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Product Review: Warn Wheel Hub Conversion

By: Rick Boiros

Warn Photograph

This year, Warn Industries has entered several new products into the 4x4 market place. The kit pictured above is designed to convert Jeep CJ vehicles with 27 spline outer axle ends to a premium internal style locking hub. The kit is also well suited for rear full floating axles, which are also produced by Warn.

The benefits of the kit include a substantial increase in strength over externally bolted aluminum bodied hubs, elimination of hubs loosening, better sealing of the wheel bearings from water entering through and around the hub body. Additionally, this kit is an excellent upgrade to CJ’s from 1982-1986 with 5 bolt style hubs. The 5 bolt hubs are light duty and not strong enough for serious off-road use or oversized tires.

 

The complete kit, including locking hubs, wheel hubs, retaining rings and locknuts sells for about $240 from larger mail order companies. New wheel bearings and studs are not included but are recommended.

I recently installed this kit on the front of my CJ7 equipped with a Dana 44 front end and Jeep ‘big’ 11x1-1/8" disk brakes. Some highlights of the installation are as follows:

  1. Remove caliper, old locking hubs and rotor from spindle. A wheel bearing socket is a near necessity.
  2. Separate original wheel hub from rotor by driving the 5 wheel studs through from the front.
  3. Install bearing races in new hubs supplied in kit. Inner and outer are different.
  4. Press studs into new hub and rotor.
  5. Pack or repack bearings completely full of grease from the edge of the bearing.
  6. Coat inside of hubs with grease. Install inner bearing and new inner seal.
  7. Install rotor and outer bearing on spindle.
  8. Install inner washer and nut. The new nuts are a different style requiring a 4 prong hub socket, same as GM or full size Jeeps. Tighten inner nut to 50 lb. Ft., to seat bearing, back off 1/6 turn.
  9. Install lock washer. The lock washer has a series of spaced slots in it to engage 3 setscrews that go through the outer lock washer. A nice upgrade from the old bent washer setup.
  10. Install outer lock nut and torque to 50 lb. ft. and tighten 3 set screws in outer nut.
  11. Insert hub body into hub over axle splines, install retaining ring , screw locking hub to hub body.

That’s it! Very well designed and complete kit. Install time is about 1-2 hours.

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