I have a 1990 LS LWB with auto locking hubs. I went fishing today, and it was muddy so I put it in 4wd. Then, when i was coming out on the mud onto the pavement, I took it out of four wheel drive, but the hubs wouldnt unlock.

What steps I usually do to take it out of 4wd are: Put it in neutral, switch transfercase from 4H to 2H, Put it in reverse, drive back for about 7 feet or until i hear a click, then i drive forward and they unlock. i did this, and the light on the dashboard telling me the hubs are locked wont go away.

I drove it for about, 100 feet in 2WD, the 4WD light off, and hubs locked light on, and I started to hear a clicking noise.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Mine have acted up on occasion and sometimes I had to repeat the pull forward then reverse a few times. Other times I've jammed the brake or rocked the steering wheel from side to side while rolling backwards. They've always unlocked at some point. At some point I should pull them apart and clean and regrease everything...but I just haven't had the time, and when I remember I need to do that is usually right after I need 4wd <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />

if you never manage to get them out...make sure your CV joints are ok and the boots are not cracked and the diff. oil is clean...

does the light on your dask blink or is it a steady light?

my old ram 50 did this every once in a while...I went on to grass or somewhere I could easily spin the tires and I spun them in reverse and the light usually came off. just a sudden hit of the throttle and the light instantly went out.

The light is staying solid. I talked with the Mitsubishi Dealership, told them i tried to get the hubs unlocked for like, 20 minutes, working em as much as possible, on the asphalt and in the mud. They said that there may be a vacuum leak somewhere. I had AAA tow it to em since they are only a couple miles away. Id rather pay the extra money for them to look at it, than some shop that doesn't know anything about 4x4's attempt to fix it and mess it up. Ill let ya guys know whats up as soon as i find out on Monday. Thank you for your replies.

Sounds prudent, but I would try and figure out if the stealer really knows much. There are those that don't. People have posted problems here that theirs either didn't figure, or took a lot of time and $ to.

Then when the post goes up here after the fact, the collective invariably gets it faster than the rotten dealer. Not that they are all bad, but I would quiz them.


Wait a minute. IIRC, there isn't any vacuum involved on a Gen I's auto-hub...???

Exactly what I noticed. Vacuum doesn't, in any way, have anything to do with auto-hubs on a Gen I. They are strictly mechanically actuated. If the dealership (assuming Mitsubishi) is speculating this, then they don't know their Gen I's too well.

They probably only need to be removed, cleaned out, and regreased. They possibly could have a busted/damaged component inside them. Easiest thing to do is remove them and check out yourself. It's easy to do...you don't even have to jack the vehicle.

Regarding the clicking, it sounds like either:

- you have a separate problem with a CV and perhaps one hub is stuck

- one hub is stuck intermittently and is clicking (due to internal damage)

My

I'll mail you some hubs for the postage price. Boxed and ready to go out...I've replaced the autohubs on my Raider and my wife's Montero with Aisin and Superwinch models, respectively. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I would love to be able to fix the problem myself, but I live in an apartment complex, and I have no where to work on it. I need it to be fixed ASAP, because It is my Daily driver.

That is prety scary that they said it could be a vaccum leak, when you guys are tellin me that there is no vaccum associated with it. Fortunately, I took it to a Different dealership than the one I called.

Sounds to me like they need greased. Buy yourself a set of Superwinch manual hubs and install them. Somewhere LRJ4x4 has a nice write up on it.