Manual lock hubs 97 Ranger

[sorekiwi]

I recently acquired a 97 Ranger with manual front hubs on it. I took them apart today and the internals are slightly different to what I have seen in pictures and video's on the internet.

The thrust bearing on these hubs in a nylon washer (as opposed to the needle roller bearing I was expecting)

Also the wheel bearing itself is retained by a jam nut and keyed washer butting up against the retaining nut (as opposed to the single nut and the little metal key thingy inside the keyway).

Do I have some weird off brand hubs here? (I havent found a manufacturers name on anything). Or is this just a less commonly found locking hub assembly?

Thanks for any input.

 

[pjtoledo]

pics may help.

 

[4x4junkie]

Sounds like the usual factory OEM setup...

For '95-'97, Ford switched from single-piece splined retaining washers (what I assume you referred to as the thrust washer... it has internal teeth to mate with the axle shaft spline and is held by a c-clip to retain the shaft within the spindle), to a three-piece setup consisting of a plain washer, a Delrin plastic spacer, and finally a (thinner-than-before) splined washer. The Delrin acts as a lubricating medium between the two washers. The previous one-piece D35 washers were prone to some issues (it did not use a thrust needle bearing like the D28 did) and is why the change to the 3-piece setup.