Auto or manual locking hub ?

What’s the advantage of auto locking or manual locking hubs ? And, mile marker or warn .. opinions on the 2 makers , preferences… please give me an opinion anyone ! Currently factory auto .
1985 K10 1/2 ton
Thanks !

My preference is manual locking hubs, have heard too many horror stories of somebody out 4 wheeling going downhill, and using the engine as part of braking via the load placed on it from all the wheels being locked in (mainly manual transmission, of course) and the auto hubs disengaged because there was no forward load on them from the drivetrain.
Under certain conditions, I can see auto might be convenient, but I still like the dependability of manual.
Warn are the best, mile marker is a little less costly, and I have personal experience with them, no complaints, they paid for themselves.

EDIT: I probably should have mentioned for those on the site that don't know me, I live remote in the mountains and off the grid.
To get to a paved road, it's almost six miles of HORRIBLE roads, zero maintenance, lots of traffic, and after a storm the mud will swallow a car whole.
MANY 4x4's get stuck here.

I have auto hubs and would never consider swapping them for manual unless they broke and I couldn't get parts to get them fixed. maybe if I was a hard core offroader or had a dedicated trail rig, manual hubs would be OK. But for my uses as a daily driver that sees offroading associated with hunting trips and some snowy roads, auto hubs have been just fine. I do use 4x4 at least once a month whether I need it or not, to keep the hubs exercised and greased.

I always preferred auto for daily type vehicle and manual for more of dedicated offroader

I've had auto hubs in two different daily driven Suburbans. They were very reliable in one rig for daily use and basic winter driving. One hub on the other rig was completely unreliable and caused me lots of frustration. Even after proper maintenance, it was extremely lazy to lock up. It normally took a lot of throttle and wheel speed to get it to lock, which of course caused one heck of a bang and was hard on the rest of the driveline. Eventually it started trying to lock up while driving down the road in nice warm weather, so that's when they got **** canned. A friend of mine had a K10 truck and both auto hubs were completely inop when he got it. It was a clean and cared-for truck too.

So that's my take on them. Go ahead and run them, but be mentally prepared for the day they try to screw you.

Also, it's really no big deal to run manual hubs. Just lock them in when the weather gets cold and unlock them in the spring. Then you still have the convenience of shift on the fly.

Auto hubs are "convenient" like on a modern truck. I can't think of a single positive besides "ooh I didn't have to get out and get all wet to put it in 4x4". Manual hubs work every time unless something is physically broken (and most of the time shame on you for not maintaining your truck), you physically lock and unlock them yourself. If you are planning on using them (going off the road, snow in the forecast, etc) just leave them locked and then you don't even need to get out! I can not think of a time in my entire life where I said "thank god for auto hubs (or push button 4x4 for that matter on a modern vehicle)" but I can think of at least a half dozen times where I had a reallt sh!tty time saying "fcuk all this automatic crap, if only there were a way I could just manually lock it in and be done with it, now lemme figure out how the hell to get out of here without 4x4!"

There are many variables when calculating one's needs, and I see all sides living in 4 wheel drive country for the past 50 years and a lot of that remote and off the grid.
If running manual hubs, the motto to live by is: "THE TIME TO LOCK YOUR HUBS IN IS BEFORE YOU NEED THEM."
That has worked perfectly for me, so with a bit of common sense, all is well unless something unusual happens.
I'm sure JeffK10America will figure what he plans to do and will set his truck up to handle his needs.
And once again, the folks on this forum come through with knowledge and personal experience to assist a fellow member.

I have owned only 1 truck with auto hubs- my 91 Suburban. Never had any issues with them, but it did not get in 4 wheel drive very often.

One big advantage is the ease of packing the wheel bearings.

The whole auto lock assembly comes out in 1 piece.

These damn spicers with the sliding gears require you to be an octopus to reassemble the things.

But, I agree - the manuals should always work for you when you need them.

Most of my old 4wheel drive vehicles were full time, so never a hub issue there.

The many moons ago I joined this hear community I needed help sorting this out:

because of rust removing involved wacking the snout a lot making it not perfectly roudn inside(things didnt slide/egnage freely) and then what goldie said about being an octopus are also true in this case(RIp me for having to remove and reassembly 3 times to get right).... this was not fun but it was a lot of learnign and ultimately

And I was also very unskilled/unknowledgeable in HOW except for a 2wd beaaring spindle truck service I did repack before, but not helpful for the big parts lol.


the manual hubs are strong and reliable, but they do not work in the position above

My truck was originally an auto locking truck but before i bought it the previous owner had put manual hubs in it. He owned a logging company and didn't trust the auto's. My doesn't see much 4WD time so it's never been an issue for me.

Warn h

ubs

More wear on the auto 4x4 parts.
I had a front U joint fail on my auto 4x4, good thing I was only doing 20 mph, it took out the tranny pan and ruined the front drive shaft. I converted the transfer case and installed Mile Marker hubs, I'm happy.
I would have kept the auto 4x4 but am in remote places and don't need another transmission drained of fluid in the middle of nowhere. The U joint that failed was original at 80,000 miles over 3 years ago.
1975 Chev Scottsdale, 350 V8, 350 TH.

Memaloose said:

More wear on the auto 4x4 parts.
I had a front U joint fail on my auto 4x4, good thing I was only doing 20 mph, it took out the tranny pan and ruined the front drive shaft. I converted the transfer case and installed Mile Marker hubs, I'm happy.
I would have kept the auto 4x4 but am in remote places and don't need another transmission drained of fluid in the middle of nowhere. The U joint that failed was original at 80,000 miles over 3 years ago.
1975 Chev Scottsdale, 350 V8, 350 TH.

Click to expand...

YOu didnt have auto hubs you had all time 4wd.

mtnmankev said:

My preference is manual locking hubs, have heard too many horror stories of somebody out 4 wheeling going downhill, and using the engine as part of braking via the load placed on it from all the wheels being locked in (mainly manual transmission, of course) and the auto hubs disengaged because there was no forward load on them from the drivetrain.
Under certain conditions, I can see auto might be convenient, but I still like the dependability of manual.
Warn are the best, mile marker is a little less costly, and I have personal experience with them, no complaints, they paid for themselves.

EDIT: I probably should have mentioned for those on the site that don't know me, I live remote in the mountains and off the grid.
To get to a paved road, it's almost six miles of HORRIBLE roads, zero maintenance, lots of traffic, and after a storm the mud will swallow a car whole.
MANY 4x4's get stuck here.

Click to expand...

And @mtnmankev has to fight aliens ALL the time

Same here as most of the advice given. It depends on your usage. I mostly use the 4WD for snow and other poor traction conditions. Auto hubs for me all day. The only time I've ever had an issue was once when I used the wrong grease. Hi Temp grease makes them hang up in the cold and not unlock which leads to the clicking and banging. Now I use synthetic grease for everything and it's never an issue.

However, if I was in the mountains or did serious off-roading I'd probably have manual hubs too. Everything is a compromise. You just have to decide where you want to compromise.