I'm considering installing manual hubs on my Wizard as I'm figuring on lifting the front about 3" with the Tbars indexed and BJs flipped (spaced?).

I read the writeup on the hub installation on the site and it is pretty straight forward. It suggests Aisin are the better of the two, though Superwinch is a good product as well. I can get both within $15 of each other.

I'm just curious as to which you'd choose and why? I don't like manual hubs (I'm lazy, I don't wanna get out), however, for the sake of my CV joints, I will. The thing I remember most about manual hubs was the darn things freezing up and not being able to lock or unlock them when needed.

The big strike against the Superwinch hubs in my opinion would be the small allen heads that hold the dial to the body of the hub. These get corroded and very hard to get out. Some to the point the heads will have to be drilled out.

The aisins are strong and they are very low profile. They can be rebuilt as well. I'd highly suggest the Aisins.

Joe

Joe is right about the allen heads. They suck. Also The superwinch are made of aluminum or some sort of alloy. I cracked the set taht I had. Aisins are low profile and very durable.

Howdy,

One nice thing about the Superwinch hubs is you'll only buy them once. They are guaranteed forever. The ones on my Trail Trooper were so rusted on they came off with a drill and hammer, but they traded in for a new set. I didn't even buy them, they came on my $150 Trooper.

My .02
Jay <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/mrt.gif" alt="" />

I was running out of time getting all the things done to my truck here before Uwharrie and I had a shop quote me 20 bucks to repack the front wheel bearings, So I let them do the work.

The shop calls and says he's not having any luck getting the allens heads loose. I told him I didn't care if he had to drill the heads off, I needed the job done.

He ended up only having to drill one out, but that would not be something I'd want to have to deal with on the trail. The Aisins have 10mm bolts that hold the selector dial. Very easy to remove.

Superwinch didn't seem to keen on helping me out. I called and told Superwinch my issue and they acted like this wasn't very common. And referred me to Summit racing for the repacement bolts. I inquired about getting a new set if the allens just happened to break off int he hub body. He couldn't give me a yes. He said I'd have to send them and and see what happens.

Joe

Aisin's seem to be the way to go.

Oh, reading another thread, will I need to get ahold of the 26mm ring?/washer? When installing these hubs?

I won't be buying these new so I anticipate only two working condition hubs will be all that arrives. I'll have to buy any other parts on my own.

I don't think much of SW cust service. I've got a few e-mail exchanges that were quite surporising. According to their customer service dept, superwinch carries no inventory,s o replacemnt parts are not available. Instead, you have to buy a replacement set. They will reimburse you, if a replacemnt was deemed "necessary". Their warranty is pretty basic, its not an unlimited lifetime warranty. They only cover manufacturing defects. Abuse and normal wear and tear are not covered. In other words, stripped bolts were not a guaranteed "in warranty" replacement. When my housing finally cracked, mostly due to trail abuse, I decided to replace w/ aisins. I just didn;t feel like going through th hassle of trying to get them to replace.

Another vote for Aisins: lo-pro and super durable! And yes, you will need to buy a pair of 26mm snap rings.

I'll put in a good word for the SW. I've had no issues with mine for the past 2 years that I've had them. I did strip out one of the little allen bolts, but it wasn't a big deal. I liked them b/c they were the cheapest. 88 bucks from Summit to my front door.

Brad

I like the Aisins , they are easy to put in , and also quite easy to rebuild.I just rebuilt mine again when I put them in my project.I cleaned them all up , and totally regreased them.They lock and unlock very easy.As long as they are well greased , and you clean them every so often so the gunk doesn't build up in them , locking hubs aren't that much of a problem.Another thing I do when I go offroad , once I hit the back roads , I lock my hubs.That way , I don't have to climb out when I do need 4x , I just shift and off I go.It beats climbing out of the truck and locking them once you hit mud or snow <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" /> It doesn't make that much of a difference in gas consumption either as its usualy not that long before you do need to lock them once your off the main roads.