[2000 gv]

I've noticed that a lot of people seem to put freewheeling hubs on there grand vitaras. Is this worth doing? And do you get any gains from it? Cheers

[fordem]

Depends on what you're trying to achieve.

The GV has a pneumatic freewheel clutch in the front differential, so there's not a lot to be gained by adding free wheel hubs - there is a miniscule improvement in fuel economy, but I'd say, not enough to offset the cost of the hubs.

On the other hand, the pneumatic clutch assembly is a known weak spot, and folks either weld it solid or replace it, and you'll need the free wheel hubs when you do that.

[tonyevans]

The CV's still spin ALL the time without the free wheel hubs even though the diff does not.

[2000 gv]

Does it wear down the cvs? Or is it not worth doing?

[ninjamoses]

Its only when you lift them and the CV angles get a bit more severe where you might want to do it from a durability stand point. As mentioned above though, a lot of people swap to a Vitara diff centre to get rid of the vacuum operated crap in which case you'd definitely want them.

Pros:
Less wear
Very slight improvement in fuel economy
Ability to use low range in 2WD. Can be useful for slow speed manovering etc.

Cons:
You need to get out every time you want to put it in 4WD

[2000 gv]

Ok cheers I've got 3" lift in the front so it may be worth investing In.

[Gwagensteve]

If your CV angles are severe enough that wear through road use is an issue, they are too severe to be reliable off road.

In my opinion the advantage is to get rid of the terrible pneumatic engagement nonsense Suzuki fitted.

[henno]

Gwagensteve wrote:

In my opinion the advantage is to get rid of the terrible pneumatic engagement nonsense Suzuki fitted.

Definitely this, which is why I got them.

However, I still haven't collected all of the necessary pieces of the puzzle to finally put together a bomb-proof steel diff, so for now the alloy (glass) front diff is still in place. I chucked the free wheeling hubs on as cheap insurance anyway after blowing one diff, so that I can just unlock the hubs and hobble home should I munch another to bits.