I've had Warn hubs for about 2 months now and with any luck I'll pop them out of the box and actually put them on tomarrow. Wahooo! This is gonna be better than when the Patriots won!

The auto hubs have worn out their welcome-no pun. They were cool when they worked, now they make a ton of noise and stick at the crappiest times...so out they go, in go the Warn's.

 

I think you'll be much happier with real manual locking hubs. They're much more reliable and stronger. Just remember 1 thing. Lock them in before you really need them. Although the Warn's generally lock in faster than the Ford hubs it's still alot nicer to be able to do it at your convienence while they're still above the mud or water. Since I see you're from the far north it's also really nice to have them locked in during winter conditions and be able to pull the xfer case lever into 4hi at any sane speed without worry.

 

I agree. But convincing the wife to get out of the truck in the middle of winter is tough.

 

Just out of curiosity, is it okay to drive around with the hubs locked all the time? I've forgotten to ulock them after going off-road and it sounds a lot different when you're cruising down the freeway @ 80 mph with locked hubs. Scared the h*!! out of me. I thought I broke something. Is there any difference as far as strain on the components, gas mileage, or is just all the same?

 

The chevys have their hubs permently locked(ie NP203). You should be OK. There are wheel bearings in there. Its not designed to have those puppies locked at 80, so don't do it again. Might consider regreasing the bearings and changing the front diff. gear oil.

Does the 4wd seem to work well now? Any wierd noises? Does Low still work?

Always unlock after 4wd-ing. The less stuff that moves the better.

 

I'd definately recommend not leaving them locked in and goin down the highway at 80. Last spring I supposed I either ticked someone off, or someone thought that it would be funny to lock in my hubs on my 89 bronco. Well, just happend that i was taking a road trip that weekend and I had no idea so, about 100 miles down the highway later i figured it out after all of my transfer case fluid had coated my undercarriage. I put some 90 weight in it til I got home for the summer, and on the way home to Texas the transfer case fell out! Ended up, just all of the bolts to the transmission had broken and the seals were all that were messed up, took it out and cleaned it, put it back in and drove it for about 3 months. Now the tranny is out. Oh well. Hope you have some better luck

 

GREAT CHOICE. I love Warn they make awesome products.

 

I had no such luck. After I got off the freeway, I got out of my truck, unlocked them, and since I've been if offroading several times with no problems. This was about a year and a half ago so I think I'm in the clear. But I definately won't make that mistake again!!! My truck has taken its fair share of abuse from me and it still lives to tell about it. Just yesterday I crashed straight into a 6" curb at about 15-20 mph. I was pulling out of a parking lot and I went up, then onto the grass. My attention was on avoiding on oncoming vehicle that was traveling too close to the middle of the driveway while beating the fast approaching rush of traffic and I never saw the curb coming. I fully expected to find damaged steering/suspension components as the impact jarred me pretty well. But after inspection, the only thing that seems to be off is my alignment. No biggy there. Built Ford Tough is more than just a slogan.