living with the Warn hub kit

[John]

Okay, so it looks like I'm going to go ahead and do this. 5 on 4.5" hubs and inners.
I never bothered before because my set up just wasn't up to putting my stress on the TJ shafts I've been running. So I don't really know anything about these things. Install is simple enough, but what are the 'gotcha's' that come with having this on the Jeep? Anything to have to keep tightening? Changes the width of the axle? Anything?

[Robert J. Yates]

No real gotchas once you get past the the thought that you will have added another maintenance item to your Jeep. They are servicable so therefore, require inspection.

I look at mine once a year and that seems to be fine with a simple regreasing. Using a current/new version will give you the least amount of headaches as Warn has pretty much eliminated the bugaboos that were in the earlier kits - this is where the idea that you have to keep a very close eye on the tightness of the spindlenuts comes in as that used to be a problem.

The conversion will add about 5/8's-3/4's of an inch to each side of your track - this is because the hub sits on top of the rotor hat. Other than that, install and enjoy.

[Jeff Weston]

It will increase the track width by 3/4" per side, though you really wouldn't notice it looking at the Jeep. One gotcha' I can think of is tracking down and machining the rotors. Most of the rotors you'll find out there are Chinese imports so that is one thing to consider. As for maintenance, I've never had anything loosen up. I think Warn has pretty much eliminated all those problems. The bearings are re-packable unlike the factory sealed units. Overall, I think it's a great mod due to axle strength, simplicity of trail fixes and the ability to unlock the hubs.

[Jeff Weston]

Dang, it looks like I plagiarized from Robert's paper!

[Robert J. Yates]

Originally posted by Jeff Weston
Dang, it looks like I plagiarized from Robert's paper!

[John]

Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

[mrblaine]

I've seen this added width number bandied about and finally decided to measure it exactly.

It is .920 per side. 80 thousandths shy of a full inch per side. What everyone overlooks is the actual thickness of the hubs themselves.

[John]

So my front is getting wider and my rear is getting narrower

[Stu Olson]

John,

I put my hub converison in a year ago last October. Last month, I took them down for their annual inspection (as Robert mentioned). All was fine.....so the bearings were hand packed with fresh grease and put back in place with a new seal. My buddy and I did ours together....by the time we got to the second vehicle, we had things flowing pretty smooth.

[John]

Well then I just have to figure out how I'm going get the hub out past these hub centers

[Jeff McRae]

Based on what I saw of you on Saturday, your rear end ain't getting narrower

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by John
Well then I just have to figure out how I'm going get the hub out past these hub centers

Send me the centers and I will have them machined to clear the hub body.

They look like just the standard fare bolt on wheel center. Is there something bizarre about them?

[John]

Nope, nothing bizarre about them at all.

[jeepik]

just take a hole saw and cut the hole out


those centers are made out of aluminum, shouldn't be too hard to cut

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by jeepik
just take a hole saw and cut the hole out


those centers are made out of aluminum, shouldn't be too hard to cut

Holesaws don't really like cutting over other holes. It can be done, but they really like to pilot off of the drill bit.

[JEEP_TJ_FREAK]

Originally posted by mrblaine
Holesaws don't really like cutting over other holes. It can be done, but they really like to pilot off of the drill bit.

Really really like to pilot off the bit, like to cut a full hole too.