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The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club Landcruiser Club - Dedicated to Toyota Landcruiser, Amazon, Colorado and Prado Owners
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locodriver65 ****
Joined: 19 Apr 2009 Posts: 320 Location: WEST MIDLANDS UK
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2022 9:45 Post subject: Free wheeling hubs on front wheels to save fuel??? |
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Hi Guys,
I was watching a bit of video on you tube the other day and could not understand the logic of fitting free wheeling hubs on a constant four wheel drive system.
The LC in question was a 20 year old LC105.
Would the gearbox need to be modified or does the 105 have a different gearbox???
Regards
Paul |
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diggerdave ****
Joined: 03 Oct 2014 Posts: 448 Location: Bubwith
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2022 12:08 Post subject: |
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It only makes sense if the T/B is selectable 4wd, and even then I'm not sure it's worth the hassle of reverse engineering the hubs.
There are fuel savings from disconnecting the CV shafts from the non-driven wheels, thereby preventing the forward motion of the wheels from turning the dead weight of the CV shafts/front diff/front propshaft. It saves wear and tear on the system too, but in both cases I suspect the benefit is small. I installed switchable hubs on my fixed hub Trooper and noticed no real world fuel saving.
Some vehicles were designed to have switchable hubs like early Hiluxes. There were even auto-locking hubs on some vehicles when the hubs only locked when drive was applied (some Fronteras and Troopers I think?). I guess they may have been engineered to take advantage of the system, perhaps with slightly lighter and less robust front drivetrains that benefit from being disconnected in this way? But maybe such systems were installed because the perception of fuel saving was seen as desirable, even if the benefit was actually small compared with the resistance involved in powering a two-ton brick. Rather like a lot of the greenwashing measures on modern cars.
To my mind there's no point retrofitting free wheeling hubs on a permanent 4wd T/B. You would have to lock the centre diff and then the dead weight of the propshaft/front diff/CV shafts woud be driven by the engine. Yes, there would be a saving in fuel and wear and tear as there would be no resistance at the wheels, but would it be worth it and would it offset any extra resistance and stress on a T/B which is not designed to run with the centre diff permanently locked? Are there any permanent 4wd vehicles fitted with switchable hubs from the factory? _________________ 1997 KZJ90 3.0d, 2" suspension lift, 235/85/16 Cooper STT Pros. 217k hard miles |
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