4WD Hubs?

[Tubbyman30]

Hi, my 01 F250 has those auto locking hubs on it with the transfer case control on the dash, and the o-ring on the drivers side hub must be bad, because I had it apart, and there was quite alot of water and mud in the locking unit while the passenger side was clean and dry. The bearing inside the locking unit was not moving freely, so i lubed it, and reassembled it. I plan on replacing them in the near future.

I was wondering if you can swap the auto locking hubs for the Warn Hubs that I see on the trucks with the floor shift 4WD?

[GrampyJim]

Yes, you can use Warn hubs but you will lose the auto locking feature...

My experience with this sytem reveals that they are, generally, undermaintained... Once something doers break, the parts are blamed and substitution is the usual result.... What-ever floats your boat.

My customers work in the northern Alberta oil patch - located in the great arboreal forest. They prefer not to wait until they are stranded before they maintain their 4X4 system. At some point between 30,000 and 60,000 kms, we perform a spindle service - replacing the sacrificial parts (steering knuckle seal, unit bearing O-ring and axle tube dust seal) as a matter of course. Spindle bearings are inspected and dealt with as necessary as are drive axle u-joints.

Much is going to depend on your level of comfort as well as the climatology in your area (being stranded in a spot that has no cell service... features wolf packs or bears... and can deliver -40 or worse for temps) has a way of making owners believe in preventive maintenance...

Bottom line.... maintain your front hubs properly and there is no need to substitute parts - you will retain the convenience of "shift on the fly" and all you ever need do is perform PM at your convenience.

Some owners prefer to drive from one breakdown to the next... this is when your truck announces to you that it doesn't really care what your plans are... "Feed me, Seymour....". Some owners call <THIS> "maintenance".

[Tubbyman30]

[quote=GrampyJim;1756797]Yes, you can use Warn hubs but you will lose the auto locking feature]

Thats great. I just bought the truck 2 months ago, and it was maintained in some aspects, but not on others. But I can do without the auto lock feature, I'd rather have the Warn Hubs on it.

Is it bad paractice to put anti-seize oon the splines of the locking unit?

Someone had said it is not recommended?

[smotrs]

Originally Posted by GrampyJim

Some owners prefer to drive from one breakdown to the next... this is when your truck announces to you that it doesn't really care what your plans are... "Feed me, Seymour....". Some owners call <THIS> "maintenance".

The smart people call it a "repair" due to improper maintenance.

[GrampyJim]

[quote=Tubbyman30;1756879]

Originally Posted by GrampyJim

Yes, you can use Warn hubs but you will lose the auto locking feature]

Thats great. I just bought the truck 2 months ago, and it was maintained in some aspects, but not on others. But I can do without the auto lock feature, I'd rather have the Warn Hubs on it.

Is it bad paractice to put anti-seize oon the splines of the locking unit?

Someone had said it is not recommended?

Not being sure of which splines you mean... what can I say? There are a LOT of splines going on here.

Everything I do inside a vacuum operated hub has an over-riding thought... Tomorrow could be -40F... have I created a concern?

Usually <something> is better than nothing... I cases like this, Lubriplate can be our friend

[tinkerr]

hey jim, does the fiber disc(that's what i call it} in the locking hub get any lube on it. i did ball joints and seals, but wasn't sure if that disk got any lube. thanks