1992 Ford Explorer Auto/manual locking hub Questions

[Marcodemarco]

So here's the situation guys. I'd better start from the beginning to make things easier to understand. I've never been tech savvy until recently. So when my brakes starting taking a dump on me I was a obviously unable to work on them. So I enlisted the help of my uncle who was supposedly a Mechanic for 15 years. You'll see why I say supposedly here in a few.
So we go to work on the brakes, everything goes smoothly and only takes an hour is because we only did the front brakes. Now I figure because my uncle has experience that he would take the lead on the repair, which he did, but I regret it now. 1 month goes by and my front left wheel snapped off! Crazy right? So there I am, stuck on the side of the road. Suppose to be working but I'm out of commission with this crazy problem. So we get her towed home and take it apart and the entire front left everything is detroyed. Turns out we forgot a cotterpin or something seemingly insignificant. It's fine though because the fix was simple we just do everything I just did and more. Enticing right? It gets better. It goes further on to be that my automatic locking hub assembly is completely shot on the front right side and I can't find a replacement one. Now the Explorer has been sitting with regular starts to make sure the engine doesn't seize and I've been working at a shop for the past 6 months. I feel comfortable working on my car now I'm ready to delve in. I just have one question. Can I swap out my auto locking hub assembly with a manual locking assembly the way the front different is set up? It's an 8.8, the standard ration. What advice d you have for me. Thanks.

 

[trashtruck]

check your local salvage yard for auto hubs or warn/milemarker should have what you'll need to convert from auto to manual hubs. very popular mod.

 

[malohnes]

Check the stickies in this forum and the modified section. You'll find a bunch of info on your hubs. It's a simple swap

The 8.8 is the rear end. Your front end is a Dana 35TTB

 

[Gearhead#12]

The conversion is super easy. I got mile marker Manuel hubs from auto zone. You'll have to buy the conversion kit for it n it will take bout an hour.

 

[nmos]

I was in the local U-Pick-It looking for a replacement cam for my auto locking hubs (92 Explorer) and it turned out that the Explorers had all been picked. I got lucky and found a Broco II with a compatible part and paid nothing beyond the $2 entry fee but obviously these things break frequently.

 

[Marcodemarco]

Would I be able to swap out just the one hub? I think I need to replace the entire axle because a Mechanic buddy of mine took a look yesterday and said the entire spline is shot. Would pictures help?

 

[RangerX]

Pictures would definitely help. One of the damaged splines for starters.

You can just swap out one hub, but if you're still talking about going to manual hubs, they're only sold in pairs.

 

[2stroke]

So some splines are messed up and that's the end of an axle? You need to find an actual mechanic. Worst comes to worst, the drivers side axle shaft is a simple, pull out and replace ordeal. No drama there, and I bet you salvage the one you have. What I wan't to know is what in the heck "front left wheel snapped off" means. Did the wheel studs snap off due to over torquing? Did the wheel bearings come loose because you didn't torque them correctly (assuming you swapped rotors)? Maybe you had a bad ball joint that finally let go?

:ttiwwp: