Precise1 Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Ok, the thought behind this is that I have a set of used Warn hubs that I bought for my WD21 but have not yet installed. My GF's stock R50 has the drive flanges that I want to get away from to try to increase the gas mileage a little. Since the Warn part is the same for my WD21 and her R50 as per Warn, http://www.warn.com/truck/hubs/premium_application_chart.shtml I have to believe that the WD21 auto hubs should work fine on R50. I could not find any information on this as most people switch to manual hubs. What I hope to do is keep the convenience of not having to manually set her hubs and avoid buying another set of hubs for a vehicle which won't be leaving the road (intentionally). Any input?? The following is some of what I dug up on a search, but nothing seems answer my question. This could be handy for other people who want to avoid the drive flanges because there sure are a lot of WD21 autolockers laying around!!! All, 1990 on V6 Hardbodies had the 28 spline shafts. Actually, all V6 4WD Nissans had the same shafts and hubs, Pathfinder, Hardbody, Frontier, and Xterra, up to 2004. 1996-2004 Pathfinders have drive flanges instead of auto-locking hubs like the 1990-1995 models. the front driveshafts are always spinning (even in 2WD) so that you have shift-on-the-fly capability. the good news is that, unlike 4Runners, you can get rid of the drive flanges on a Pathfinder without swapping axles and steering knuckles. you can swap the drive flanges directly with manual locking hubs from Mile Marker, Warn, or Nissan (pickup/Frontier). not all of the online fitment guides are correct - any hub for a 1990+ V6 Nissan truck will fit. just look for a 28 count spline. you should see a slight increase in highway mileage with manual hubs. driving style and tires play a bigger role though. don't drive at 80 mph and use a good highway tire (not All Terrain or Mud Terrain) that is properly inflated - you might be able to get 20 mpg. for mixed/around town driving, don't expect more than 15 mpg B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUDGE Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 You should measure how much the axles stick out from the hubs (with the auto-hub and drive flange off) on both trucks. If both stick out the same amount I would imagine the auto-hubs would work fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Um, whats the difference for the auto-hubs? I mean, do they free spin when in 2wd? and lock up when in 4wd? I don't get it. I don't have a wd21 so i don't know about these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUDGE Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 I mean, do they free spin when in 2wd? and lock up when in 4wd? That's exactly what they do. When your done in 4x4 you need to drive in reverse for about ten feet to release them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekazgtr1984 Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 Just like JUDGE said, they lock and unlock on their own, but you gotta go in one direction or the other to engage or disengage them. By having auto hubs as opposed to manual ones, they do the work and you don't have to touch 'em at all. That said, where can we find these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 If you wanna install a set of 27 spline cv's you can buy my old ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180sx Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Don't you need 28 spline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Bad news guys, it ain't happenin'. This is why... R50 flange drive stripped down... WD21 autolocking hub stripped down... The crenelations (slots for tabs) in the face of the spindle tube is why I could not do the swap. The two tabbed components from the WD21 auto hub could not be installed, otherwise I am certain it would work. Everything else is the same down to the two different C clip grooves required for each system. I have not yet determined if this piece is easily removable (doubt it) for machining, but sorry, this is not the plug and play I had hoped for. I'll update farther when I have had more time to look at it... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 just leave the hubs off that'll help mpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 any new info B? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 No, I simply bought a set of Mile Markers and installed them. If one really wanted to, one could dremel in the slots for tabbed components and use the autolocking hubs but it wasnt worth the time to me. Besides, I would want to remove the spindle and machine it properly. Still, it could be done fairly easily. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Update!! This 1996 R50 appears to have the required crenelations to run auto locking hubs, when my wife's 1999.0 R50 does not. Perhaps it will work without modification on the first few years (96 & 97?) or R50? http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=32685 B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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