Warn Premium Manual Locking Hubs

[senshido]

Here's a link to a manual locking hub accessory.

 

http://www.4x4parts.com/public_html/shop/i...&product_id=720

 

My question is, can somebody explain why this is good to have? gas mileage? Component wear?

 

Will it be necessary on my 98QX4 truck with the 6" lift?

 

I obviously don't care about MPG...

 

thanx

[sw]

here you go

 

read from the sixth post (94 pathy)

 

that will answer your question

[88pathoffroad]

In other words, you don't HAVE to, it's just a heavier-duty unit and stays positively locked forward and reverse until you decide to unlock it manually. Better gas mileage is a bonus on the R50 chassis vehicles...

[herm]

Manual hubs are not "neccesary". But they are stronger than stock hubs, and if you've ever had an automatic hub fail you start to distrust them (mine failed on a pass trail near the Continental Divide in Summit County, CO - in a 87 4Runner - which forced an immediate retreat and made my return a bit difficult in 2wd) The pathy hub is a good design, and I would trust them for the first 5 years or so, but if you rely on the truck off road the warn hubs are one less thing to worry about. I replaced mine w/ Warn as soon as it was out of warranty.

 

As for your 6 inch lift....depending on what that does to your CV angle the Warn's will reduce wear and tear in 2wd.

 

As for the arguments about it being inconvenient to stop, get out and lock 'em in, well that is no big deal. I lock them in as soon as the pavement ends. For winter driving, I lock them in November and unlock them in the spring. For summer hwy driving at 80 mph there is really no reason to spin automatic hubs every mile.

 

Don't buy them just to improve mileage. MPG claims seem to be around 1 mpg, if that, I'd like to think mine improved mileage but that is poor in pathys anyway. Anything over 15 is a bonus for me.

 

You can buy the hubs from many vendors, not just AC.

 

So, they certainly can't hurt, but there may be other mods that make more sense depending on where you are with the build.

 

m.

[lewisnc100]

Will it be necessary on my 98QX4 truck with the 6" lift?

 

Probably not a good idea on your QX4 since you have All-Mode 4WD. If you install manual hubs you will need to make sure they are locked whenever you are in the standard AUTO mode. You could use them unlocked when in 2WD mode, but if someone switched that to AUTO when the hubs were unlocked you could have problems.

[88pathoffroad]

Definitely. Loud noises and possible damage would result from switching into any mode of 4WD while in motion with manual locking hubs unlocked.

[97SE]

Is it necessary? I wish...it sure would make for an easier sale to the misses... "why do you want that...that's stupid..."

[lewisnc100]

Is it necessary? I wish...it sure would make for an easier sale to the misses... "why do you want that...that's stupid..."

97SE, that sounds real familiar. You can win that argument very easily, say you put 15k on a year at 15MPG and prices of gas up around $2.00, that's $2,000 a year in gas. With manual hubs say you get 16MPG, you just saved $125 the first year. If you keep your Pathfinder for a while they will pay for themselves even if you only see a modest increase in MPG.

 

herm is right, I haven't seen the 2mpg claims that others have seen since installing Warns, but I am a little over 1mpg better after 3,000 miles. Those miles have been all city so I'm not sure what the highway difference is yet.

[big_johnson]

I've seen much greater gains on the highway than the city with mine on. Almost no difference in the city, maybe .5 mpg. But I think I have gotten the claimed 2 mpg increase on the highway.