Auto hubs and spools...

["Jason and Maria Colavecchia" <jasoncolavecchia@domain.elided>]

Here's some more musings about front lockers, auto hubs and such....

Essentially, automatic hubs work under the same principles that most
locking differentials do.  The hub  (automatic mode on a scout, or with
those auto hubs found on some f**d trucks) allows the wheel to turn faster
than the axleshaft, but not slower.  Locking differentials basically do the
same thing, but in two directions (left and right axleshafts) in respect to
the ring gear rotation.

As more traction is always a desireable thing for off road, it occurred to
me that spending 600 plus on a locking diff installation might be avoided
somewhat if i simply 'locked up' the front diff with a welder (I suppose a
spool would be a better choice, but HEY, we're trying to save some coin)
and utilized the auto hubs ALREADY installed.  Essentially, the action
would be IDENTICAL to installing a locker and utilizing locked hubs except
for the lack of compression braking ability.  If you can live without this
feature, or at least locking up the front hubs ONLY when absolutely
necessary, then VOILA.....virtually instant front axle lockup without the
massive bang to the wallet other alternatives give you.

Of course, It would be fairly important to ensure your hubs are working
solidly, since a fully locked up "diff" will provide alot more stress on
these components, as any locking diff produces on any vehicle.  If you are
really serious about it, Warn makes replacement auto hubs that should fit
the Scout axles (saw an article in 4 wheel drive, i think, about doing this
job) that are two to three times stronger than the clutches in a stock
Scout.  The other limiting factor is the differential itself...while
"lincoln locking" might be great for tough truck events, it might not stand
up to trail or rock climbing abuse.  a good spool (like the mini) would be
a more prudent choice.  That brings the cost thing up, of course.  Going to
new auto hubs will set you back a bit ( I know new scout lock o matics run
for about 300 a piece here in Canada).  To be really trail-ready, an extra
set of hubs might be in order.

After that note, maybe the cost of a Locking diff is pretty much the same
as utilizing the auto hubs, but here are the advantages as I see it:

1/  Because of the inherent action of the auto hubs, it should be easier to
steer than the setups with locking Diffs and locked hubs.

2/  Because of the replacement of the Diff with a lincoln welded or spooled
setup, there are less moving parts involved..no extra sets of clutches to
worry about

3/  Pulling it into two wheel drive should nullify any bad handling habits
otherwise requiring unlocking the hubs to eliminate

4/  Gives you FULL 100 percent torque to both front wheels when required,
if you lock the auto hubs!

5/  if one hub blows, you still have power to the other side (until you
blow that one too).  Blowing a locking diff causes ALOT more problems, most
of which cannot be readily repaired on the trail

6/  If you DO blow a hub, boy is it ever easier to fix on the trail when
all you need to do is bolt on a new hub instead of a smashed up pumpkin
assembly

DISCLAIMER:  I haven't actually got around to performing this little setup
yet.  My scout is a daily driver, and although I have driven locker
equipped scouts before on the road, I hit too much snow up here to risk
losing it just to gain traction off road.  All of this is derived from
reasoning and some research, but as soon as I can get another scout
strictly for off road, its HAPPENING.....