So as some of you may remember i work now for Warn. Its been a month and i must say so far i am impressed. Its actually a good company to work for. They do treat their employees well and most items are still made in america. But another thing that amazes me is how receptive they are for feedback. An idea i had already has been put into trial (nothing major).

But i wanted to use this to get in touch with the guys that use the products and see if theres any feedback you can give. Likes, dislikes, things that you want to see changed, and i will do my best to get it sent on to customer service. Also, if you are having any issues or have broken anything let me know. We have some pretty large parts diagrams and can get about anything for current and recent models parts wise. You can find it here http://www.warn.com/truck/ReplacementParts/replacementparts.jsp
try to go to your local/online dealer but if you have trouble with them feel free to let me know and i'll see if i can get you taken care of. So have at it, i only ask that you don't turn this into a whose winch is better argument. Thanks for your input.

Cool, sounds like a fun place to work for. Esp. if you like wheeling. I must say I do like warn products and have never had issues with my warn winch.

I did have one issue with one of their other products though. My Warn hubs were nothing but trouble for me. And the issue seemed very Xterra specific. More info can be found in this thread: http://www.xterraownersclub.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=003168#000000

Yes, tell them I'd give them wonderful publicity on all the websites if they give me a free 9000lb winch.

Well....it can't hurt to ask, right?

Yes, I have some feedback on their manual hubs.

First, the studs that they supply are weak. I broke one on installation, even before I reached the torque they specify. My dealership broke another two removing the hub to re-pack the wheel bearings. Warn would be better serving the users if they provided grade 8 bolts instead of the studs for the hubs.

Second, they need to make component parts available. I broke one of the exterior hub cover pieces (the piece with the rotating center that you turn to engage/disengage the hub) when it hit a rock. Breakage is to be expected. I was pissed off to find that to replace it, I could not buy just the hub cover, and I could not find any place that sold just a single hub at a reasonable price (going rate was around $150 a pair, and only one place was willing to sell a single hub but at a price of over $100 for the one hub). Finally Warn came through for me, but only after much calling and complaining to them. They should make at least the hub cover assembly available, since it is a part that one can expect some breakage. If you have to buy a pair of hubs every time you break the cover, I would not recommend them to anyone. (Unfortunately, due to the weak studs they supply, I don't have the option of being able to go back to the Nissan automatic hubs without breaking several more studs, so I am stuck with the Warn manuals now).

Don't get me wrong, I like the manual hubs. I just wished they addressed the issues of the quality of the studs and availability of replacement parts.

k_enn

I second the crappy studs that come with the manual hubs. I bot some Hex-bolts from Mcmaster to replace them.

before I get flamed for "bot" its bought I know....I backspaced over it and didn't finish typing it. O'well I'm a dumbass. I should start previewing my posts.

You wouldn't be the same desert rat that orders from us are you? I've sent some stuff that way so i was just wondering.

So i am seeing that theres some issue with the stud quality of the manual hubs. Now is it stripping of the bolts or are they just completely breaking. I'd like to be as specific as possible, is it breaking mid thread, at the head? Where?

It is not stripping, but a complete breaking of the stud. On the one that I broke, it broke near the center of the stud, leaving only about 1/8 inch protruding from the Xterra wheel (not enough to get a good grip on to back it out, and the material was too soft for a "broken bolt extractor" to work). The best way to describe the location was near the inner-most end of the threading on the half that protrudes from the Xterra wheel.

(outside) \\\\\\\\\\\\||||||\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ (inside)
(break)..............^

k_enn

P.S., the break was rotational, not one caused by lateral forces.

Not me.

I do own another website for Nissans though - www.nissan4wheelers.com

youre probably thinking of www.desertrat.com