Hello Everyone!

Ivew been working on my newly acquired 1991 F150 4x4, getting some things into working order again. On my "To Do" list is to replace the front Axle U joints, and I think that when I do that job, I want to also replace the Factory Ford Automatic Lockouts.

Now, I will start by saying this. The Auto Lockouts are functioning fine at this time, But I have had them fail before, And I am dealing with a truck that will be 25 years old next month. My mind has been set that I'd like to replace them with manual lockouts. This truck will be doing some daily driving, pasture and field driving at times, some light towing, and so on, so I dont need "extreme duty" lockouts, however, I do want quality parts.

I have gotten Warn hubs in the past, I wasnt overly impressed with the standard hubs and the plastic centers, however, the premium hubs that I put on my Mom's 1995 F250, with the metal centers, have held up for many years and many miles.

I've been doing 2 wheel drive trucks for the last decade or so, so I'm jumping back into the 4 wheel drive market, and wondering if Warn is the industry standard, or if there's other options out there? A quick search on Summit's website shows mile marker and superwinch hubs as well, I'm sure there are plenty of others on the market.

So, for a guy whos not going to be doing excessive off roading, and looking to keep this project on a reasonable budget, what do you all suggest?

 

warn manual hubs

 

Warn Premium hubs. You won't regret it.

 

People don't seem to like them anymore, but I replaced the stuck factory lockouts on my 77 F250 (Dana 44 front axle) when I bought the truck in 1998 with the lifetime warrantee Mile Markers. Mainly because they were available at the NAPA I went to in SoCal, and were affordable (no idea what they cost now).
Ihave never had any problems with them and I have put over fifty thousand miles on the truck since then, mainly doing what you plan to do, although I did do some exploring in the desert in Nevada.


I also have one hub gear from a full time 44 in the tool box just incase a hub blows when I am far from a road. Six bolts and a couple of snap rings and I can drive out.
My experience is buy the best parts you can afford; pay once, cry once.


Robert

 

Superwinch without a doubt

They are all stainless and they are only about $75

Warn is over priced

 

Didn't realize the super with were that cheap. I got my warns from a truck destined for the scrapper for $10. Gonna look into those superwinch ones if these break.

 

Warn Premiums are the industry gold standard (and are priced that way).

I had a set of Warn Standards and will never try them again. The 1/4 turn, spring loaded dial with a detent on one of them frequently snapped to the "lock" position on its own.

Other people have used and liked either the Milemarker or Superwinch hubs. I don't have any experience with them and chose to spend the money on Warn Premiums on my truck. But they are less expensive and may well be as good (or at least good enough), so I certainly wouldn't try to steer you away from them.

 

ive heard a few horror stores of how the iowa salted roads and mile markers didnt get along, so I think I'm goingto steer clear of them.

I know for a fact that I wont be going with Warn Standards. I guess it comes down to Superwinches or Warn Premiums. I appriciate all the input, and will let you all know my final decision.

 

I had Superwinch hubs on my truck for twenty years.
They worked just fine until a bad u-joint destroyed the splines.

The tuliped allen screws are a huge pain when they seize.
It might be wise to remove them and lube the heads every year or two.

I replaced them with Warn premium hubs.

 

I have had the superwinch hubs for 20 plus years as well and they still work great

 

I decided to dig out this thread, as im now getting ready to order hubs. I'm going with Warn Premiums, because I really dont want to mess with it twice. My new question is, do i need any sort of conversion kit, going from my ford auto locks to Warns? if it help, my current auto lock hubs are a 5 bolt design.

 

I think so. The auto hubs had some weird spindle nuts (that were apparently needed to provide a mechanically grounded point for the auto hubs to use?). You need to get a set of conventional spindle nuts, the kind that take the 4 (or 6) prong special socket to tighten / loosen. The hub manufacturers and retailers usually have them available. Or you can get a set at any auto parts store.