I have a 94 Ram 3500 w/ 10 cylinder. Now get 10 MPG in town (2 wheel drive) and maybe 12 MPG highway( simular since new, has 80,000Mi). Considering converting Fr. axle to Man. hubs. Like idea of getting “old type” wheel brgs. and disengaging fr. drive completely (Dana 60 Fr. axle) Don’t like $1900 for parts kit.
Any body have real, objective guess at MPG. inprovment? Is there a cheaper “kit” ? Don’t like $260 Unit wheel Brgs. to (probally) change soon, but $1900 buys many if better brgs. only real improvment. I don’t plow snow, or really push capacities of truck ofter. Thanks for all advice!!!
Probably next to nothing. There is no noticable difference in my 4-cylinder Toyota pickup with the hubs on or off and it has quite a bit less torque to turn that front axle than your rig does. If you don’t need that huge motor (which IMHO, nobody does-- a diesel works much much better in this application), you should seriously consider downsizing to something with 8 or even 6 cylinders!
I know a couple people who did it on their Nissan Pathfinder. MAYBE they noticed a .5mpg increase in gas mileage.
This one guy spent a whole weekend…Replacing the hubs…Replacing the trans fluid and differential fluid and transfer case fluids with synthetic fluids. He was expecting the MAJOR increase in gas mileage. After 3 months he was complaining that he saw a 1mpg increase. It was going to take him 3 years to pay back the cost he put into it.
Thanks for input. Unlikely to swap at these prices.