Warn Locking hubs, what do they do?
is it unlikely mine will go bad and i will never need the back ups? what do they actually do? what are mine worth if i list them on ebay?
They lock the front axleshaft to the wheel, engaging the four wheel drive. I would keep them around as a backup, but just make sure they fit before you need them.
Often times stock hubs will not have splines that are as deep as those in reputable aftermarket hubs (Warn, MileMarker, etc.). Stock hubs also often have plastic parts. The warn hubs replace most of those plastic parts with metal parts, even if some of it is pot-metal.
The Warn premium hubs on my F-150 are leaps and bounds stronger than the stock hubs that were on the truck. Actually on the truck when I got it was one stock hub and one Warn regular hub. The stock hub was broken and the regular Warn hub was still working but I repalced it anyway and that hub is now my backup0/spare hub that I keep with me when wheelin'.






