warn hubs need to be replaced on J4000

[Joe82]

Does anyone out there know the part number of replacement front locking hubs (manual) for a 71 J4000? Mine have fallen apart and it looks like they can't be put back together. I've looked about everywhere for a new set and it appears that no one lists them. The closest I got so far is one place recommended a sert for a 66-71 Jeepster. My broken hubs are marked Warn M3B Lockomatic and are no longer available. Anyone out there ever had these and replaced them? If so what did you replace them with ?

[lkmarsh]

Welcome, Joe. What was it that broke inside your hubs?

[Joe82]

Hi Lyle when I took them off to do a disc brake upgrade, the innards came out. It appears that there are a couple of springs that hold everything together and they came apart. I tried fiddling around with them for a couple of hours but I couldn't get them back together. Since the truck has about a couple hundred thousand miles on it I figured that someone might have replaced the originals with something else. I was thinking that Warn #29062 might work but I don't know.

[lkmarsh]

I don't remember exactly what Lock-o-matic was all about, Google is your friend for that,
but I think it was some sort of sprag clutch inside the hub, and it involved plastic parts
that were long gone from my hubs. Do you know the spline count for your current hubs?
I have three or four sets of 10 spline hubs, and I'm not sure where they came from.
I'll go digging in the garage tomorrow.
The hubs from the 73 are 19 spline, I think. I did the disk brake upgrade
to my 69's Dana 27, then sold it after swapping the brakes over to the Dana 30.

[Joe82]

My hubs are 10 spline and there aren't any plastic parts inside of them. I think your right about some type of clutch mechanism but I'm not familiar with how they work. I'm new to the big Jeeps having been a hot rodder for the last five decades! I wouldlike to upgrade the hubs to something more modern as from what I understand after some research, that Warn discontinued making this type of locking hub.

[tgreese]

LockOMatic is a design that free-wheels when the front axle is disconnected (hubs over-run the axle shafts) and connects when power is applied to the axle. They can also be locked in the conventional manner. Yes, not in production any more.

To find the PN for hubs compatible with your axle, I would look in the specialty catalog that's part of the regular Jeep factory parts book. Unfortunately I do not have one that covers 1971.

You have a 10-spline (?) Dana 44 closed-knuckle front axle. The locking hub body and the attachment to the Jeep hub should be the same for all of the Jeep closed-knuckle front axles. However, I am not sure about the axle shaft diameter. I wuld guess the 10-spline model 27 axle used in a Jeepster (or Wagoneer or early CJ) would fit, except for the axle shaft diameter.

Used is likely your best bet. If you can't find parts to repair what you have, I'd suggest you find some used hubs complete. LKMarsh may be able to help you, but if the hubs came from a Wagoneer (model 27 front axle) I suspect they won't work. Try the WTB (want to buy) section here and on other Jeep sites.

[lkmarsh]

One of many reasons so many FSJ people have swapped out their closed
knuckle axles for later open knuckle Danas. Disc brakes, tighter turn radius
and more splines are also good reasons. When I excavate the parts
in my garage I'll send part numbers and you can decide if they will work.
In the mean time, maybe you can measure the inner and outer diameters
of your axle shafts?

[lkmarsh]

Turns out I have one set of M2 hubs from the Dana 27 originally on the 69,
and a set of M3B hubs, from who knows where. The M3B hubs are not
complete, one is missing an internal snap ring and the ten rollers in the
sprag clutch. I think I might have two more sets, I'm still searching.

[Joe82]

Thanks for looking Lyle. I appreciate all the help. My hubs might be repairable as I have all the parts. The confusing thing is how to place the thin springs (?) back into their original position. There are two of them as far as I can tell. It's a mystery to me as to how they installed them in the first place. I'll keep trying to fix them but I may just replace them with new Warn manual hubs. I think the ones that are made for the 66-71 Jeepsters will most likely work.

[bufurd]

Please don't throw nothing away there, was the outer spindle nut round with set screws to lock into the washer behind it? I LOVE the Lock-O-Matic hubs, keep in mind they won't work without the round spindle nut, if you swap em out keep the round nuts and washer with the holes in it with the lock outs. They will be worth twice as much complete. I DD three J-trucks with the closed knuckles and Lock-O-Matics and have never considered changing/swapping anything out, closed knuckle axles are great in my opinion for many reasons. Scouts also used the Lock-O-Matics and they are identical, my son has a 79 Scout that he messed one up working on it, I gave him one of my spares and it fixed him up. I'll buy your old hubs if they come with the round spindle nut and the washer with the holes that go behind it.

[Joe82]

Hi Bufurd. I haven't thrown them out. According to my wife, I never throw anything out! Yes they have the round nuts with the allen set screws. The previous owner(s) messed up one of them by chiseling it to get it off. (Ouch!) It still works but looks like crap. The guts to the hubs came apart and I can't for the life of me figure out how to put them back together again. I do have all the parts. I'm going to go with new Warns as I'm not into off roading and with our Northern Michigan winters, I can just get out and lock them up and go. It seems as though you're right across Lake Michigan from where I live. If you're ever in the area, stop by and you can have thehubs. Joe