Locking Hub question for my 1990 Trooper

The most common problem with auto hubs (besides lack of maintenance) is the retaining circlip popping off the end of the axle. This is #4 in the diagram. When this happens, the axle pulls inwards (as Shawn described above), and the splines on the axle can pull away from the driven hub (which can make a grinding noise, too), then you get no 4WD.

You can check this by pulling the bolts that hold the hub housing to the main wheel hub. Then see if the clip is loose and the axle pushes inwards. The end of the axle should have only a few thousandths of free play, and there are shims show (see #4) for that adjustment, that go behind the clip.

The clip is a Royal Pain to get back in place, BTW! Takes a bit of practice but if you thread the correct-sized bolt into the hole at the end of the axle, you can pull on that bolt while pushing the clip in place, and it should go into the retaining groove on the axle.

The Idjits that just generically circled a parts breakdown of the auto hub don't have a clue how Isuzu auto hubs work. I would fire them immediately and seek someone with better knowledge. Sounds like these cretins are trying to rip you off.

If you're gonna drive in rocks etc and do some semi-serious off-roading, you'd be far better off with manual hubs. They are stronger and simpler in construction, and once you lock the hub in, it ain't gonna come unlocked unless you do it!

Aisin hubs are OEM and the Best. but are getting harder to find and quite expensive. Maybe troll your local yard and look for some on a Trooper, Rodeo, or Pickup '88-'91. IIRC some newer ZuZu rigs manual hubs may fit, too. I'll let the experts weigh-in on that.

Warn and Superwinch hubs are pretty good (Warn is probably better than Superwinch) and usually a bit less $$. I found an excellent article on Warn hub replacement on a Gen I Trooper here:


If you go to Nathan's Isuzu section you'll find a good article on doing your own brake job (if you really need brakes, that is).

I agree with Shawn, anyone telling you that you need a brake job just because an auto hub failed, don't know what they're doing.

Well, imagine my surprise when I did a search for some Warn hubs, they've been discontinued. And the last set on eBay sold for $370!

There are some Aisin hubs on eBay for $135 each in quantities of 2. $270 for hubs ain't exactly cheap, but less than those Warn Hubs!


There are some listed that are cheaper, but it makes me leery 'cause they're not in the factory box, they could be poor-quality knockoffs. The ones I linked are from the Aisin store, in factory boxes, so they should be legit.

Here's a big search for hubs, so you can see what's there:


Also, beware of very cheap hubs on eBay, lots of them are made of Chinesium and probably won't hold up to any abuse. Although I recall a few Trooper Dudes here mentioning they used certain ones and so far, so good. But who needs Chinesium, anyway! I'd get those Aisins for serious off-roading, you'll love 'em.

The parts breakdown of the Aisin manual locking hub, shown below, was taken from an Isuzu TSB. The new hub assemblies will of course come with all the parts shown in the diagram, plus bolts. You can use the writeup for the Warn hubs' installation as a guideline, if instructions aren't included along with the Aisin hubs.

HTH & Good Luck with the project................ed

And you can fashion a handy dandy little tool for manual hubs out of a T piece of PVC. Works like a charm!