When I lived in Ogden Utah, December-February I kept my front hubs locked. No desire to get out to lock the hubs at O-dark 30 and 5 degrees F. Just switched transfer case in and out of four wheel drive. Did this with both my I-H Scout and CJ5.
Never heard of that being illegal.
How would locking your hubs and driving in 2WD be a mod anyway, driving with your tailgate down might be illegal in some states but it is not a mod, itâs just downâŠ
An illegal mod would be removing the catalytic converter and straight pipping it would be an illegal mod, removing the EGR valve and what not and adding a block off plate would be an illegal mod, not driving around in 2WD with your hubs lockedâŠ
EDIT: Oops, my bad George, I read that as mod, not mode⊠
Letâs not forget about the Higgins boats either. 
there were just so many that stepped up and made great contributions.
âIllegalâ wasnât meant to be taken literally. Operating w/the hubs unlocked but the xfer case in 4wd is not a violation of the traffic code. Driving w/the xfer case in 4wd and the hubs unlocked results in the front driveshaft, front differential, & axle shafts spinning when they arenât connected to the front wheels. The parts arenât designed for that mode. The ownerâs manual says it can result in damage to the front locking hubs. I expect it could also adversely affect the front differential.
Why would you do that? I can see driving in 2WD with the hubs locked, but not that.
I wouldnât advise doing that. It could damage something. Someone inexperienced on a 4-wheeling excursion might want to just leave the xfer case in 4wd I suppose, thinking it would simplify the process. Try Googling âoperating in 4WD with hubs unlockedâ .
I donât see how. Leaving the hubs locked woul simply the process
Much like operating the vehicle in drive while supported on a lift. These are all mechanical transfer cases, no viscus coupling.
I have operated my Jeep in 4WD low range without the front hubs engaged, I have never been arrested.
@texases above is wondering what would motivate you to do that? I couldnât think of much in the way of an answer myself, only saying I donât do it. Did you do it by accident, unintended? I can see how a person might do it by accident.
Low range for moving trailers around the back yard: âyard muleâ.
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OK, you want the 4wD-lo xfer-case mode just for the extra force it provides to the rear wheels, but donât need the front wheel drive part. That makes sense.
4WD is complicated . For example I donât like how the xfer case shifter works on my truck, awkward to use, and was thinking of ways to improve it. The problem is the way I was thinking of doing could get the front wheels in a different gear range than the rear wheels, which seems like it wouldnât be a good thing .
My old 1979 Power Wagon had 4WD high and low, 2WD high and low on the T-case, with shift on the fly, well in high anyway, still a pain sometimes⊠Anyway, it was a blast to put the T-case in 2WD low and launch that bad boy with a hopped up engine and transmission, in it, it would 0-30ish like crazy⊠lol⊠good timesâŠ
But the T-case parts and case suppliers/builders would love it⊠
âjeepâ is a generic term for a small four wheel drive army vehicle. . âJeepâ is a brand name. âjeepâ is a relatively recently introduced word to English, appearing first in a 1940 Tulsa (OK) newspaperâŠ
To be precise the army called them GP for general purpose vehicles as required for th3 war. I donât know who first wrote down jeep. Maybe someone knows. Geep didnât seem to sound right.
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Cool. The other day I saw a new a jeep. It had two doors. Iâm going to assume it was a wrangler. I love the design of it so much.
The first Jeeps were called General Purpose vehicles or GP for short which was later slurred into Jeep. I drove several of them in Nam.
Do you mean the Ford M151A2 replacement for the AMC Jeeps?
We had both an AMC Jeep ambulance and Dodge âcracker box ambulance. RoK Army had military versions of the CJ6 they used for litter (stretcher) patients.
Not sure. That one looks like a Cadillac to the ones I drove. Ours didnât have a roof. The front windshield was long gone.