Warn premium hub rebuild - old vs new

[chris-nc]

Now that I have my first post and introduction out of the way, I need to start getting some questions answered!

So this is on a '66 with Dana 30, drums, etc. The Warn premium hubs that I have 8 screws on the perimeter. I want to remove/rebuild these hubs and while I'm at it, really make them look as good as possible with a little Dremel work and some steel wool.

All of the current hubs only use 6 screws. Can I remove these hubs and not have to use one of the rebuild kits? If any of the retaining clips, etc. are damaged upon removal, can I use the currently available rebuild kits (are the internals the same)? I would hate to pull them, not be able to re-install and then have to buy new. I feel like these have a lot of mojo I want to hang on to!

 

[okie4570]

Cool old school Warn hubs!

 

[DirtDonk]

Not sure how many members will be familiar with both the old and new, but it never hurts to ask! Luckily there is no issue if all the parts are in good shape, but you might have to call Warn (as if any of the young'uns there would know!) to see if anything out of the new kits will work with the old parts.

But one thing you can do, even for those of us not as familiar, is to post up some pics of the internals and maybe someone can discern whether they've kept the same design and only changed the number of screws, or if there are more changes that might cause trouble.

Good luck though. And yes, very cool old aftermarket parts. Maybe some of the first even.

Paul

 

[okie4570]

Not sure how many members will be familiar with both the old and new, but it never hurts to ask! Luckily there is no issue if all the parts are in good shape, but you might have to call Warn (as if any of the young'uns there would know!) to see if anything out of the new kits will work with the old parts.

But one thing you can do, even for those of us not as familiar, is to post up some pics of the internals and maybe someone can discern whether they've kept the same design and only changed the number of screws, or if there are more changes that might cause trouble.

Good luck though. And yes, very cool old aftermarket parts. Maybe some of the first even.

Paul

They were an option, "upgrade" over the alloy looking knob. I've never gotten the chance to dig into a set though.

 

[73azbronco]

I wager internals will fit either way, just the nature of the hub.

 

[chris-nc]

Thanks everyone. I plan to dig into them and will definitely post up some pics. They do turn, and feel smooth all the way through the rotation, but are very tight. I think a rebuild and cleaning out the old grease should do the trick. I'll keep this thread posted with what I find out...

 

[chris-nc]

Ok, so as a follow up to my original post, I'm providing an in depth update with a fair amount of rebuild information in case anyone needs it.

To start, I found out once I removed them and began to clean them up that they are are Warn M4 Premium Hubs that were offered by Ford on trucks from 1959 to to 1966. From '59-'65, Ford provided all of the replacement parts and rebuild kits. In '66 Warn provided the parts via service centers and Ford stopped supplying parts under the Ford label. Mine were built in '65 as my Bronco has a September '65 build date (U14FL754463).

Finding a seal and lock ring kit was like a treasure hunt and I may have snagged the last two available on the market. The large o-ring in the kit below is readily available and I also picked up a bag of 10 separately, just to have. They go around the outside of the hub body to seal against the spindle body. The small o-ring is probably readily available as well and goes on the inside of the actuator. The one that's special and really hard to find except for in the original kits, is the middle one. It has a square/u-shape and sits down in a channel in the outer edge of the actuator to seal it within the hub body. If you look closely, you'll see a channel built into it. Part numbers for the kit and bag of o-rings are in the pics below.

I replaced the bearings and those are readily available as well. B-2610 by Torrington, Timken, National, etc. The screws were replaced with new ones from McMaster-Carr.

I've included an exploded diagram and have a couple more that I found on vintage Ford truck sites that show the detail for the entire axle.

I was amazed at how well these hubs have held up, being 55 years old! They cleaned up great (I love my Dremel), operate like new, and look almost as good as the picture I found of the brand new one (last pic). I'm stoked to have these done, and look forward to many more years of flawless operation.

I'm happy to answer any questions or provide rebuild guidance if anyone needs it. I feel like these are somewhat of a unicorn as I could only find one thread on the entire Internet related to them, Warn had no additional information or help, and I've only been able to identify them on a couple of early Bronco pics, like the Nicholl's Service/Amoco half cab.

Chris

 

[DirtDonk]

Nice! Thanks for the update. I had no idea they went as far back as '59.

Paul

 

[okie4570]

Great info thanks for sharing!!!

 

[OzarkSam]

Love those old school Warn hubs! Look awesome and great job restoring them!