I am wondering if there is anything to look out for when I swap my auto hubs out for some stock manual hubs.  Will any year work   Sammy ones too   I have some lined up, but I don't want to get them home and not be able to use them.  Oh Ya,  they are going on a 97 sidekick.
Brian

Shouldn't be a problem, I had an Auto Hub go out on my '95 JX Sidekick a couple of years ago while Elk Hunting in SW Washington and I had both Hubs replaced with Manual Hubs by the Suzuki Dealer in Astoria,OR. 

It is my understanding that the Auto Hubs work with centrificial force when FWD is engaged where as with Manual Hubs you have to get out to lock or unlock hubs manually.

I replaced mine with a set of aftermarket hubs and they worked really well. 

I am wondering if there is anything to look out for when I swap my auto hubs out for some stock manual hubs.  Will any year work ???  Sammy ones too ???  I have some lined up, but I don't want to get them home and not be able to use them.  Oh Ya,  they are going on a 97 sidekick.
Brian

Samurai manual locking hubs will work on a TracKick with the following caveat:

There is a snap ring on both vehicle's front axle shaft that holds the shaft in the spindle axially (in-and-out travel) in place.

The snap ring is located at different places on the axle shaft depending on the vehicle model.   

On the Samurai, the snap ring is on the end of the axle shaft.  If you remove the top of the locking hub on a Samurai, you would  see the snap ring at the end of the axle shaft holding the bottom part of the locking hub in place.  You have to remove the snap ring to remove the entire locking hub.

On the TracKick, the snap ring is on the shaft where it comes out of the wheel bearing assembly.  The locking hub - top and all - fits over the shaft.  It is alleged that a Samurai hub will not properly seat with the snap ring in place on a TracKick  due to clearance problems.  I am not sure of that.  I would have to remove the set of Samurai Asin hubs from one of my TracKicks to verify that.

If that IS the case, and you elect to NOT reinstall the snap ring on your TracKick, the worse thing that could happen is the axle slides out of the spindle inwards.  Of course, you would have to be in the middle of some SERIOUS front suspension flex in order to have that happen!

Finally, be SURE to get the 6 bolts (each) with cone washers that originally came with the Samurai hubs!  The bolt/washer combination on the Auto-locking hubs will not work on the Samurai hubs.

Hope this helps!

Holy poop!  That was alot more than I expected   Thanks
Brian

It is alleged that a Samurai hub will not properly seat with the snap ring in place on a TracKick  due to clearance problems.  I am not sure of that.  I would have to remove the set of Samurai Asin hubs from one of my TracKicks to verify that.

I can tell you from personal experience that this is the case. I'm running Samurai hubs on my 93 Tracker and I didn't like the idea of removing the snap ring, so I made up a 1/8" thick steel spacer/gasket that fits between the manual hub and the mounting surface to let me keep the snap ring and still have clearance. When I try to mount the hubs without this spacer, the back of the hub pinches the snap ring and doesn't allow it to turn when the hubs are set to free.

I recently saw an alternative solution when using Sammy hubs on TrackKicks. http://www.angelfire.com/trek/4x4gravel/project/hub/hub.html

Remove the circlip and install a bolt + washer on the end of the axle instead

I noticed that the Aisin hub rebuild pdf shows the bolt + washer on their too.  What do you think will that work, is there a problem with it that wasn't considered?

I recently saw an alternative solution when using Sammy hubs on TrackKicks. http://www.angelfire.com/trek/4x4gravel/project/hub/hub.html

Remove the circlip and install a bolt + washer on the end of the axle instead

I noticed that the Aisin hub rebuild pdf shows the bolt + washer on their too.  What do you think will that work, is there a problem with it that wasn't considered?

Looks like a booty-fab job, to me...

My guess is that this permanently locks the hub since it replaces the locking mechanism.

Can you install a gutted locking assembly over that?  I would think that dirt/water/snow could get in there and really screw things up -- after all hubs are for off-roading, aren't they???

Also, Grade 8 or better bolts should be used if you attempt this.  Nothing worse than trying to extract a broken bolt.

Sorry to be a nattering nabob of negatism on this idea.  It just seems to be a waste of time to not do a job right or in a way that does not create better functionality...



Jeep Bootyfab Poster Child

I recently saw an alternative solution when using Sammy hubs on TrackKicks.

Thats on a Jimny which usually has air activated hubs. Does a Track/Kick have the threaded hole?

Question??? Why bother with Samurai manual hubs when there are Sidekick manual hubs you can buy every day that require no modification to fit

Zig

Track/kick hubs have alloy bodies, most sammy hubs have stainless steel bodies...

Track/kick hubs have alloy bodies, most sammy hubs have stainless steel bodies...

OK, I knew there had to be a reason. Thanks for the info 

Zig