Heard the tick, tick backing out of the garage this AM. Went to work, and got home 30 minutes ago. Just got done checking the axle u-joints, and I've got a dry cap on the drivers side!! I just greased the front end less than 4000 miles ago, and the axle u-joints looked good. I got grease to ooze out all the caps back then.Anyhow, if I'm gonna have the front end apart again, I'm going with a free-spin kit to save on doing axle u-joints every 50-60,000 miles. Just wondering what the resident experts here thought was the best/most economical kit to go with. There's DynaTrac, SpynTech, and I think one or two others.Must be all the trailer maneuvering I do at the barns I work at. Thanks guys.

No, still a part time transfer case. The front end is assembled like it would be with a full time case but it's not. I would LOVE a FT case. 2HI, 4HI, 4HI-Lock, 2LO, 4LO, 4LO-Lock.

Can/could you even find a "differentiated" transfer case anymore???:shrug:One that could be used on our heavy duty trucks??

My 03 4runner has all the modes listed above except 2LO, which with 4LO (full time) it's not really needed. I believe they still offer this xcase, but to answer your 2nd question.. I haven't found one and I have looked. For all the dirt road towing I do I would love FT 4WD.

Update...........My Buddy, JD and I, are gonna tear into my truck tomorrow to install the SpynTec free spin hub kit I bought. I'm not looking forward to doing it in this heat, but that drivers side axle U-joint keeps coating the drivers side tire rim in rust dust!!!! Even with grease every week upon discovery of the problem!!!I'll take pix of the install and post them.

OK guys, the SpynTec kit is installed. My Buddy, JD and I busted it out in about 6 hours in 104* heat!! That doesn't include a 45 minute tool run to Farm and Fleet for an 18mm 1/2" drive socket. We busted a 3/8" drive ratchet on the passenger side unit bearing bolts!! Wasn't bad working on the truck until you got out of the "wind" from the 4 foot drum fan we had blowing at the front of the truck.I did not take pictures of the install as we went along because it was so hot and miserable out. Sweaty/greasy hands and arms and foreheads and faces, are not a good combo for using a camera!!! It was so hot, that when we finally got around to reinstalling the front tires; the sun had been baking on them for about 2 hours. Not to mention the air gun!!!! Had to put welding gloves on the install the tires and use the air gun!!!!:stuned:After we got Mighty Whitey buttoned up; we had a beer, JD showed off the house he'd built, BS'ed a bit, and then I headed home. It's about 60 miles out to JD's place, and once I got on the road and the thermometer acclimated..................for the whole ride home, it was reading between 101-104*!!!! I checked the hubs about 15 miles form JD's, and they were quite warm...........I was driving it like I stole it, just to test things out., but remember how hot the tire/rim was upon re-install????? That, plus driving 60 miles home in 100+* heat in a fair bit of stop and go traffic, I don't think is a fair test if we installed them properly!! When I got home, they were very warm, but I could keep my hand of them without pain or discomfort.Today is about 15* cooler...........only 90*!!!! Made a 12 mile loop to check the hubs again. They were markedly cooler than yesterday..........having sat in my garage overnight and out of the early sun today. Gonna make another 30 mile round trip in about an hour, and I'll recheck them again.Here's a few pix of how they look with my modified hub caps installed!!!..............PS......I believe the truck drives smoother now. Going over bumps doesn't seem as harsh. No road vibration thru the steering wheel............not that it was bad before, but very quiet thru the wheel now without all the components spinning now!!! Just a better driving truck now: with only less than about 100 miles on the new kit so far!!

Looks great!I think that 120° is the threshold for pain and being able to hold your hand on it. I would guess your hubs are fine!My dad just had a Yukon kit installed last week and he will be here in a few days so I am anxious the check them out as well. Yukon was using Warn, the reason he went with them, but they now have a different brand that is shorter and supposed to be stronger.

Sorry for the dirty truck. It's been too "hot" around here to even wash a truck!!!! On my latest cruise...........to pick up my dogs from my buds kennel while doing this project in this heat.............the hubs are warm, but I think much of it is from the big-assed brake rotors on our trucks transfering heat to the hubs. Not near as warm as yesterday driving in 100*+ temps for 60+ miles though. Truck seems to coast fine, and I'm not getting any burning smells or pulling of the truck one side to the other. As I said, I think it's mainly heat transfer from the brakes to the hubs now:smart:!!!Front end of the truck definitely goes over bumps a lot nicer than before. It's hard to tell about "responsiveness" in the wheel, because I've got the "steering box brace" on............but she's still quite crisp in response of the wheel!!!:2cents:As of now, I've got 550 miles on this tank of fuel. No towing at all. The fuel gauge just centered itself in the middle of the 1/4tank line!!!!!!!! So far that would put about 90-100 miles on this tank since the "free spin" install. So far, so good.............I hope!!!

I've got the EMS kit on my 06-LOVE IT. Along with the steering brace, it transformed my steering from good to amazing...nothing turning in my front end.For others who may be shopping...just go with the best price...they all seem to be comparable.

whats your impression after a few months use? Any noticeable gain in mpg? The way the truck handles... etc? any problems getting the hubs locked or unlocked?

  rancherman said:

whats your impression after a few months use? Any noticeable gain in mpg? The way the truck handles... etc? any problems getting the hubs locked or unlocked?

Love them!!! Better handling, and I would say I picked up .5-1.0mpg. No problems locking or unlocking.

I've got just over 11,000 miles on the SpynTec "freespin" hub kit now; and IMHO, it's the cat's dupa!!! I've only had to use 4WD a few times since install, so getting out of the truck isn't a big deal to lock the hubs. Besides, if'n you know you're gonna need 4WD, you just lock the hubs prior to your needing 4WD and then it's just like OEM..........just throw the lever and shazam, 4WD!!!!!:2cents:When my Bud JD and I installed the kit, on the drive out to his house, my truck turned 169,000 miles. On my way back from an Arkansas duck hunting trip, Mighty Whitey rolled to 180,000 miles. So that's 11,000 miles in about 5.5 months. I can honestly say now that I truly believe I've picked up at least 1mpg with this install.On the ride down to Arkansas, Mighty Whitey got 20.9mpg running about 68mph. I filled up down there before the low fuel idiot light came on also...........had 622.xx miles on that tank. We hunted 3 days down there and I headed home on Friday. Made it to my parents house (about 60 miles from my house) and had 640 miles on that tank. Filled up near the P's and that tank got me 19.6mpg running the same speed, but in Arkansas, had a lot of idle time to clear the snow and ice off the windshield!!!Prior to the install, this time of year, I have a hard time getting 19mpg on the Interstates. That, plus the slight increase driving around suburbia has me believing the SpinTec kit has improved the mileage Mighty Whitey gets with my Grandpa style of driving!!!

OK guys, it's been more than a few months here, so I thought I'd update this post.My last post in this thread said my mileage was over 19mpg on that Arkansas trip. Normally that time of year, that trip would've gotten me; 17-18mpg at best.It's now getting real warm/hot/humid here in "The Peoples Republic of Illinois"..................and since my last post in this thread, I've not seen a tank of fuel average under 19mpg!!! I've had several pushing 21mpg with about no trailer towing also!! The trailer towing tanks (about 50/50) still are averaging 19+mpg.My fill up today..............617 miles on the tank of fuel...........31.2gallons filled to the brim.......=19.8mpg!!!!!!!!!!:cool:I do believe, that overall, I've picked up over 1mpg increase in fuel mileage prior to the install. That's just MNTBHO of course!!!!

Great info!I am doing too much mixed dirt road/dirt road towing/towing at 18K GCW/rural driving to get good numbers, but I think I am about 5% loaded and 10% unloaded on my mileage.

  AH64ID said:

Great info! I am doing too much mixed dirt road/dirt road towing/towing at 18K GCW/rural driving to get good numbers, but I think I am about 5% loaded and 10% unloaded on my mileage.

John, I've just under 20k miles since the install, and my mileage still seems to be going up!! I'm not complaining either!!!:thumbup2: Just last week I rotated tires and greased up the parts that I can grease!! My original plan was to pull the hubs apart at 50k and relube as long as there were no problems....................and, "knock on wood", there hasn't been any problems at all.:thumbup2: The MileMarker hubs still turn easily also.................just thru that in, because you said you were a "Warn" guy!!!!

I do prefer Warn over MM, but have Yukons on my truck now and they are easy to turn, very stout, fail to lock, and only protrude about 3/8". No complaints here.

I am thinking of doing this mod on my gen 3 also. It will probably be a little while down the road but I like what you are saying about the results.On another thread I talk about my injector upgrade and on my last 500 mile trip I got over 22mpg (hand calculated) with the cruise control set on 65. I am just imagining reaching 23mpg and maybe beyond with the addition of the 'free spin hubs'. :pray:

Last 2 tanks on Mighty Whitey...........19.8 and 20.0mpg respectively. 623.xx and 644.xx mile on each tank. Filled up each time with 31.xx gallons.Overhead "Lie-O-Meter" read 24.6mpg and 25.1mpg for each tank at fill up. Same station, same procedure of fill-up.Today with 112.xx miles, with no "towing miles" on this tank...............Lie-O-Meter is reading 28.7!!!

OK; boys and girls, my last tank of fuel got me right at 21mpg. This tank was probably 3/4-7/8 empty driving. The empty driving was probably 50/50 highway/suburbia driving.The SpynTec kit is actually helping my mileage go up, the more miles I get on her. As of today, 6-25-13, I have just under 20k on the SpynTec kit and just under 189,000 on MightyWhitey. I wasn't driving for "mileage" either!!Should've done the "free-spin" thing years ago!!

I am saving my pennies to buy a free-spin setup for me. Just haven't got there yet.Just think if you added new injectors to your rig now. Another 2 mpg would probably get your attention.

Ive got the DynaTrac free spin kit in my 99' and I put in a solid axle shaft in place of the CAD. I have 25,000 miles give or take on it and have serviced the bearings twice so far. No problems what so ever!!! The only part I don't care for is that I had to cut through my factory hub covers. Sometimes crap gets in there and I have to remove them to clean them out. The chrome plastic is peeling on one of the hubs. I'm a fussy fart so if that is the only complaint that's not too bad in my book!!