I bought my son a 99 Ranger 4x4 with 3.0l v6. A few days ago the passenger side hub assy came apart. As I am going to replace the pulse vacuum hubs with manual locking hubs, can I replace the hub with a non pvh hub? Will it be plug and play or are there steps I have to take to use them?

 

Welcome to the forum

I assume you mean the plastic cap came off not the wheel?

Hub and PVH guts seen here: TRS Magazine - 98-00 Ranger Hub/Bearing Assembly Replacement

No, you must replace a 1998 hub with a 1998 hub

Manual hub conversion here: 1998-2000 Ford Ranger Rugged Ridge (AVM) Locking Hubs

 

Ron, I mean that the hub assy and bearing came apart- wheel came off. My thought is that since I was going to install manual locking hubs such as the Rugged Ridge it might not be necessary (or as expensive?) to use the pvh hubs. Just wondering.

 

As far as I know, no

You need to replace wheel bearing assembly with a 1998-2000 assembly

 

i know this a way old thread ,


I need to Replace my 99 Rangers 4wd, Front Wheel bearing assembly , (bearings shot)
Q. To use “Manual lockouts “
Is it and Different wheel bearing hub Assm. Or is it the same PVH wheel bearing hub ,that i buy? ***** got me confused . Pryer Owner put manual lockouts on truck
But im tryn to learn What wheel bearing hub is used , before i would order new ones .

 

Yes, you need 1998-2000 4x4 front hubs, they work with manual(AVR) hubs or PVH hubs
2001 and up used different hubs for Live Axle

I think all have ABS sensors now, which you don't need if you don't have 4WABS but do need if you do have it

 

thanks Ron. Im still confused bc the ones i see online look like the PVH’s and im not sure what im looking for , and if i found a manual hub , do they just plug up the air tube or just leave it , ah i never learned about 4wd till now having to fix it on this newer used 99 i got few years ago

 

No such things as "manual hubs" as far as the wheeling bearing part, a 4WD can have the option of Automatic lock/unlock, or manual lock/unlock but both used the same hub for that year

Hubs are specific to the years, and 2WD and 4WD have different front hubs
1998-2000 4WD are the same for those 3 years, factory were PVH automatic lock/unlock, they could be converted to AVM manual hubs, only manual lock/unlock model that would work on 1998-2000 Rangers, sold under different names but all made by AVM

Just put a cap over the vacuum ports

 

I thought the one is a manual hub and the other was PVH


oh ok the other one goes on 2001-2008

 

The 2nd one is correct for PVH and Manual Hubs

The 1st one is for 2001-2011 Ranger 4x4s that have Live Axle, there would be a nut on the end of the axle shaft on each front wheel

To see what its for you have to look at the front side, like this picture: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/...1000_QL80_.jpg
You can see the splines/teeth on the inside of the outer hub, but no splines where the axle would come thru

Live axle hub won't have that, looks like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IbtJRMsE1p8/maxresdefault.jpg
It has splines/teeth that grip the axle so its ALWAYS locked, and these have different axles that have a threaded end so it uses a nut to bolt it to the hub, like this: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...hub_grease.PNG
A 1999 Ranger can have Live Axle as Ford was getting rid of PVH as soon as possible, but Officially Live Axle wasn't fully used until 2001 Model Year

Live Axle is not considered "manual" because it can't be locked and unlocked, hub is just bolted to axle

Manual hub looks like this: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...ridge_hubs.JPG
Center can be turned to lock(free) or unlock a front wheel

 

got it. Thanks again Ron. Now i get it , i was getting the terminology (wording ) crossed
so the Wheel bearing Hub assm. Are Same and the other Hub -> auto/ manu are 2 items

 

The wheel bearing hub is the same for PVH or manual "hubs"

The wheel bearing hub for Live Axle is different, as it has no "hub", just a nut on the end of the axle

 

to purchase new Whl Bearing Hub Assm , is there a better Quality part then what first pops up online , Id rather find a pair that has the best bearings and not one that im replacing 3yrs down the road, Ive been dumping cash into this 99 4wd i got 2yrs ago , its like new Barn find 55k miles Rust free body , it just sat in old guys Damp barn rarely used ,till i got it