Date:    Fri, 24 Aug 90 13:09:20 EDT
From:    caloccia@sw.stratus.com
To:      lro@stratus.com
cc:      caloccia@lectroid.sw.stratus.com

Subject: note on what to do with locking hubs.



Hi,
	I just received a newsletter from Rovers North, in Vermont, and
one of their articles is about the dangers of leaving your locking hubs
in the unlocked position. 

	They suggest that you leave the locking hubs in the LOCKED position,
unless you are going on a long road trip. In daily driving, or driving
about town, one should leave them in the locked position, so that the
swivel pin/ball assemblies and front differential are lubricated, and
therefore protected from rusting.  If they sit for a long while w/o
being engaged, the swivel assemblies and front diff may start to 
rust on the portions which are above the oil level, which will
cause problems later on, particularly if a swivel assembly rusts,
steering becomes sloppy, and then is lost.

	This also affects the front drive shaft, as if it is not
used, it will wear more in orientation, which can lead to excessive
wear on both the drive shaft and the u-joints, as they absorbs the
movement from the front axle.

	Evidently, the problems caused by leaving the hubs unlocked
occur more in the states, as many of the vehicles here are equipped
with unlocking hubs, and leaving the top portion of the swivel assembly high an
d
dry for long periods of time was not exactly what the engineers at
Rover had intended...

	For those those of you in the states, you might want to
give the folks at Rover's North a ring, and get a copy of their 
newsletter, they are at 802.879.0032.

	I ordered a book "Working in the Wild: Land Rover's manual for
Africa" (Rover Group, 1989), and a T-shirt from them yesterday afternoon,
and was quite surprised that UPS delivered it (regular service) this morning !!

	--bill