I have watched 100's.... if not 1000's of videos that pertain to off roading, rock crawling, etc, type "DIY" videos, and I have to say, this is one of the finest videos series that I have ever seen. Very well put together, finely detailed on why things are the way they are, as there will be folks out there that will need to know the "why", to aid them in preventing damage to their product(s), let alone the safety factor and well being of not only the rig itself, but the driver and other drivers that share the road system. VERY WELL DONE !!! Drew
Great the way you explained everything calling each part by it's correct name but it's kind of frustrating when there is too much shade and the camera isn't close enough to see exactly how and where each part going on inside the locking hub assembly like the little seals an brass rings or bushings are placed and what direction they go. Even though it's a bright day more light and closer camera shots are need to fully get the grasp of this conversion kit. Otherwise, very well explained without doing one thing and not having to tell us in reverse what a person might have forgotten and go over again and have to explain in reverse sequence.
I have a Ram 3500 and want to do the part time kit. This is probably the best comprehensive DIY video that I have seen. Very thorough and professional. Best of all, no damn headbanger music playing. Thank You.
Hi Stan, Nothing novice about your work. Always top notch. I really enjoyed watching you do this upgrade to your truck and am sure it will last a long time. Thanks for sharing. Take Care, Reid
Thanks Ried, the shop projects are really stacking up and I have been trying to make up for lost (video) time, I know a few people that have been waiting patiently for squares ;-)
Hi Stan, I think you did a very good video. It's good to know that there is a really good option the next time I have a front wheel bearing fo out on my 2003 Dodge 3500. That is one of the best how to videos I have ever seen on wheel bearings and locking hubs. Bob
Stan, you aren't even close to doing "shade tree" mechanic work there. Shade tree mechanics were my bread and butter and job security for me for 35 years as a professional wrench turner. Repairing their repairs after they were done and they failed miserably provided me with a lot of paycheck hours. You put a lot of the "pros" that I have had to work with over the years to shame. Great job overall.
Great vid with as good of information as I'm going to get. This time I'm going to do a complete break down before, take my time and methodically put this all together. I have the tools I need in place and the parts all together. First time ever not having to stop and run down town without a rig (no front wheels etc,.. lord how many times),,,,,,,, all because I watched Stan "the" man.. Thank you!
Methodical went out the door in about thirty minutes. I have to say that I also changed the ball joints and they shared in sabotaging anything methodical. My biggest regret is with Yukon.. Great product all around, just not one bit on how to put these damn things on your truck. Depending on what level of insanity you want to end up with should determine if you really want to go through with this project . If you're already half insane, look for a guy like Stan, and pay him... Period. They don't tell you things like,, how you might put your new lathered up anti-seized spindles in... Has anybody tried to put ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag? This is twenty. Tip: Go down to your hardware and get 4 grade 8- 3 1/2"x 1/2" bolts and nuts. The bolts Yukon provide are not even close to helping you out,,, and nobody tells you this.. Maybe Stan did but I'm so pissed I don't care. Yukon told me NOTHING. Two little .040 spacers are to be added before you put the caps in the U-joints of your new stub shaft. They fill the extra space in the C clip retainer grove. This "centers" the stub shaft with the drive axle yoke/U-Joint.... No instructions, just do it.. Try calling them.. What a joke. Suggestion to the engineering department making the stub shaft YOKES.. MAKE THEM FIT MY DODGE'S U-JOINTS! ....Or--- maybe they only made 3 2005-2500 Dodge Rams and they had to forgo this because of the expense of retooling... My bad..... ??........... Stupid. Then when you're happy ass is all up in the final stage and the locking hubs are "going in now"; Have one of these good folks tell you how to put those two retainer spring clips in the locking hubs without learning twelve new combinations of the most foul words that ever come out of your mouth..Yukon?. If you plan on doing this, you haven't got enough tools in your shop or storage to even start. If you do, every one of them are going to be unrecognizable or gone after they are flung across the street. (check Joe's garage next time he has the door open) Advice.. Don't buy Yukon. Don't know if others might be just as apathetic, but I know they are. Two very well big packaged boxes with great top notch machined parts come to your door.... Not a single piece of paper in either one... You're on your own Slick. Best advice: Have Stan do it, or just don't...... She runs like a dream and is quite as a mouse now,,,, while driving in for my cognitive tests and PTSD treatments.
Thanks for the video. That compound low in 2WD is one of the things I miss from my 93 Dodge/Cummins 5 speed stick. I have a 12,000 pound trailer boat, three axle trailer. I live in mountainous terrain. That low range was perfect for backing and parking at a crawl without the need for the throttle. Now I have a 2012 Ram/Cummins. Love the heated seats but there is less and less I am able to do for myself. I will install the manual hubs at some point but I'm not in a rush. Santa Monica Mountains, Randy
Fantastic series Stan...the step by step disassembly and reassembly was very interesting. Great camera work and commentary also. I had Warn hubs on my '58 Jeep Wagoneer...they were bulletproof and reliable. Not a lot of fun on frozen fingers on freezing snowy upstate New York winter days tho.
I've had to make those wrenches a time or 4... Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Jeep. It's a good spot to use an old roached 1/2 or 3/4 socket. Take a piece of strap, drill a hole big enough for the socket to go thru and weld it all together. Some times it's square, round or a huge hex socket. Dana, Timken, and other axles... Another fun wrench to make is the wrench to take off the 5 sided nut on Kenmore washing machine agitator. For Northstar water pumps, I bought one...
Enjoyed the series, Stan. Wish you hadn't run into this problem on the way home from the job but I'm confident this fix will last you a very long time. Looking forward to seeing you soon! Sincerely, Tom Z
looking at all these brand of kits for my truck as it will be needed in the coming years, 140k coming up fast, and this kit looks to be one of the best.
1 point to highway mileage. Which by itself isn't a lot, but add the tighter turning radius and ability for 2WD low range, I would definitely do it again.
Doing it yourself Stan, you know its done right and the bonus being you save some bucks that way! A job shop would not have gone the extra effort with materials and time to make it perfect. A rare one might? Maybe.
Nice job Stan! Isn't it funny how we always end up going old school with a lot of mechanical things?....(meaning unit bearings suck) You should never have to worry about that setup letting you down with little maintenance needed. Enjoy!
The arrangement with the keys on the hub nuts is something I've seen in aircraft rod ends; the only difference is lockwire between the keyed washer and the nut and you can be glad they don't make you do that jazz in a tight space like in there.
Stan, what a great , well done DIY video. Everything was done top notch and carefully. Exactly how i like to do my repairs. I really enjoyed watching all three parts of the Yukon hub kit video. They should send you some kickback!! Have you noticed any MPG savings? Again, very well done. Have a great day.
About 1 full point of MPG, but the added bonus of proper Timken front bearings, noticeable parking lot turning and not spinning all those parts in the front constantly makes it a winner in my book.
The one trick I know for those "c-clips" is when you remove them, grab on the end and just pull. You don't use them twice. For putting them in, at least for pistons, you spread them open like a spring. Start the end and work around with your implement of choice. Spreading them like a spring creates pressure in the groove so they're in there until you yank them out.
You must not have parts people that give you a blank look as you put the old one on the counter when you are trying to get the replacement :-) I agree that they are a pain to remove in a way that preserves them. My current ones have been out & back in at least three times. The retainers on the original set of hubs at least that many times, likely more. I don't know a lot about what the previous owner did with it. After 20 +/- years, it's irrelevant anyway...
Well, they really aren't supposed to be reused, like that gasket everyone does anyways. Either way, if you know it's coming out, the internet *cough* McMaster *cough* helps save you the blank stares ;-)
Well, either Chitlin's omitted that little bit of information (which wouldn't surprise me) or I missed it entirely. Yes, I've taken to looking it up on line and then calling the local store with the part number. Saves the irrelevant 20 questions. It also helps if you always wind up getting the fresh-out-of-high-school kid that thinks he knows ... well, a lot, but really doesn't know that there are no such things as muffler bearings, radiator grease, or blinker fluid.
It may just be the ones for pistons you don't want to re-use just because of the heat cycling. Those are really the only ones I have experience with. But like anything, the manufacturer is always going to only provide instructions that are full CYA for them so they don't get sued. And 100x yes on the high school kid! But then again, we did all start somewhere AND if you're doing it right, we're all still learning! (going to go read more about those stupid spiro-loc pain in the asses!)
Stan, having spent my fair share of time doing brakes on race cars (SCCA Trans AM and GT1), I'll suggest you use something besides grease or silver anti-sieze on your brake's sliding components.... and I'll bet you already have it: Ceramic Anti-Sieze. If not, look for it your next trip to your welding supply. Walter Rock'n Roll white ceramic anti-sieze. Good to something like 2500° F, sticks to metal like grim death and won't wash off. Just keep it in a baggy after you open the bottle.... shit migrates and will try to escape the jar!!
Great video man, I was just wondering about a long term review. Have u had any problems with these locking hubs or anything because of the hub kit. I’m thinking of purchasing for my truck. It has an aggressive lift and I’ve got more vibration then I’d like even after pinion alignment so I’d like to stop driveshaft from spinning unless needed. Thanks for the info and video
@@adolfovenegas5290 Honestly, the only reason I bought this kit was for the oversized Timken bearings, the fact that I can be in low range with 2X, or not spinning the shaft 100% of the time was an added bonus.
@@ShadonHKW yea I’m honestly looking forward to the 2 wheel drive lo reverse, I have the 6 speed manual and reverse is a long legged sucker, but the reason I’m wanting to get the hubs is my truck is lifted 8 inches and it has more vibration then I want, ive already adjusted the axle for pinion angle but it’s still there and I know it’s coming from the front end, this will take care of it completely. Thanks again for all the info and the detailed video. I’m a diesel mechanic by trade by having a quick tutorial makes a job go so much smoother, no surprises!!
Good video, I do have a couple of comments though. I couldn't tell if the brake people put a non rotational swirl pattern on the rotors. It keeps the pads from climbing on the tool marks. Second I would have used silicone grease on the bolt sleeves. Petroleum based grease can make the seals on the sleeves swell up and lock up. Another thing is if you didn't do it, clean the rotors with brake clean before you put the pads on. Other than that, good job for what you call a shade tree job.
I concur with Stephen on the silicone grease - not only for the "swelling" consideration, but because of temperature issues. Braking generates some incredible localized temperatures that will "coke" standard petroleum grease. Swap to silicone on the slide bolts and the other brake component areas you touched. Typically a small "condiment" tear pack of it comes with GM OEM brake pads...
Excellent work, Stan. I'm curious though, Just wondering if that thing is sealed well enough that you could actually run a wet-bath lubrication system like the OTR Trucks. Would be easy enough to bore and tap a pipe plug in the hub between the rotor and wheel flanges, or maybe just a straight up Zerk fitting to pump grease in periodically. Way cool kit, and your work cleanliness is top-notch. I see no reason you shouldn't get 100K on those hubs. Gonna look int getting this kit for my 2500 single-wheel!! Also toying with the idea of adding Duallies to mine. Anywho.. Well done, thanks for the tutorial!!
You did not say what grease you used on the brake pin boots. Regular grease will turn them into goo. I use 3M silicone paste but there are other brake lubes designed not to effect the boots. Nice job though.
@@ShadonHKW I'm really on the fence about this. Certainly not an overall cash savings. However at 1 mpg that adds about 30 miles to a tank of fuel. Encourage me to add this to my Ram before I get spoiled with instant 4wd. (my ford had locking hubs with non-functioning vacuum locks.)
@@ShadonHKW Yes. I just bought a '15 Ram 3500 that was a hotshot truck 328K and really in nice condition. Not sure yet on the condition of front bearings. Haven't inspected the 4 corners yet. As an engineer (well 30 years ago) I know that ball bearings were used in things to decrease friction while timken bearing were used for heavy loads but have more friction. But the numbers I don't know. Trying to decide between a delete and locking hubs. One's illegal one's not.
Please not that your 'spanner wrench' is of superior quality than any other that I have ever seen for the same purpose! Usually the 4 ears are small, made of very soft steel, and shear off.
