Front Drive Shaft & MPGs

Discussion in 'Drivetrain Tech' started by El Camino Man, May 28, 2012.

  1. El Camino Man

    El Camino Man Thank The Lord For BBFs!

    Couldnt think of a good name for this thread so itll do lol.

    Anyways, Iv heard of people removing their front driveshaft to help with mpgs? This seems logical since our older Rangers dont have lock-out hubs and all the 4WD parts spin no matter what.
     
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  3. I've heard it, but I don't think it really works... I tried it and it stayed the same.
     
  4. Muscleford

    Muscleford Drives "the Fridge"

    Even with the drive shaft removed you are still spinning the diff so most of the load is still there. I doubt removing the front ds will make a difference.
     
  5. OP
    El Camino Man

    El Camino Man Thank The Lord For BBFs!

    You make a good point. All the front end will still be spinning since its essentially locked in all the time... The only thing I will remove from spinning would be the DS itself lol. Does that mean if I keep it locked in 4x4 HI all the time, my mpg wont go down?
     
  6. Fx4wannabe01

    Fx4wannabe01 New Member

    The difference, if any, would be not noticeable. Live axle hubs means locked 100% of the time. When your wheel is turning, so is your axle. The reason there would be little to no difference is because on the Tcase side, she's free spinning. Like she's in neutral.


    You WILL notice a mpg change from running in 4hi all the time. lol. Because your Tcase is engaged, sending power to the front axle.....NOT free spinning.


    This is the case for 00+ Ranger/B-series which have live axles. You could gain very little, barely noticeable if any mpg by swapping on 98-99 hub/bearings, 98-99 CV's, and Rugged Ridge manual lockout hubs. But the $500 it'll take to do the swap makes the mod pointless......and weaker than your existing setup. Right now your weak link is the CV itself. You break that, you're a badass! Doing that swap, the weak link is the hub.
     
  7. OP
    El Camino Man

    El Camino Man Thank The Lord For BBFs!

    I actually laughed on that one lol.

    Iv debated doin a lock-out swap on mine but decided it wouldnt be worth the time or money long ago. This is my DD, not a rock crawlin mud slinger so Ill stick with stock lol.
     
  8. Fx4wannabe01

    Fx4wannabe01 New Member

    You should do the swap. So I can buy your brand new truck's brand new CV's! lol.
     
  9. OP
    El Camino Man

    El Camino Man Thank The Lord For BBFs!

    Are you a big enough badass to break yours? LOL!
     

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