There were spirited discussions years ago here regarding the utility of putting manual hubs on 2nd gen vehicles. And some concerns regarding wear on the hubs, as well as the original concern about wear on front seals and joints.

Now that more years have passed is there a consensus about whether manual hubs are useful or not? On lifted and unlifted vehicles?

I recently bought on, and didn't notice that there was a high prevalence of failure in the used vehicles I was looking at, but it's always possible the 2nd gen vehicles that DID have failures are sitting in junk yards  

Thanks,
Rob

I think the point about installing manual hubs to reduce wear on the front carrier seals is valid, particularly for the passenger side which does not have a support bearing on the stub end of the housing.  The seals aren't that difficult to replace, but why wear them prematurely?  Also, if they are worn, oil can come out (and does) but water can also penetrate more easily as well and contaminate your diff oil, so a good seal is a good thing to have.

As far as utility, I personally don't mind getting off my butt and manually unlocking the hubs when needed... or if I KNOW I will need them, I just lock them before starting the vehicle and then it is simply an issue of shifting into 4WD.  Having manual hubs also allows you the option to engage 4LO for extra low gearing for pulling with just the rear if and when you need to or wanted to on hard surfaces.  I have done this to pull very heavy loads on my trailer for short distances. Loads that greatly exceeded the advertised towing weight for the truck.

I also had a concern with the air actuator in the front diff and/or the air pump (behind the front bumper) failing when you least expected it and needed the 4WD so I welded the actuator ring to the ring gear so no air is needed to engage the front diff.  This made the manual hubs not only more desirable but useful as well. 

I've had the manual hubs mounted for about 8K+ miles and have experienced no problems with them to date.  I used the Warn premium hubs simply because I have never heard any disparaging words about their quality or functioning.

That's very interesting; thanks. Found the thread about that today. I think I'll consider doing that or having it done.

I originally thought I'd have to get manual hubs to flat tow the tracker, but apparently that's not necessary with my '99. But I don't really need the on-the-fly 4WD in my uses (I guess in the cold snowy north it would be nice, but I welcome a chance to get out here in sunny California).

Rob

Anyone have any part numbers or descriptions of which hubs I should buy specifically for a '99 Tracker? I called a shop, and they said none of theirs would work. I'd like to get some Mile Markers, but can't find the appropriate model. And I'd like to find some that somebody has already had success with.

Rob

For milemaker hubs I'd try calmini.com.  The part# for warn hubs is 34581.

Yeah, what gsherred said.  Look under Chevrolet Geo and Suzuki:

http://www.warn.com/truck/hubs/premium_application_chart.shtml

If you can get your hand on a set of a samurai hubs they will fit. I'm running a set on the front of my 01 tracker. A lot of the samurais have aisin hub, from what I've been told by the Toyota guys i know there pretty strong hubs.

My brother in law had a 4dr tracker and he couldnt keep the auto hubs working for more than a single season(3 months). He spent far more repairing the system continually than if he got off of his fat lazy arse and simply turned a dial....

i just want a set for mine just to save on fuel economy and as a bonus saving wear and tear as well. im gona put in a 1st gen tracker,sunrunner,sidekick hubs as they will be cheaper than new ones.

Well, free at last! (hubwise, anyway).

Per the info gleaned here, I ordered a pair of Warn hubs from Amazon, part no. 34581 for $170 US (same as CDN these days).

I have a 1999 Tracker, and when I pulled the covers off I have what the instructions from Warn describe as a regular old hub.

There were a couple of hiccups that were different from instructions elsewhere.

First, on my vehicle there was no handy detent to use to pry the hub flange off (BTW, don't bother removing the dust cover). I had to put something hard behind it to lever it off; it's sealed with RTV. A tire iron and BFH will do it.

Second, the description in the instructions said on a Geo/Suz to retain a ring at the end of the axle, and pictured a bolt in the end of the axle. I had nothing like that, and the axle didn't extend very far. I called Warn tech support; they said you basically need to preserve spacers but if there aren't any don't sweat it. So I didn't. They were super helpful (the instructions are multilingual with French for our northern neighbors (I have to note that reading "enclenchment" vs. "engagement" caused a few chuckles here in the SF Bay Area...dunno why  )).

Everything went in super easy. Even at 100,000 miles the stock hubs were in great shape. and the Warn's look great. No problem fitting the wheels over them.

You'll need a 10mm long socket for the bolts on the hub (make sure to retain the ones you take out; you'll need them). And a torque wrench that can do in-lbs or the metric equivalent to set the allen bolts.

Very nice now to have compound low in 2WD for using engine breaking down hills, even on pavement.

Thanks for all the advice here.

Rob

Check your new hubs after every drive, Rob.  If you reuse those bolts from the stock hub flange, I think you will find they continually back out about a quarter turn after every short trip you take.  You can retighten them, even with blue locktite... and they will continually back out on you again.  I read about this happening to others and it happened to me as well.  Those bolts will continually eat into your hubs every time you tighten them back down and you won't ever get them to seat properly and stay snug.  

The fix is to get some 1 1/2 - 2" studs, clean out the bolt holes with a chase tap (to clean out the thread lock and other crap), add blue locktite to the thread of each stud, then double nut the stud to screw it in and seat it with about 18-20 lbs of torque, then use some stainless poly-lock nuts to secure your Warn hubs on.  Problem solved.

nprecon

What size tap did you use to clean the bolt holes? 

Thanks


Jer

The size should be 8X1.25mm which corresponds with the hub bolts you removed.  Be sure to insert the tap straight (perpendicular) into each threaded hole and keep it straight while you are turning it in.  The idea here is to scrape the existing threads clean and remove the foreign crap out of the existing threads so the thread lock can gain a hold with metal... NOT to cut new threads in the hub or cross thread the existing threads.

Take your time starting the tap EACH time.  It should screw in with very little resistance at all.  You only need to clean the threads about an 1"- 1 1/4" down each hole.  This should give you enough clean metal contact for the thread lock to hold the stud/s firmly.  OBTW, it will take awhile for the thread lock to cure (set) so don't go driving on them immediately after your stud install.  I'm thinking over night should allow them to set OK but don't trust my memory on that, check the info on the lock-tite bottle.

As I recall, the studs I used pretty much bottomed out on the thread portion of the stud when I screwed them in and the outside stud portion was JUST sufficient length to allow the stainless poly-locks nuts to lock firmly on the shoulder of the Warn hubs and  left a very short amount of the stud threads exposed to the weather to rust and corrode in the elements.

 Problem solved.

I will say I have NEVER had a bolt come loose from my hubs, and I have been anal about checking frequently because of all the people who have had issues. But I didnt use stock bolts, just high strength allen heads, lock washer and flat washer slathered in anti-sieze, and a torque wrench, not a drop of locktite.

BUT, I am going out tomorrow and picking up some 10.9 studs and nickle plated 10.9 nylocs. I have always worried about them, LOL not anymore, dont know why I didnt think about studs before.....LOL

So I checked today,,,and,,,,,,,there is a missing bolt!

LOL, spoke too soon! LOL, I have studs and nylocs on the way now!