Lock out hubs

Anyone put lockout hubs on 2006 2500 crew cab, and if so what do you think about them. Which after market hubs are the best?

 

Dad and I both ran Yukon’s on our 3rd gens (my 05 and dads 06).

We liked them but didn’t repeat the mod on our 4th Gen’s.

The biggest benefits were 2Lo and easier steering with them unlocked.

Neither of us ever saw any appreciable mpg increase and didn’t put enough miles on them for the reduced maintenance to pay for them.

 

I'm running Spyntec locking hubs by Solid Axle on my 03. I couldn't justify the Yukons price since they do the same thing and will primarily stay in the free position. If its good enough to be listed on Genos site or catalogue its good enough for me.

My front end is alot more manageable and easy to steer, I wouldn't be able to give you an accurate MPG change with them I have a few parts that all kinda help that along marginally. The serviceability is a really nice feature but I don't think i'll be taking mine apart for a long while. My kit came with Koyo Japanese bearings and Timken USA races I packed the bearings with Amsoil Dominator bearing grease.

I would purchase it again. I have yet to see any other Dodge 2500s in my area running them so there may be a "cool" factor to it over every other 2500 with a 2K-3K wheel and tire set.

 

I the truck doesn’t have a central axle disconnect I wouldn’t own the truck with out free wheeling hubs. I’ve installed them on every truck I have owned since 2005. Currently running a set of Spyntec on my 2013. Fuel saving is not much maybe 1-1.25 mpg better. But not having to replace the chain in the transfer case is priceless.

 

We went with Yukon because they used off the shelf parts, whereas spyntec wasn’t. At least it was that way when we bought them. I also recall spyntec being the more expensive brand at the time.

I’m not sure what you mean “by a long time”, but the grease does need swapped out and the bearings inspected. Back when serviceable wheel bearings were more standard the service interval was 12 months or 12K miles, whichever came first. This is still the standard interval on trailers with serviceable wheel bearings. Personally I think that’s a bit excessive, but they do need a service interval that is less than my version of a “long time”.

 

What do you mean by off the shelf parts? Spyntec included with the instructions a full part catalogue of p/n 's for the kit with cross-referenced numbers allowing the owner to get individual pieces as needed.

By long time I mean I'm not opening them up for a few years at least. From the quality construction of the parts and good grease they shouldn't have any part replacing wear for a while. My rear axle hub bearings and races were original when I replaced them around 230k and I would put money on the amount of times the 4 previous owners changed the diff fluid at the proper service interval being less than stated in the service manual.

Good parts, good grease, and driving primarily on the street not mud bogging or drag racing on a beach; they should last a good while past the service interval and hold up longer than OEM unit bearing hubs. That and I trust Japanese bearings. My sister has a 98' 4Runner that still had the OEM Koyo front and rear wheel bearings at 270K prior to me replacing them with the same bearings.

 

From what I recall the spyntec used custom short shafts which are unique to their application, but Yukon used common sized short shafts. The shorty setup from spyntec will also run warmer and load the bearings more on corners, thou not as much as the stock sealed bearings. They were much newer to the market back then and longevity of any new business with unique parts is always a concern.

A few years is too long for serviceable wheel bearings, thou a couple years should be easy. Serviceable wheel bearings done have the seals that modern sealed wheel bearings have so it’s very hard to compare the life of them.

The Toyota bearings are awesome thou. We got 180K out of our 03 4Runners original bearings and when I replaced them it was due to a very minor vibration in the floor on tight corners. They probably could have gone longer, but I don’t screw around with wheel bearings. The u-joints are still stock at 214K.


Also, I just looked up the Yukon vs Spyntec price and the Yukons are still cheaper… just like they were when I bought my kit many years ago.

 

When I purchased my hubs earlier this year Yukons were more expensive and didn't come with the studs or races pressed.

I'm just going to leave it at: I like the hubs I got and I don't recommend using grease from Harbor Freight or an auto parts store. We all have our "go team oil brands" I stand by Amsoil's lubes. Using 5.99 grease on bearings in an 1800.00 hub set doesn't add up in my book.

 

Spyntec use to have a special price for TDR membership that was better than the listed price. But now Geno’s has them. Yes they have their own short shaft for the short hub kits. But once you buy the kit unless you do something really bad you will never have to replace it. The seals and bearings are all common off the shelf items.
I’ve run all my hub kits well over 100k miles with having to repack the bearings. I do check bearing preload after they run in (first 10k miles). Stay out of deep water an you will not have issues.
I did find on the set on my 2013 that the races seemed as if they weren’t hardened properly. They actually had a groove worn in them where the rollers we’re running. First time I’ve ever seen that in any bearing set I’ve installed. They weren’t making noise nor did they feel strange just had a strange ware pattern. At 160k miles who can complain.

 

Who said anything about using cheap grease…. I also use Amsoil grease in all my stuff and I implement a frequent maintenance interval, as recommended by Amsoil. I don't go over 24 months without inspecting the grease and bearings.


FWIW I am not knocking your decision to buy Spyntec, I am simply pointing out why we went with Yukon over Spyntec. I've never heard anything bad about Spyntec.

 

If not for 2LO I'd not recommend to change to Hubs, more complicated and way more expensive. And the Unit-Bearings work just fine if properly installed and maintained.

 

Off the original topic, but there have been a few times I've missed 2Lo on my 18 and am considering getting the BD 2-Lo kit.

 

What do you do to maintain a sealed bearing set? Do you pump grease into the axle cavity through the anti lock brake sensor?

 

Yes I did back then because they lack in grease right from the factory.
If you put to much in it it will ooze out through the seal.
Do that at every brake job afterwards and they will last as long as the vehicle.
These are not small bearings by any means, it's just the greases lifespan that limits the whole assembly to survive longer then 100K, some even do that.

 

That's a good way to go, simple and easy to install within a couple minutes under the dash.

 

There are only so few options to choose from, the differences between the mfgs are marginal at best. They do three things. Lock, unlock, and spin. For the price you're paying you should expect a well designed product. Choose one and put the sticker on your truck.

 

The point of design around unit bearings is no maintenance.

The seals aren't meant for grease to be pushed out of them, they're meant to hold the grease inside. When I installed my hubs with new axle U-Joints from Spicer, they had an explicit warning to not add any grease during assembly for the caps because you risk blowing out the seals from an excessive amount of grease leading to premature wear and failure of the bearings because they're no longer protected by the seal from outside contaminants.

 

Adding grease every 60K miles to the sealed wheel bearings is a much simpler, and cleaner, but of maintenance than working on old school bearing assemblies.

OEM went to sealed bearings to reduce maintenance intervals and to make building vehicles easier. Making them
last longer is on the consumer.

 

Pushing on a pull door. I don't question why they went to the design. But your treading a fine line pushing grease into something not meant to take more than assembled with. If you want to maintain them get a locking hub set, that's a key selling point all the mfgs use.

 

I did not mean to fill up the bearing cavities all the way to the top. The seal is a standard one, no problems there from a slight excess of grease.
It is a proven good way to extend the bearing life for almost unlimited time, many people here in the forum do it that way with great results.

If have not heard ever that someone claimed he destroyed a bearing, or seal, by greasing it.

Manufactures want to make money, that's it, and they can deny any warranty or esp. Liability! that way if a customer add "something" to the bearing. Makes perfect sense to do so as a Mfg.