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View Full Version : Those running drive flanges/lockouts



Troy
02-05-2005, 05:41 PM
I installed my chromoly shafts, CTMs and drive flanges into the ZJ today. Had to grind down the inside of the knuckle to get the axles to fit through the knuckle.

Since the ZJ hadn't been moving for many months I decided to take it for a spin around the block. I realize that with the flanges and the lockright up front it's pretty much locked up all of the time. The lockright banged a few times and was causing quite a bit of binding while turning on the pavement (expected) while in 2WD on my 242.

My question is this... for those running non-selectable lockers up front with flanges, how does it perform off road? Have you been in any circumstances in which you wish you didn't have the flanges, especially for you west coasters running losts of sandstone? I think I'll be OK here on the east coast terrain but I'm a bit worried about how the ZJ will perform on my trip to UT and AZ in the fall. Should I buck up the $100 for the Warn hub and replace my flanges to carry them as spares? Here's what happened to my last Warn hub along with taking out the u-joint...

http://smallnet.homeip.net/gallery/albums/Strengthening-the-RC44/DSCF0008.sized.jpg

LouisianaZJ
02-05-2005, 06:31 PM
well i only have a d30 but with a lockright

turning is fine offroad. larger turning radius but it dont have to muscle the wheel or anything

you could always just run a lockout hub on one side and a flange on the other

ROKN ZJ
02-06-2005, 05:26 PM
I like my flanges. It's nice not having to worry about hubs breaking because it seems like hubs break really easily compared to the rest of the drivetrain. Sure lots of people prefer this having an easier thing to replace which breaks, but they break like everytime.

Anyway I have flanges in 3 different off-road vehicles. One buggy had ARBs, one has Detroits, and the blue ZJ had a spool but now has a detroit. Anyway I've never had any problem with the flanges and being a situation where I wish I had selectable hubs. The biggest reason though is because I have full hydro. This really covers up the always being locked up thing.

SO my opinion is Slugs are good off-road! And Full hydro is also good off-road! But if you're driving on the street a lot your experience my differ!

Troy
02-06-2005, 11:39 PM
Thanks a lot ROKN ZJ. I've had the gear to go full hydro for almost a year now but haven't had the time to install it just yet. Soon enough I'll be full hydro too. Glad to hear that I may be overreacting to the different feel of flanges, especially considering that she's a trailer queen too and never sees pavement.

Pearce
02-07-2005, 01:12 PM
Hey Troy,
Would you be willing to send me that big spring out of your broke hub for a small donation? If you want to keep it for a spare I understand that. I had to booty fab a spring from a ford hub to make my Warn hub work. Rebending a spring is not fun but it does the job for now. I would have to buy a whole new hub to get just a spring from Warn. They would not help me out there. I'm not the originall owner of them. thanks

Cody
02-07-2005, 01:51 PM
Pearce, I have a spring too if you want . Pay shipping.

I run superwinch hubs which suck bad enough that they'll break just before the shaft does (usually). I carry slugs for trail spares but I don't have the coin for blingin shafts. I'm not sure what I would do. Most of the guys that run warn/ctms in 44 that I've wheeled with run slugs, but they also have competed where a broken hub can kill you. I personally would rather break a hub instead of an expensive alloy shaft--you know?

As far as the non-selectable front on slickrock, yeah, it can be a bitch for turning but it's not as bad as a spool. I have an atlas so I just pull my front end out. I very rarely disengage my hubs (I can't even remember the last time.

Cody

Troy
02-07-2005, 08:35 PM
Pearce, sorry but I dumped it in the trash right after taking these photos. The trash went out this morning.

Cody, thanks for the info. I figured that the flanges wouldn't be that big of a deal since I see no pavement. I want to really see what I can do with the shafts and CTMs before breaking something (any gueses on what's next?). I really got sick of the stock u-joints breaking on me. BTW, I'm running Yukon shafts so we'll see how they do. I can't run the Warns b/c of the F-250 front end having different shaft lengths compared to the F-150 stuff.

ROKN ZJ
02-07-2005, 09:49 PM
I run superwinch hubs which suck bad enough that they'll break just before the shaft does (usually). I carry slugs for trail spares but I don't have the coin for blingin shafts. I'm not sure what I would do. Most of the guys that run warn/ctms in 44 that I've wheeled with run slugs, but they also have competed where a broken hub can kill you. I personally would rather break a hub instead of an expensive alloy shaft--you know?


Cody how often do you break your hubs? It seems I break one nearly everytime I go off-road. I understand not being able to afford blingy shafts, and I also understand warrentied hubs and how nice that is, and I understand how it's a lot easier to replace a hub than it is an axle shaft, but do you not break them allllll the time?

BTW Troy you'll break axle shafts now, but they should last longer than a set of hubs. Just hope you don't trash your CTMs when the shafts break. ALso if you'r ebig on maintanance draw a line down your axle shafts and check it every couple months to see what condition your shafts are in to avoid a break before it happens.

Cody
02-08-2005, 01:42 AM
Cody how often do you break your hubs? It seems I break one nearly everytime I go off-road. I understand not being able to afford blingy shafts, and I also understand warrentied hubs and how nice that is, and I understand how it's a lot easier to replace a hub than it is an axle shaft, but do you not break them allllll the time?



Well, if I remember correctly, I broke 7 last year (3 Warns, 4 SW). 1 was just because the freakin dial fell off :rolleyes:. I think 3 of them were in conjunction with shafts breaking too which was why I went to the SW's). The super winches have gone before my shafts so far and I think I only went through maybe 3 hubs that were just the hubs. Sometimes the hubs suprise me though and have gone through some shit that I didn't think they would. I would rather change 10 hubs than 1 shaft (just cause I'm lazy).

I'm looking into the Yukon shafts too, but I'm not sure if I'll run the slugs or the hubs when I get them.

Cody

Pearce
02-08-2005, 11:47 AM
Thanks Cody, PMed ya.

I have spoken with a few people who swear by the Mile Marker premium hub. These guys switched from the Warn because the Warn kept breaking and now the Mile Marker has held up a lot better. Anyone else notice this?

POSJEEP
02-10-2005, 12:07 PM
Mile marker have done fine by me.
i have broken a few but im not complaining. i have stock axel shafts in a 44 and carying a spare hub isnt a problem. stock drive shafts as well, i cant wait to get my woody. but i have spare everything kinda waiting to break something other then a hub.
Kinda funny thing ive noticed though... when i have a spare part laying around i never break the part in the truck.
soon as a friend needs my spare part i break mine........
i would rather have a weeker hub then ujoint, i never have been able to break a ujoint without other things breaking as well.