full floater 9' hub issue

[nickeboy]

I have a full floating 9" rear end. Warn hubs. The manual hubs are not engaging. Driveshaft spins. I can see the axle turning on the inside when hub is removed. I cant get the hub to engage. Should I just replace them or??

 

[DirtDonk]

Maybe someone is familiar enough with them to know what might be the issue, but the only answer I have is to take them apart and look at what, if anything, is broken.

With that type of lockout it can be a busted spring that's not pushing the locking collar into engagement with the axle shaft. Or it could be that the relatively weak (as compared to the rest of the assembly) lockout simply busted up into pieces inside the hub.

Check it out and see what's up.
You can maybe still get new lockouts (they were specifically modified units, weren't they?) or maybe find a drive-slug instead.
Not sure if those are standard units for some other application, but the slug seems like the best way around future reliability issues.

Speaking which... Did yours leak oil ever? Or did it and was fixed?

Good luck.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Oh, are you running an open diff, or locker? If an open, maybe you're lucky and only one lockout is malfunctioning. If a locker, then I would suspect that both are somehow buggered.

Paul

 

[Apogee]

Do you need the hubs for flat towing or something? If not, then I'd just replace them with drive slugs and be done with it. Otherwise, the Warn hubs aren't that complicated or difficult to remove and inspect for function. I would suspect that if something had grenaded inside the hub, there would be enough shrapnel to catch and hitch at times, so maybe they're just not engaging for some reason.

 

[nickeboy]

I bought these axles from someone who used to flat tow. I do not. I also do not know what a slug is. I'm running an ARB air locker. I did open up the drivers side hub and found some metal shavings etc., but nothing obvious. I put it back together and was able to lock it out and got it working again. However it did pop back out and stopped working shortly after. So, are slugs the way to go in this setup?

 

[nickeboy]

Paul - never leaked oil, but I've only had them 2 years.

 

[SteveL]

Get some drive flanges. I had nothing but trouble with the warn hubs in the rear. Also if you're .not running outer seals on your axle they leak gear oil everywhere.

 

[nickeboy]

Picture of the warn hub

 

[Broncobowsher]

Drive slugs replace the lockout with a slug of metal. No knobs to turn, it is just connected. Some splines on the inside for the axle, some more splines on the outside to drive the wheel flange, no moving parts, nothing selectable.

The Warn full float kits were a neat idea, sold a lot of them, but a bit fragile in real use. There was a redesign that made them better but still not good enough. And they have been off the market for over a decade now.

 

[DirtDonk]

And the drive flange Steve is talking about is just the same thing as the "drive slug" mentioned in the other thread, but by a different name.

Paul

 

[nickeboy]

Anyone have a link to what to buy? or do I need to figure out more info before buying?

 

[ntsqd]

Would likely need to know what the axle diameter & spline count is (as I recall this is unique or at least uncommon), and what the wheel hub application is (i.e. Dana 44, Dana 60 or?). Should be able to search the terms mentioned above to find vendors for the slugs.

 

[SteveL]

When I was thinking of upgrading to better hubs the spline couthnt matched up to 60 but I never confirmed diameter. Was just easier to buy the flanges.

 

[DirtDonk]

Where did you end up getting them Steve?
Was it far enough back that you just got the Warn product? Or did you have to go to a custom type driveline fab shop that sells that kind of thing?

Pretty sure the outer hub diameter was Dana 60 stuff, but also remember the axle spline count being something unusual. Such that just a pair of Dana 60 lockouts would not work.
And then they did that little set-screw "fix" when people's hubs were self-unlocking for some reason. At least I think that's what was done at one point with the Warn kits.

Paul

 

[toddz69]

Where did you end up getting them Steve?
Was it far enough back that you just got the Warn product? Or did you have to go to a custom type driveline fab shop that sells that kind of thing?

Pretty sure the outer hub diameter was Dana 60 stuff, but also remember the axle spline count being something unusual. Such that just a pair of Dana 60 lockouts would not work.
And then they did that little set-screw "fix" when people's hubs were self-unlocking for some reason. At least I think that's what was done at one point with the Warn kits.

Paul

There were two types of hubs available for the 9" - it looks like from the pic posted that it had the Dana 44 style hub. Same outer spline count but the inner was different (30 spline maybe?) such that our front and rear hubs didn't interchange. The larger style used Dana 60 style hubs. The set-screw setup was in the 44 hubs from the beginning.

Steve Sampson (longtime EB owner and EBR founder) is still using the Warn rear floater setup on his truck and has been more than patient with trying to keep them going. I think his latest solution is using a set of Yukon hubs with the proper spline counts.

Todd Z.

 

[sykanr0ng]

There were two types of hubs available for the 9" - it looks like from the pic posted that it had the Dana 44 style hub. Same outer spline count but the inner was different (30 spline maybe?) such that our front and rear hubs didn't interchange. The larger style used Dana 60 style hubs. The set-screw setup was in the 44 hubs from the beginning.

Steve Sampson (longtime EB owner and EBR founder) is still using the Warn rear floater setup on his truck and has been more than patient with trying to keep them going. I think his latest solution is using a set of Yukon hubs with the proper spline counts.

Todd Z.

Standard Dana 44 Yukon hubs are 19 spline like Warn and Spicer hubs, but there is also a 30 spline version used with RCV axle shafts, and there is a piece made for Warn hubs to convert them to 30 spline for use with RCV shafts also.

 

[SteveL]

Where did you end up getting them Steve?
Was it far enough back that you just got the Warn product? Or did you have to go to a custom type driveline fab shop remember the axle spline count being something unusual. Such that just a pair of Dana 60 lockouts would not work.

I bought em from a specialty shop called wh. Also a bronco guy that was working at 4wp years ago gave me a warn spec for axle replacement parts. When I looked at the ff outer spline count it matched a 60. It was quite a bit cheaper to go with the flanges so I quit investigating the hubs.

 

[BRONKEN]

I ran the 35 spline warn kit for many years and just recently took it out for an upgrade. I ran s standard D60 hub until I changed over to drive flanges which are also standard D60. I still have the kit except for axle shafts if someone is looking for spares. One thing to keep in mind is that you have to run the snap ring on the end of the axle shaft otherwise the shaft will slide to the other side and the spider gears it will eat the splines right off the shaft.

 

[SteveL]

One thing to keep in mind is that you have to run the snap ring on the end of the axle shaft otherwise the shaft will slide to the other side and the spider gears it will eat the splines right off the shaft.[/QUOTE]

what if you're running flanges? It's been a while but I seem to remember the flanges slidingover the end of the axle shaft. Currently running a spool but I'm swapping to an arb at some point.

 

[ntsqd]

I'd expect an ARB to have a spider gear pin or 'spider' (depending on the number of spider gears) that would be in the way of an axle shaft moving very far inboard.