Non-OEM hub

[LilRed3rdGen]

Hey guys, I was just about to install some manual locking hubs on my 2000 ranger with the 4.0, and I just have no idea what this hub is. It's different from the driver's side which already has a manual locking hub on it.

The passenger side CV is threaded against the hub and I assume is constantly engaged. I don't know much about it and I haven't been able to track down anything helpful for me. I'm going to replace the wheel hub and the CV anyway since the boot is gone. I'm going to have some pictures attached, but they might not be too telling since I won't take off the wheels until tomorrow to dick with it.

Also, there's still vacuum lines running into the hub for the passenger side, but they won't be doing anything since there's just no locking hub at all.

TL;DR what the crap is this hub? Am I wasting money changing it out?

 

[pjtoledo]

you got a "half this-half that" front end.
starting in late 2000 Ford went to full time hubs. permanently live, nothing to disconnect.
the new full time hubs will bolt into a vacuum steering knuckle. some cleaning of the bore may be needed.
need to swap the outer CV too. or get the entire assembly.
either way you go, the CV must match the hub.

FYI, that center nut is torqued to about 250 ft-lbs.

 

[pjtoledo]

the snap ring on the lower ball joint doesn't look right, maybe it's just the pic

 

[LilRed3rdGen]

I just thought it was rednecked to work. The previous owner gave off a "As long as it works, whatever." vibe. Which is totally fine, because everything worked when I bought it haha.

As far as moving forward with the replacement, do you recommend swapping the wheel hub to match the driver side? Is there any benefit?

 

[pjtoledo]

totally your choice.
a hub that's always locked and never (seldom) breaks, will slightly lower gas mileage.
or a disconnect hub that saves a slight amount of wear on the drivetrain.

 

[LilRed3rdGen]

Oh I'll just replace it with lock/unlock hubs and get the proper CV to match. It'll drive me nuts before it goes bad.