers
"hodel room"

just follow the crowd in at 7pm

club is open to all people of all intrests
from beginners, touring, advanced, hardcore

Shadow wrote:im not sure exactly what autohubs are, but if they are vacum operated they are exactly the same as a manual hub, only its done automatically, by vacuum. (either a button engage on dash or somewhere, or it auto engages when you shift H4/L4)

Auto hubs are different to the vacuum system in toyota's, they usually lock when you select 4x4 on the shifter in the cab, this rotates the shafts in the hubs and they lock in, or somthing like this.

They are a problem as they will unlock usually on a down hill run as this is similar action for unlocking them... this happens on the isuzu's with the same setup.

best thing would be to do is pull them off and replace them with navara ones (should be similar) then you know they will not be unlocking.

Here is a link to the setup of an auto freewheel front for the Raider http://www1.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/large/0900823d801a0b5d.gif

Whats interesting is the different approach to the same end result. I do not have auto hubs as they are always locked by design. Instead I have a freewheel frontend where drive to the axle is removed near the diff.

Here is a pic of a auto hub
http://www1.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/large/0900823d801a0b41.gif