auto hubs engaging without command

[sub-arctic]

so on my trip up my deli performed flawlessly except for one thing a couple of times, the auto hubs randomly engaged in high level, I made sure the t case was in 2wd then went to a parking lot and backed up, to unlock the hubs. Tonight it did it again but made all sorts of death groans from the LH side, because I was moving when It did it. I tried backing up a bit but the wheel lock light stayed on. I will try again tomorrow to see if I can get them unlocked.

From what I can tell the best course of action would be engage 4wd, and then back to 2wd and back up the van to see if they unlock? I am thinking sooner rather than later a set of manual locking hubs will be on the menu. I don't really trust those auto hubs all that much, and this is just driving that point home for me. 4wd is kind of needed up here, lots of ice to drive on.

Thanks in advance for the help!

[mararmeisto]

Might be the cold? Water in hubs freezing?

A couple of us changed out the auto-hubs to manuals, just so we would have direct action over when the hub engaged/disengaged. Not a big deal, but for those who like it "old school", manual hubs were the order of the day. Getting a bit difficult to source now, for the L300's anyway.

[sub-arctic]

A friend of mine is going to be doing an axle swap in a first gen montero, he said I would be able to take the manual locking hubs out of that, as far as I know they will work no problem! he remembers having issues with his auto hubs so he switched to manual to be on the safe side.

[Big-Bird]

I had a Nissan Hardbody (1996) that was equipped with auto hubs. I had a few occurences of hub engagement while in 2WD. I took the hubs apart and found the grease had been contaminated with water and silt. The gaskets and O-rings were shot and allowed gritty fluid in. Gave everything a good wash in the solvent tub and used marine grade grease for the reassembly. Never had an issue again with the auto hubs.

The nissan and Mitsu hubs are similar in design but there is no certainty my solution fits your problem. Still wouldn't hurt to open them up and see if all the bits are intact on your hubs.

[sub-arctic]

Great idea, I was thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to do that, It will give me an idea of what is going on. The cold weather really does not motivate me to get out there and start wrenching. I really need a shop hahaha