I just put in a new set of Warn hubs about 3 months ago and left them locked through the winter. On a recent trip I noticed that when I went above 120km (75mph) there was a strange vibration that went on and off every second or two and the faster I went the more pronounced the vibrating would become. Have I ruined these hubs already? Any help would be great! PS the problem goes away as soon as the hubs have been unlocked so it's definitely not an unbalanced wheel or something like that.

 

No, you haven't ruined the hubs. Most likely you have a Ujoint with some slack in it or getting ready to fail. You have to remember, when the hubs are locked, you are spinning 5 Ujoints. And running all winter with them locked, but not driven will probably wear on them funny. Just my opinion. But I'm pretty certain you didn't ruin the hubs.

 

Now that you mention it that sounds right. When I go to turn right with 4 wheel engaged it hops pretty badly and I have had that problem before and it was u-joints. Thanks for the help. I repped ya

 

I will bet that you will stil have hop even with new u-joints. That is a 4x4 item.
It is trying topush your truck staight. 4x4 fully engaged is not really ment to turn sharp corners....

 

Racenitro is right. The hop probably won't go away but Cody is also correct that you probably have a axle u-joint or driveshaft u-joint going out.

 

Just my two cents... When I put my manual hubs back in (and Warns are what I'm talkin about in particular) I put about two tablespoons of 90w gear oil in there before I throw the hubs back on.
When you think of it, while the hubs are un-locked, the stub axle is not spinning - sitting still - while the hub, and the rest of the wheel of course, is spinning around it. So... the only "bearing" that supports that very end of the stub axle is that little strip of plastic that is inside the Warn hub mechanism.
Designed to fail. And they don't offer a replacement. As far as I know.
Mile Marker is a bronze disc or something more sturdy.
Still... with absolutely no lube - it just can't last too long.
I used to leave out two of those little allen head cap screws at 12 and 10 o'clock positions and squirt the gear lube in there. One to go in - one to let some air out.

And I'm sure a purist will chime in with a oil/grease compatibility question, so you are on your own as far as making a decision.
I am just tellin ya I did it for years. No prob.

And turning on the pavement with the 4wd locked in is what you do just prior to buying new axles.

 

Gear oil is a good idea Bobcat!

 

Sounds like some good thinking there Bobcat. I will have to give it a go today. As for the hop thing I know it happens all the time in 4 wheel it was just that it was much much more pronounced that it had been previously. I found out the hard way not too turn on pavement with 4 wheel engaged, it ruined half my front end.

 

When it comes to warn hubs, how would i go about greasing them up? I doubt the last owner of my truck kept them greased (based on what I have seen so far) and I would hate to have to buy new hubs.
Would I just pull everything apart and coat in gear lube? surely it cant be that simple....

 

It is that simple. No grease, ever. It cakes up and makes the hub stick. Gear lube or just a good light lube.

 

Great idea Bobcat, reps sent. I'm doing that today. BTW: I leave my hubs locked all winter too never had trouble with them...nothing...nada...zippo, they are Warn premiums but I'm still adding oil to em.

 

RD, do I need to jackup the front end of anything like that? Just unscrew the caps and go to town? I have never torn into a hub and I am afraid to mess anything up

 

Alright. I'll break down the warn hub setup for you guys. Seeing as i've disentigrated one.


The warn hub is obviously a gear, duh, and its a free spin on the inside with a spring latch to lock in (unforunatly cheep) metal, (which is good. so they are a weak point instead of your drive train.)

On the inside of the warn hub, there is a spiralock that holds it all together.
It's machined well and the free spin is held up by a brass/bronze bushing (i'm not sure which type of metal it is) which is in the back of the collar, (closest to the inside of the truck)
Its about 1/4 inch wide and 1/8th inch thick.
There should be a few washers in there as well, which keep things from shreading appart. If you are not sure if you have the washers or not, take a picture and send it to me, (make sure you PM me so i know) and i'll tell you if its there or not.
If this washer dissapears, ... your hub is destine for destruction. If you destroy a hub while driving, it will destroy your spindle and bearings!!! I know, I just put on a brand new spindle, and bearings and luckily i saved the spindle, cause they are hard to find. New bearings and a grinder later to get the frozen race off the spindle its all good again.

The hubs shoudln't be greased beacause, grease attracts dirt.
Grease attracs dirt. and it will seap out continually while driving, no matter how little you put in, so your rims will look like ka ka.

Throw in some oil or something to make sure its all good, gear old, tranny fluid. something. just so its lubricated.
Silicone lubricant, wd40, doesn't matter. as long as its a light spray that will stick and coat.

I should go and take pictures of my old lockouts for you guys so you can see what happens if you dont take care of them or some of the washers dissapear. The washers will wear out, its a weak point in the hub.
I was originally going to make a washer/bushing pack to rebuild the hubs, but nobody seemed interested in some hardcore CNC machined fun. So i scraped the idea.


If you want to take your hubs out, just pop the bolts out, and get the retaining ring on the collar of the hub off, and just put a couple of the socketheaded screws back into the lockout and pull it out. There is only 1 ring holding it in.
I suggest checking your bearings for play at this point too, if they are sloppy, i suggest giving them a snug. Just don't go overboard with the tightening.

Okay, thats all for now.
outside for pictures i go!

 

Okay, So this is what happens when the washers go bye bye.
You can probably not tell, but the full lockout is actually missing the washer, the spirolock is the only thing left holding the hub together. There is supposeto be a thin metal washer inbetween them.
On the right, the inside of the hub has its spiralock left, but the rest of the hub is gone, disentigrated. Gone, bye bye. You get the point. The spiralock didn't fail on this one, the wahser is gone though, but the other washer that goes on the bottom, failed, Or i didn't have it, so i didn't put it in there.
On the bottom right, it looks like a washer, but thats the spiralock that holds the bottom of the hub together by the bronze bushing.
So, in essence of this, I make these long posts, WITH PICTURES! so you can all learn about some hub safty!
I'll gladly answer all your quetions about it. Just make sure you.. uh let me know you posted them in here. I kinda go MIA sometimes.

 

That is great info Talyn. Reps sent. I still have my factory ones in there but I try to keep them clean and inspected on a regular basis.

PM (preventative maintenance) is the key to longevity.