[Mike57]

I had an issue with the vacuum hubs on my 2009 Jimny on the weekend. Started the car on Sunday morning after having driven all day Saturday in low range and the 4WD lights were flashing. Confirmed pretty quickly that this was because the hubs were not locked but I could not see any reason for it. Tried disconnecting the battery and a range of other possibles like turning the key to the on position and then off again multiple times but the control system would not respond. Ended up driving out in 2WD low range with assistance from my mates. It all came good after about 3 hours while I was just idling waiting to be hooked up for another tow over a steep section.

Anyway it is time for the conversion I think.

From searching it seems that I need:
A BenT manual hub conversion kit
A set of manual hubs from a Siera
To remove and block off the vacuum hoses coming out of the vacuum controller below the battery.
To block off the lines going into the hubs.

Is this all I need to do?

I have a few other questions:
How does the control system know when the hubs are engaged. Is there a switch or a contact within the hub or is it just sensing that the vacuum has been applied?
Are all Siera hubs the same?
I have ABS but I assume that the ABS sensor is nowhere near to the locking hub and won't interfere with the conversion
Can I lock the hubs and then drive in 2WD without causing any damage (I don't see why not but just thought it was worth asking)
Any recommendations for the brand of hubs?

Many thanks

Mike