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Anything good about the 2wd hubs/knuckles?

BrettM

NAXJA Forum User
Location
michifornia
Now that I own a 2wd MJ, I've been looking at the front hubs and knuckles, but I haven't taken them apart or seen any diagrams in manuals... they are definitely different than the 4wd ones, any benefits? Any reason to keep them? I think I may just switch them to 4wd outers since I'm more familiar with those (and keep the stub shaft in to keep the unit bearing together).
 
My wife had a 2wd cherokee when we got married and I had to replace the front rotors and was very surprised how different the hubs/spindles were from the 4wd version. The wheel bearings are inside the front rotor/hub assembly and the spindle nut loads the wheel bearings. The bearings are loose and I had to repack them, unlike the 4wd units being sealed units. Replacing the bearings on a 2wd front end is cheaper than the 4wd front end but the 2wd rotors are much more expensive. The whole setup works fine for a 2wd vehicle and I'd see no reason to try and convert it.
 
GREASEABLE BEARINGS!!! Now, why the &%#@ they didn't do this for 4x models, only the beancounters know for sure. Stupid, non-greaseable, like to come apart without the stub shaft left in, unit bearings. You would think that everyone learned the first time, when Dodge tried these back in the 70's.
 
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