Okay I have completely taken the front hubs apart and repacked the wheel bearings. If I understand correctly the hubs are supposed to disengage when you take them apart. However I can jack the font end up and spin one tire and the other spins with it. Any thoughts?

 

Never mind............its a np203 t-case full time 4x4.

 

Yep, unless it has been part-time converted, the NP203 is a fulltime 4wd t-case.

Do you have disconnect hubs on the front?

 

Nope they are factory auto hubs. And the transfer case has not been changed or modified. Just got this truck from my grandpa a few months back and have been going through it. It only has 47,000 miles on it.

One more question. Does anyone happen to know the tork specs for the front hubs. I am looking for the specs for the nut that has the little nipple sticking out. The repair manual says 35 ft lbs but that seems to be a little tight because when I drive it the hubs get so hot that you cant hold your hand on it. So I have not been driving it. I will play with it a little more tonight but thought someone may know off the top of their head.

Thanks.

 

The NP203 equiped K5's did not come with auto-hubs or even manual disconnect hubs. When stock, your truck had metal 'pucks' that were splined inside & outside to permanently engage the front wheels at the hub. Being fulltime 4wd, if the transfer case was in HI or LO and if the front wheels were not engaged, the truck would not go anywhere. I don't even think auto-hubs were available in '74.

I don't have any pictures of the 'puck', but here is an outside shot of a 3/4 ton 10-bolt that came out of an NP203 equiped truck:

There was just a dust cap pressed into the end of the hub.

As far as the torque specs go, are you talking about the spanner nuts inside that tightens in against the outer bearing? If so, then I have never really torqued these. I have tightened them until there is a little drag on the hub, then installed the jam nut.

 

Ok I see what your saying about the hubs. I guess I just called them auto hubs because they are not manual. And you are correct, they have the puck and dust cover. On the transfer case shifter it reads from the dash back L-Loc, Lo, N, H, H Loc. Thae transfer has to be in gear or the truck will not move, just like your are saying. We are on the same page.

And thanks for the tip on the spanner nut. That is the one I was talking about.

 

As far as the wheel bearing nuts go u want to just tighten them to take out the slack.Check for slack like you would check the ball joints by prying with one hand on top and one on the bottom of the tire and trying to wiggle it in and out. Once you don't feel any slack check to see if your lock will fit if not just tighten the inner nut just enough to align the lock, depending on the style it has. Then just install the outer nut and snug it, just don't over tighten it because it can get really hard to take off after it has run along time. I personally don't use a certain spec but I've been doing this kinda work in shops for almost 20yrs and found what works best and what doesn't. I hope this helps. I'm pretty sure if you want to add a set of manual hubs you can on all the axles anymore, they aren't that expensive. I know that I've done so many 4x4 mods it aint funny and I always made sure that they had manual hubs on them cause not many ppl want full time 4x4. Your locale NAPA or other part stores can order them or you can find them on hear. I'd just suggest going with a good name brand if you can afford it. I've used alot of Superwinch and Warner hubs and they work great and you can get replacement parts for them. Oh and when you packed your wheel bearings did you take the spindle off. There is a caged needle bearing for the axle on the back of it that seems to never get greased and goes bad.