Great Info on here, This was the way the old UNI Bearings were in the past TJ's and XJ's the JK Hub assembly is swedged 2wd or 4wd used the same bearing no stub shaft and nut preload needed..

 

...Word...

 

Yup, the 2wd has no stub shaft and nut, yet uses the same bearing. So, there must be something different about the JK unit bearing.
I really need an old JK hub to take apart and solve the mystery.

If I was in error, at least it was toward the direction of safety.

 

Me, too. More to come...

 

always great info and always better to be safe than sorry

 

See this thread to understand why the JK hub can be run without a stub shaft installed, unlike previous Jeep hubs.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/stock-jk-tech-12/oem-front-wheel-unit-bearing-study-124299/

Previous hubs needed the stub shaft and nut to hold the bearings in preload.

 

Yea u can run it without an axle shaft, otherwise the ORE SBS plug wouldn't be made to plug the axle tube in the case of a broken axle. Good thread rojenx posted!

 

Huh. Wow, thanks ronjenx. Great thread. Very interesting. Glad you were able to find one to take apart.

 

not saying yes or no to this one, but i ran without an xle for 6 months and did no harm to MY jeep. now thats not too say if u do it, something might happen, it could have been luck of the draw on mine

 

It has been established it's OK to roll without front axle shafts on the JK. The 2wd JK uses the same hubs, with no stub shafts installed.

Previous hubs required the stub shaft and nut to hold things together.