without pics till later
servicing the front hubs
most hubs on are either full floating, or have been converted over and It may occur to you that the locking part of the hub needs maintenance.
They are very easy to do
First jack up the jeep and use all the normal safety rules.
next remove the ring of bolts holding the hub on.
I like to drop there in solvent and get them clean now.
Here is where the hubs differ by model and manufacturer, You may be able to pull the entire hub, or just a section, If it does not come off easy, check for a frontal part that can be pulled. A few taps with a rubber mallet and it will come off, you will see a snap ring holding the rear of the hub on, unsnap that and the entire thing is now in your hand. Check for any broken gears, I believe that most of you will find all is good so clean it up and some fresh grease and you are ready to reapply. I use a light coat of rtv when bolting it back together.
If you had dug that far in, I would suggest checking on the actually hubs bearings, once the locking hub is off, you will see a nut with a locking washer, flatten the washer with a punch and get a 2 1/16 socket and remove the nut, washer, another nut, a thrust washer.
Pull on the hub if you have drum breaks, flip up caliper and pull the hub if it is disc.
You will have 2 sets of bearings and races, inner and outer, I like to just have new races pressed in and replace the bearings at this point, but if you are good with the old, repack the bearings with fresh grease and re assemble.
put on the thrust washer and torque the first nut to 50 pounds, Back it off by a turn equal to one of the flat sides or 1/6th a turn, this gives you about the proper end play without needing a set of gauges to measure.
Now the locking washer and front nut till tight, set the locking washer so the front nut does not turn.
Put the locking hub back on.
A few tips, lay out a sheet of newspaper to keep parts in order, place them from the outside to inside how they came off and in the direction they did, have plenty of shop rags around, do only one side at a time in case you need to refer to the other side for parts placement and orientation. Order a 2 and 1/16 socket and receive it from a Jeep place before starting, the proper socket is not a common tool and seems to be built for the Jeep front ends as a service tool for mechanics doing the work. most Jeep mail order places that sell them for less money than the shipping will be.
