Hello, I have a '93 Ford F-150 4X4 with auto-locking hubs. I want to have manual-locking hubs installed.

I did not think this would be too costly; however, when I called a Ford dealer, they said that each hub would need to be replaced at a cost (parts only) of $175.00 per hub. Is this true?

 

I'm not sure about hubs, I would call around. I just called my dealer about a tranny shaft. They wanted $200 for the part, I then called PRTC and they wanted $50 for the part. 150% markup seems a bit high to me.

 

Can you change them yourself? this is not a hard job, you can buy a good set lockouts ( Warn , Milemarker, my preferance would be Warn though )at Autozone or Advanced auto for less than $70.00 for the pair! You can change them with simple hand tools, allen wrench, snap ring pliers, etc . these hubs come with good instructions for the do it yourselfer, those auto locking hubs will fail with no warning at all. I had a 90 big Bronco with those hubs , one day they worked & one day they did'nt work any more! they are'nt much count , I tore them completely apart to see what was wrong with them , they were wore enough that they were slipping on the teeth that lock them up. not a very sturdy hub. They will leave you setting sooner or later. ( stuck or whatever )

 

Oh yeah , that price for the lockouts through Ford is probably right , don't know for sure though. If you want a good laugh price the automatic locking hubs through them! I don't know your situation but if you can't work on your truck yourself , maybe someone you know can help you out. You will be putting lots of $$$ back in your pocket.

 

I have been thinking of doing this, too. I also have a '93 with the auto locks. As far as I have been able to find out, you should be able to use the same hubs, but you will need a new spindle nut, or conversion kit. I've seen the spindle nuts on the net for @ $25...

 

Vapor, I did this changeover my self on my Big Bronco that I mentioned, there is no changeover kit or buying a new spindle nut, you just simply remove the auto locking hubs & replace them with the lock out hubs, you don't have to disturb the wheel bearings unless you want to repack them with fresh grease, on my Bronco all that was involved was to leave a c-shaped or half circle metal clip off the outer axle stub behind the auto locking hub , then just literally change the hub over to the lock out hub, very easy! You can change them both out in an hour if your kinda mechanical, but like I said they come with easy to follow instructions , I put the Milemarker hubs on my Bronco, ( because I would have had to order the Warn's and since the auto lockers had puked & there was 4 " of snow on the ground I needed them now!! ) and the instructions with these hubs included specific info on changing from auto hubs to lock outs, ( shows you exactly what to leave out & retain ). Do it before winter gets here!

 

Super,
do you know offhand what that metal clip is for? It's not a lock for the spindle nut, is it? I can look this up tonight in my Helm manuals, but I seem to remember there being a difference in the way the spindle nut was locked between the manual and auto hubs...

The kit I saw is a Warn part #, and sells for $34 at 4wdstore.com . They claim you'd need it to install the Warn premium hubs on a formerly auto hub Ford. Along with the hubs, that brings the total cost to @ $120 at that particular site. Ouch!

 

Here's the email I got from contacting Warn directly:

>Good Morning -

>You use the conversion kit if your automatics
>are held on by 3 capscrews. If they are held
>on by 5 a conversion kit is not necessary.

>The reason for the kit is to replace the OEM >adjustment and bearing lock nuts because those
>parts will not work with our hub. If you do
>not use this conversion kit you run the risk
>of the hub backing off and loosing the wheel. >It is a must!!!

The 93's use 5 capscrews, not sure about the 94's, but the 95's definately switched to 3. Anyway,
might be useful info for those thinking about
Warn hubs....

 

Vapor, I was unaware of the 5 screws and 3 screw issue, my 90 had the 5 torx headed screws with the auto locking hubs, I think the C shaped washer was just to hold the axle in place, to force it outward. The hubs I bought were just the cheaper model lockouts Milemarker makes, they had a black center in them. The spindle nuts your talking about are the newer type one piece unit that are the racheting type.But i'm not aware that they won't work with either hub. My 90 had the old style spindle nuts, inner nut with the notch sticking out off it , then the one with all the holes in it , then the outer nut. Once past the 90 model I've not messed them any at all, I do all my own bearing work, stuff like these hubs, brakes , suspension work , ball joints , tie rods etc, so I've not had the chance to work on newer stuff.

 

It is always a good idea to get a quote from your ford dealer for any repair job. A good laugh is always refreshing. One of my automatic hubs decided to quit at a particularly bad time in the Colorado Rockies last winter. When I got home I got a local mechanic to replace both hubs with Warn hubs, and re-grease the wheel bearings while he was at it. Total cost was $160. My '94 F150 didn't need the conversion kit.

 

unfortunatly the truth was told by your ford rep. However I went with the heavy duty warn hubs from my local auto store they look good and work great on my 92 f150.The total bill was 79.99 plus two hours labor.This is an easy fix.

 

The ford dealers are always overpriced on these sorts of replacements. I had my front factory autolocks repalced with a set of Warn premium hubs for $190.00 for both wheels! A reputable off-road performance center did the job for me. I'd just check around for prices. Also . . . you are smart to replace the auto hubs. They are crap. Mine went out at 34,000 miles and my truck was babied.

 

Totally agree with the above comments. I had exactly the same experience in my '96 F150. Since Warn made the optional manual OEM units, I contacted them via their website. Got all the part number info as well as a recommended Warn dealer in my area. Warn was great. The local Warn dealer was great. Went with Warn Premium hubs and needed the conversion kit. The whole thing cost slightly less than $200 and I couldn't be more pleased with the product, service or money spent. By comparison, the local Ford dealer wanted $750 PER SIDE to install the OEM (non-premium) manual hubs.