This is an excellent thread. Very informative.
I took my truck to local shop to replace the wheel bearings on my X and the mechanic called and told me that "a plastic ring with a thrust washer" in the auto lock hub had fallen apart in his hand when he removed it.
I did a search online and found the "plastic ring" (and I assume the thrust washer) was called a "Fixed Cam Assembly" and was not serviced separately and in fact, were NLA - in a new hub. I told the mechanic to put it back together and I'd fix it.
Sounds like the fix is to replace the hub with a used one or convert to manual hubs.
I don't intend to do any rock crawling with the truck. I just need 4WD for safety. My X is an "extra car" that I need to keep as a low-cost backup for my other cars in bad weather (I live at 8200 feet -- snows a lot here). With cost control in mind, I've got a set of eBay cheapo manual hubs on the way and will be replacing the factory auto hubs when they arrive. I do have a question or two, though.
First, I assume I will be tossing both pieces of the Fixed Cam Ass'y (ring and t-washer). Is that a safe assumption? Also...While the unit I ordered comes complete with 6 new allen-head bolts I've read that the bolts supplied are typically too long and should be replaced by shorter units. Is this true and do I need special grade 8 bolts?
Thanks for your advice!