Manual hub advice please.

I’ve spent the last week with temperamental 4wd on my beastie.

Note in advance :- I’ve read the wiki guide and done a bit of searching. This is a post to ensure I am understanding the system properly and to allow me to make an informed decision.
Btw I have a facelift 2008 model with the push button selector.

Ive found it a bit frustrating but managed nonetheless (still love my car) as I’ve been struck down with the flashing green 4wd light. On inspection I found a split hose on the near side hub. Replaced it with another bit of vacuum hose I had and it cured the light (but only for a short while it seams, I’ll explain in a minute).

occasionally I get 4wd, other times it thinks I have 4wd (when I don’t) and sometimes I still get the flashy light.

When it thinks I have 4wd and I know I don’t, if I unbolt the freehub the locking gear seams to be sitting just behind the locking hub but not engaged, if I manually engage it and reinstall the freehub I have fully functioning 4wd that will disengage normally when I hit the 2wd button. BUT I have no confidence in it going back into 4wd.

If I try to get 4wd and get the flashy light. If I turn on dash electrics, and press the 2wd button (this can take several attempts To work) I can hear a whir and the system resets and the light goes out.

Now that’s the preamble over with.

I presume I still have a leak on the vacuum circuit somewhere on the “engage hub” side of the hose/pipe work circuit.

I also presume the partially engaged issue is due to not enough vacuum “suck” to engage the hub.

I guess this is why people choose manual hubs.

I like the idea of repairing the original system but I appreciate a lot of you will say forget about it and go manual but I can pick up the metal axle pipe work on eBay for £40 odd, manual hubs are £100ish or £150ish for avm.

Is this because the original system is fragile? Or because it could become an expensive of trial and error to get back to full working order?

I’m interested in both sides of the argument from anyone who has kept and repaired the standard system and these who ditched it.


One last thing. If I get manual hubs is there anything wrong with the cheaper ones on eBay? Has anyone bought this type



It says Jimny up to 98. I’m sure my 2008 has a 26 splines at drive shaft hub end.
Is there a difference?

Sorry for the long post on a subject that has been spoken about before but I need to satisfy my curiosity before I commit to whatever repair path I choose.

Thanks in advance
Tony.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Will follow this thread with interest because I've often wondered why people would chose to go for manually locking hubs rather than repairing the original system. Personally I hate the idea of manually locking hubs it sounds like such a chore!

Just simplicity of use for me.
Engage them when you get to the start of the days outing and use the t-box to go in/out of 4x4 as needed. Lots of rusty pipes made it expensive to replace the lot, so manual it was.
Think they are from Raptor 4x4, cost me £99 delivered, but i did have one go wrong (which they sent an advance replacement part for thankfully), and the chrome covers you see are plastic, not metal as they look in the pics. AVM are the best, but obviously the price/quality reflects that.

Young Pretender wrote: I've often wondered why people would chose to go for manually locking hub

Here is my take on your thinking.
It is only a slight chore and even then only if you want the front freewheeling part of the time.
I find myself responding to this issue a good number of times. Personally I wish Suzuki had continued with manual hubs after they dropped the SJ. I suppose having to rely on engine suck to give me 4WD is something I didn't take to - reminds me of vacuum wipers on cars I had years ago - so I decided to go back to that certainty I had had with my SJ when my Jimny's system began to fail

Once done I never ever gave a thought to the 4WD, it was always there waiting for me to stick the lever into 4H.

Something not often mentioned that personally I consider worthwhile is that with the hubs left engaged the front diff gears get a good oiling.

It makes me wonder how many Jimnys out there have a failed system and peeps don't know because they rarely use four wheel drive. At least if manual hubs were factory fitted those folks would not find out the hard way when it was too late like buried in sand drifts or snow

It does indeed sound like you have a small leak. It is most likely a pipe rusted or perished but may also be due to the seals in the hub itself. Either way, I've always considered the vacuum system worth fixing. It's not complicated and I think the more you use it the more reliable it is (based on the fact I'm in and out of 4wd all the time and I've never had an issue). If my vacuum system failed catastrophically I'd permanently lock the vacuum hubs and leave them like that.

Busta wrote: Either way, I've always considered the vacuum system worth fixing.

I think an important point to note with the Jimny 4x4 is that it cannot be used in the "dry" and so many many do not get to use it at all. If there is a rusted pipe I don't think using it regularly would stop that particularly. I agree with you though, if I had my time again I would not bother with manual hubs, I'd opt for fixed and be done with it.
Another point is that if you keep the vehicle for 25 to 30 years will you need to repair it more than once or even more than twice.

I boobed on my price for the pipework, looks like it’s £168!!!! That’s crazy for a bent pipe. The £40 is for another small section. What’s to stop it being replicated from brake pipe or replaced with silicon vacuum hose completely (with some T pieces)?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

NineCherries wrote: I boobed on my price for the pipework, looks like it’s £168!!!! That’s crazy for a bent pipe. The £40 is for another small section. What’s to stop it being replicated from brake pipe or replaced with silicon vacuum hose completely (with some T pieces)?

Nothing to stop you replacing it with any hose, so long as it can withstand a vacuum of about -10psi. People also use copper brake pipe for the rigid bits. All cheap and easy!

The hubs pictured need spacers to fit a Jimny.

I have a pair of the type Riccy mentioned for sale brand new.

Vacuum leak can also be a bad wheel bearing.

Am I misunderstanding manually locking hubs?

I had thought that to engage 4wd or revert to 2wd you had to get out of the car every time although reading some of the comments I may have misunderstood.

Can you still move between 4wd and 2wd from inside the car?