If you havent checked...
If you havent checked them lately then the hub bolts will probably already be loose and easy to remove. If youre real lucky, some of the bolts will have fallen out or snapped off inside the bearing hub.
Our Jeep had its original...
Our Jeep had its original hubs. The exterior is one piece and is removed leaving the internals attached to the axleshaft. Most hubs are two-piece and have dial and body portions.
A pair of snap-ring pliers...
A pair of snap-ring pliers makes snap-ring removal a snap. Two small screwdrivers can also be used if pliers arent available. The hub guts are then removed from the shaft.
Its a good time to repack...
Its a good time to repack the wheel bearings if they need it. Thoroughly clean the hub mating surface and the bolt holes.
Dab some locking compound...
Dab some locking compound on each stud and install them by doubling up two nuts as shown. A stud installation tool will work, too, if you have one. We dont.
Make sure the bolt holes in...
Make sure the bolt holes in your hubs are not wallowed-out. If they are, you need to replace the hubs. Our hubs were old so we decided to replace them with some new Warn units. Our new hubs use an O-ring seal so no gasket is required on the hub body.
Install the supplied hardware...
Install the supplied hardware and tighten the lock nuts to 40 lb-ft. Dont forget to pop the snap ring onto the axleshaft.
The instructions say not to...
The instructions say not to grease the locking hub. We lightly greased the internals to ease dial movement. A new gasket and the dial are bolted in place with Allen screws.
Every CJ (wagons and early trucks, too) has the capability of accepting locking hubs. Even if yours has solid drivers installed on the front axle, you can install locking hubs. Jeep used bolts to retain the locking hubs to the axle. These bolts often loosen (especially with a locked frontend) and allow contaminants into the wheel bearings. Since the locking hubs are the components that connect the axleshafts to the wheels, any slop in the connection will wallow out the bolt holes in the hubs, break bolts, and usually cause the hub to explode if not caught in time.
Some Jeeps have bolt retainers that are bent around the bolt heads to keep them from loosening, but these are sometimes a pain and should be replaced after each use. Lock washers only provide marginal insurance against hub-bolt loosening. The real answer is studs. Warn offers a stud kit that fits all CJs and early Jeeps. The later and weaker five-bolt locking hubs can really benefit from stud installation. Our CJ has the earlier six-bolt hubs, but installation is the same for either. Check out the captions to make studs out of your Jeeps hubs.