Hubs are the drivetrain fusible link of the new century! They're easy to swap, relatively inexpensive to buy, small, and light-weight, and you can stack a dozen of them in an ammo can in the back of your rig. Warn has made it even easier to keep breakage outside the wheel bearings with its new Hub Fuses. However, the hublocks are only for use with 297-X U-joints and shouldn't be used if you're running a Detroit Locker because the locker can break when the hub lets go.

The Hub Fuse clutch rings employ inner teeth that are much thinner than those of standard hubs. It's possible to retrofit the fusible clutch rings into older Warn hubs as long as they're the 3-inch internal mount type.

You can see the different in clutch ring tooth engagement between the Hub Fuse (left) and the standard hub (right). When the Hub Fuse fails, you simply need to replace the fuse clutch ring, not the entire hub.

We ordered a set of complete Hub Fused since oru cruddy old ones couldn't be retrofitted. Remove the dial, stub shaft snap ring, and inner ring clip, then remove the old hub body.

Lightly grease the new hub body and slide it in. Install the inner ring clip and the axle-shaft snap ring.

Install the dial and snug down the Allen bolts. Check to make sure the dial turns freely. You will want to buy a spare set of fusible clutch rings before you hit the trail.

For now here's the closest to Hub Fuses Hublocks you can get with a Dana 60. The owner of this rig runs el-cheapo hubs that break long before the stub shaft. The only bummer is finding more of the antiquated aluminum pieces.

Although we'd never do it, some owners of external hub-equipped vehicles replace their graded bolts or studs with Home Depot non-graded bolts. The non-graded bolts usually shear before the U-joint or axleshaft breaks. The biggest drawback to this method is that you've got to break out the stud extractor, drill, and tap before you can motor on.

ข้อมูล : จาก 4WHEEL & OFF-ROAD Magazine, March 2001, Page 57
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