My hubs are not working...One doesn't even turn nor will the 4X4 engage... I am considering just buying hubs so I'll trust the 4Wheel drive more...I was wanting some opinions as too which to replace my original hubs with...Would I be better off buying used hubs (OEM 80$) ebay or new aftermarket hubs...I am sure the Warn Premium would probably be my best option but there near 200$ and I was hoping to stay near 100-125 if possible...Ive seen aftermarkets for near that price....Just wanting some advice from those that have tried different hubs....Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.....Thanks...
I spoke with the previous owner and they have been serviced more than once but seem to keep going bad shortly after servicing....I'm thinking they are at the end of their life..... I would trust a new set more but not sure if the aftermarket hubs are trustworthy,,,,, Here is a set I found online for <100 $
I certainly wouldn't buy hubs off the internet, Warn makes good stuff and come with a good warranty as well.
While you're doing the hubs, you may as well check the bearings. If the hubs are bad they might have gotten water in them, this will kill the bearings fast.
I would imagine that if the previous owner was 'servicing' these hubs, and they were still going bad, they weren't servicing them properly. The Aisin hubs (OEM) are, IMHO, better than the Warn, and are pretty easy to service. Before I purchased anything, I would take the lockers off (the 6 screws closest to you when you look at the hubs), and pull the lockers off and inspect them. Here is a great video on servicing them:
They are simple. And, if you find that some of the interior parts are bent out of shape, or the springs are no good, these hubs were also used on Toyota trucks - most of the interior parts are interchangeable.
If you have to pay someone to service your hubs you may find it easier to install the superwinch. I have friends with them installed and they perform well. Very easy to install with only basic tools, you may not even have to remove wheel from car. Sounds like someone took your old hubs apart and either bent something or they were not properly serviced. I have used both Warn and Asin and prefer the Warn for their ease of servicing..
Hmm....not quite sure why you would have to pay someone to service your hubs, no? Super simple to do. The guy in the video is doing it with one hand, while holding the camera with the other!
Well, yes, with most things I would agree with you. But for the hubs:
tools - allen wrench to remove them, grease.
place - anywhere - kitchen table, perhaps?
ability - ah, well strange, this one. Years ago when I had a pretty good mechanic doing most of my service, I would have my hubs serviced in the autumn. When I would pick the car up, the lockers would move, although not 'like butter'. By the time the first snowfall came, I would need a pliers to move the locking mechanism from free to lock. I finally decided to do this on my own, and was pretty appalled when I removed the hubs. The way the parts of the hub fit together are not necessarily 'common sense' (but easy with the diagrams or video). My mechanic had been greasing all (fortunately) but then not putting the locker together properly, so that when you were able to turn the locker at all, it was never locking on to the hub anyway. Parts (particularly the 'follower' as shown here, another great instruction for the locker: Manual Hub Clutch Assembly
were mashed completely out of shape, springs stretched and basically unusable, etc. I got replacement parts for free out of a wrecked Toyota truck (Aisin hubs as well), and rebuilt them. The moral is, these hubs are not 'intuitive' just because someone is a mechanic, and really are basically easy enough to grease and clean up on your own.
Sorry if I ruffled your feathers the poster was looking for advice on after market hubs in his first post and I thought that is what I first answered. Just as a point of interest my hubs were held on with cap bolts from the factory and no allen screws. It is up to the owner to decide if he wishes to replace or rebuild.
I do have a great garage, plenty of tools and I am a decent "shade tree" mechanic....My point is this...These hubs have been service over and over and they keep failing after 6 months to a year of use...Apparently they have lived there lifespan and then some... I could service them again and get another 6 months to a year out of them but then I will get a breakdown...Maybe in a remote area in winter..Maybe have my tracker stuck...Thats why I am considering replacing them....To me that just makes sense....
My point is what exactly is 'wearing out'? There is not much in the hub that I can see that would wear out, if they are being serviced properly. They basically consist of a couple of rather hefty gears and a couple of springs. Feathers not ruffled at all - we are just giving opinions, no? Aisins are basically stronger, no plastic inside, easier to repair. Simple enough to do a google search of aisin v warn v superwinch.
You seem really confident in these stock hubs...It is worth it to me to put the time into it and disassemble them before I purchase new ones...I will attempt that and post pics if I run across something unusual ...Maybe I would be better off to service them..I just want to be confident the 4X4 will work when I need it...I got stuck the other day in a little hole that I would have came right out of with 4x4 but the hubs wouldn't engage...I had to get pulled out (I hate it when that happens ) anyway I will check into these hubs before I buy....Thanks a bunch for the input you may have saved me some much needed cash...Max
I am really confident about these hubs. Frankly, when my hubs weren't working the way I thought they should (and again, having them 'serviced' each autumn and failing by the first snowfall), I did a lot of research in what to replace them with. From what I read, most people coveted these Aisin hubs - going to junkyards to find them and restore them (as new ones are extremely expensive) rather than buying new from other brands. Again, of course, all a matter of opinion, naturally. But the internet was weighted very heavily for the Aisin. So, I studied exactly what could possibly go wrong with the Aisins, took my hubs off, found that they had never been reassembled properly, etc. Fortunately, they had always been greased, so the servicing of them was not too difficult. But you have people who take their hubs off and find this: Aisin IFS Hub Rebuild
Total rust, etc. And STILL go through the difficulty of restoring them, because they are just that good. So yes, I would certainly recommend reading all you can about servicing the Aisin, watching and studying the video linked above, becoming familiar with them, and then servicing them. Chances are, unless when you take the lockers off you find awful rust inside, you may only need to service the lockers (which are the usual source of difficulty). There is literally nothing in them to break (unlike other brands). Certainly, you have nothing to lose by trying to service them.
Aisins were standard equipment on Toyota and Isuzu trucks. There might be a question of spline count on the clutch gear, but other than that, the interior is pretty much the same, and many of the parts can be interchanged. The springs and follower in my hubs now come from a 1988 Toyota Hilux, exact fit, no problem.
OK...So I removed my right side hub today (the one that wouldn't engage) and its worse than I thought. I'm afraid a simple service will not do the trick. First of all the spring was broke, all parts were severely rusted and the channels on the main part of the hub was rusted as well as pitted....I tried filing the channels to make it smooth but they just need replaced I believe....anyway my original though was superwinch hubs, so I'll probably buy a set and keep these factory ones or ebay them for parts only.....Thanks for all your input
P.S. I was going to take pics but hands were way to nasty to use my Iphone....
Anyway, sorry they were in such bad shape (although I still would have fixed them....)
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