locking hub not fully locking / clicking when engaged

drew and not u

drew and not u

New Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
Location
Chapel Hill
I'm working on my girlfriends 1st gen xTerra. It has locking front hubs. The right hub seems to work fine. When both hubs are locked and 4wd is engaged, everything seems fine until one of the rear tires starts to slip. Then the front left hub makes a clicking/ratcheting noise, and the tire doesn't spin.

Basically I don't think it's locking the way it's supposed to and it's just kind of half-engaged. I took it off and greased it up as suggested on the xTerra owners forums (not much help there) but no dice. I would rather not replace the hub if possible, so hopefully one of you hub gurus can point me in the right direction!
Thanks!
-drew-
 
Does she have lockers? If not that sounds normal for one tire to be still and the other moving.
 
No, neither of the front tires move. It's open front and rear. When in 4wd (hi or lo) with both front hubs locked, and the rear tires lose traction, neither front tire spins, and it just makes a ratcheting noise in the left hub.
 
Not sure, I've never had any experience with any other locking hubs. After taking it apart, it seems to be a spring-loaded gear which, when the dial is turned to the "lock" position, is pushed in between the axle shaft and the outer splines on the hub.
 
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