Betsy Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 A few years ago, I fitted some cheap (AVM?) FWH hubs to my Series 2a. Whilst climbing the steps on the Gap Road (R.I.P.), 1 of them failed and damaged the stub axle/wheel bearing etc. The old driving flanges were in the back, and were refitted. Now, I have a long journey to do, and want to try again with a quality FWH, which make are the best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 I'm not sure FWH's are worth the effort, they seem to just add a point of failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonk Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 leave them off, they're not worth it, especially when bigger wheels are fitted, i've had them explode into pieces on me before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I agree, they are not worth having. The alleged saving on drive train wear and fuel consumption is minimal. The ones I had never stopped leaking (I bought them new). Having to get in and out of the truck to engage/disengage them is a bit of a pain. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Yeah I'd agree - I used to have the fairey ones - awful things - i took them off and threw them away. Plus people always forget to lock them in periodically and it kills the railco bushes! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Better off without them . I had them on mine when i bought it. Gave nothing but oil leaks. were a bit of a pain to get off to adjust wheel bearing etc. Gave no difference in mpg. Better to use the stand adrd flanges. Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 I have tried virtually every brand of hub designed for LandRovers over the decades and found most of them to be troublesome in one way or another.. The very early AVM,s weren't too bad because the inner splined rotor rode in a bronze bushing in the iron housing. The rotors on later AVM,s rode directly in the iron bore of the housings and wore out quickly. Once again the very early Selectro hubs were quite good. They had case hardened steel housings. The pot metal cam rings were a bit fragile but I made a pair from steel and then the hubs were excellant. Later Selectro housings were made from aluminium and they wore out rapidly particularly if wheel bearings were not kept in proper adjustment. Warn brand hubs for LandRovers were junk. I could break them at will even with 10 spline axles. MAP hubs would slip and re engage suddenly occasionally under load . I am not sure that contributed to broken front halfshafts but it certainly didn't help. I did have a Fairey hub on only one side with a drive flange on the other for a few years and never had any problems with it. Although they were made of aluminium they appeared to be reasonably well made, if a bit fiddly to fit and remove.A free wheel hub on only one side seems to work quite well. Some say that the spider gears in the diff wear out more quickly but it's really no different to some trucks such as Toyotas, Chevs, Jeeps etc that were available with front axle disconnect systems .Since making my portal hubs I haven't used free wheel hubs because I wanted to reduce the locations where oil can leak out from. bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brasco Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 same here... don't fit them... i have the outside of the tyre covered in oil , and i tried all types of seals and sealers to minimize the leak without success. besides, sometimes i forget to switch them on and i engage the 4wd and u hear a rattle from the inside. i did not see much difference in fuel consumption too. besides , that it is not the first time i see rock debris attached to them after some minor offroad in the rocks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 Crumbs, thats pretty unanimous then! The main reason I am considering them is related to my earlier post about propshaft angles and parabolic springs etc. With the angle correction spacers fitted, the front prop is not binding, but there is a bit of vibe at higher speeds. I have not got time to get a high angle front prop made up before a trip to France, so the FWH hubs may go on just for a short while, but I'll keep the driving flanges in the back! I have a chance of some Superwinch hubs, so will report my findings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.