I was just wondering if there were certain type of lock-outs that will keep out water and mud better than stock hubs. I just replaced mine on my 89 F250 with warn lock-outs because the stock ford ones were shattered. A wheel bearing shattered, which wore a grove in the spindle, which ground up mu lock-outs, which tore up the balljoints... Mud doesn't do good for a lubricator.... 500 bucks later they are all put together with new bearings, spindle, upper/lower ball joints, and warn hubs.

Is there a certain lock-out type that is better for mudding/off-roading than the warns? or after going on the trails, taking these apart and cleaning any left over mud out? Opinions, options....

 

None will keep out water too well....but pretty much any of them will keep mud out....IF the seals and o rings are good...Most people think warn premiums are the best ones...

 

Well, I replaced both sides with the Warns with new seals and orings. Hopefully this will work better than the origionals from ford.

 

The stockers on your truck were Warns....
If you're serious about wheeling in mud/water etc, you're just going to need to make checking/changing the lube in the diffs t-case etc and re-packing the front wheel bearings part of normal maintenance. Add greasing every u-joint on the truck and your steering to that list too.

 

And so I was told. lol. Now they are black and say warn on them instead of ford.

 

If the o-ring around either the **** or the outer ring is bad, it will leak. All of them do, some leak more than others, but they all leak. Muddy water is still that muddy water, so keeping it out is important. This is where preventative maintenace is key.
How often you look inside will determine the overall life of the front end. My lockouts come off every weekend. I wheel every weekend, and if the hub goes under water, the lockouts come off, its that simple.
Now, how do we keep, water out, well,,,,,we dont. However, we can limit the amount of water that can be allowed to enter.
Did you know that a plastic bottle of drinkng water or your favorite carbonated drink has the same diameter bottom as the lockout assembly?
What I am getting at, is that you can cut a plastic bottle about 4 inches up and slip it right over the hub and lockout assembly. It wall make a tight fit, and it will keep water out. The fit is tight enough that you will have to work at it a little bit, and you will have to fine tune your trimming depending on exactly which bottle you use. 1 liter bottles are easy to come by and they will keep a decent seal against the hub body without falling off. I wheel with them on my trucks all of the time, and since I started using them has drastically reduced the amount of mud and water the lockouts let by.
If you lose one, they are simple to replace. Cut another one, and slide it on.
Looks a little silly, but you hub internals are happy. Just keep in mind that the cut edge of the plastic bottle has to go over and rest past the chrome ring od the lockout itself, and seal against the hub body itself.

 

maguiver, thats a pretty good idea, and i never would have thought of that. why not go an extra step and duck it too so it is less likely to fall off or leak?

 

It really works fine the way it is. Just cut them and slip them on. Duct tape would be a pain after a couple of times or two. Cleaning that adhesive off might take more time than it is worth.
I use clear bottles so I can see if they fill with water. Slip them off when I get back to the area where I unlock the hubs. They fit inside of each other, and I throw them in with my tire pressure gear, and they are ready for use on the next trip. Cool part is, if I lose one, or smash one, a replacement is usually in the ice chest. Just empty another cold drink and use my pocket knife to make another.
They are recycleable too. Who says a truck with 44's and race gas cant be green??? Lol.
This has been a trick that we have been using for years. AT least as long as the plastic bottle, lol.
Some guys use some other vinyl or rubber type caps, I have seen latex gloves placed over the hub assembly, and various other things, but the plastic bottle bottom works about the best, and does not look too bad.
Like I said, no biggie when you lose one.

 

Thats a great Idea!! Ill try this the next time i go out. Thank you for the info