Power Wagon Registry

I had a 1965 PW in high school, and had much fun with it. I’ve owned several 4WDs since then. I’ve never bought a new vehicle, either. When Dodge announced the new PW, I kept my eyes on it for several years. At age 50, I figured it was time for that brand new vehicle. I didn’t want anything fancy. I just wanted capability. I like bright colors, too. The step bars were dealer installed before I purchased the truck. I paid the dealer $134 to have the hood decals installed. Many aren’t familiar with PW, and I wanted others to make no mistake to its identity.
My first modification is the Spyntec & Mile Marker hub conversion. I also changed the axle shafts to RCV ultimate shafts.

Wheel & tire removed. Axle cotter pin has been pulled out. The caliper and axle nut removed from the unit bearing. The ABS sensor removed. The four unit bearing to knuckle bolts have been removed. Persuading the unit bearing from the axle shaft with a puller. This didn’t require much pull. Pulling the original axle shaft from the tube. Assembling the RCV shafts, CV joint & boot. The boot required a significant push (strike) to get it to pass over the joint. Mud slinger, outer seal & thrust washer installed on RCV shaft. A look inside the new spindle shows an installed pre-greased inner axle shaft bearing. There is no access to this bearing after the spindle is fastened to the knuckle.

Only 12 attachments allowed (I'll have to keep this in mind for future posts)
Grease seal installed at the inner bearing. There are two drilled & tapped holes in the new spindle for the ABS sensor. My sensor only required one hole. I flush plugged the other hole with RTV silicone sealant. A quick comparison of the new spindle and hub next to the original unit bearing assembly. Note the ABS tone ring on the new hub. A comparison of the original and RCV axle shafts (drivers side). The RCV axle shaft has been inserted in the axle tube and the new spindle is in place. The spindle is now bolted to the knuckle and the ABS sensor is installed. The inner bearing is packed and installed into the hub. The bearing grease seal is also pressed into place. There is also an outer seal installed near the tone ring. The hub is slid over the spindle. The outer bearing is packed and installed. The spindle nuts & locking washer are installed & adjusted per instruction. The disk & caliper are also installed. The inner locking hub is installed. Two different outer snap rings are included and it’s up to the installer which one to use. No inner snap ring (for axle shaft) was included, and the instructions indicate that it’s not necessary. There seems to be plenty of seal compression between the outer axle stub and spindle though. The instructions recommend the use of Loctite on the outer hub bolts. The amount shown in the photo was spread between two bolts.

Locking hub installed. Wheel and tire installed. Factory hubcap modified to fit over locking hubs. I cut a 4.25” diameter hole in the hubcap.
I still need to paint the spindle to avoid rust. The RCV axle joint after installation (passenger side). I’ll give high marks to the quality and ease of assembly with the Spyntec spindle & hub kit. The instructions were OK, but could have used more diagrams especially with the grease seal installations.

To qualify my opinions and thoughts, I plan to keep stock tires & suspension on this PW for many years.
Locking hubs:
I originally thought adding the locking hubs would allow a 2 MPG increase and pay off in approx 50,000 miles. However, I no longer see this modification paying for itself in any distance or timeframe (at least in fuel savings). I think published data has been exaggerated. My fuel mileage indicates a 1/2 MPG increase (that’s one half mile per gallon) with several checks at mostly highway speeds. I obtained these numbers from dividing distance traveled by amount of fuel used over a 2,000 mile trip. The numbers are reasonably close to the dash display, also.
With the front axle unlocked at 65 MPH, I recorded ~14 MPG. At 70 MPH, I recorded ~13 MPG. At 75 MPH, I recorded ~12 MPG. Prior to installing the locking hubs, these numbers were not even 1 MPG less. The only gain I could see was in the tenths column (first digit right of the decimal).
The original unit bearings should still be regarded as excellent hardware. I would not recommend installing these hubs if fuel savings was your only concern.
With the front axle unlocked, I do like the reduced noise or lack of hum. Steering is also smoother, especially going through sharp corners. However, these differences are not significant.
CV joints:
I was initially surprised at how rough or jerky, the steering felt with the original U-joint shafts while cornering. I've driven many 4WD vehicles and never noticed significant U-joint shudder during corners. Most of my previous 4WD vehicles were lighter SUVs or Jeeps with less power than the PW.
The CV axle shafts are incredibly smooth compared the U-joint shafts. As soon as I leave pavement, I usually shift into 4WD so I can disconnect the sway bar. Powering through corners is much nicer with the CV shafts than the U-joint shafts.

Looks good! I like the front hub modification, and thanks for all of the pictures!

Excellent writeup and product evaluation, nice looking PW too...

Awesome write up. I think I've seen your truck in slc. Or one just like it anyway. Love it

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Excellent job...I enjoyed reading this...love the color..

This was a great piece of education. Thanks for the pictures!

w2dodge wrote:Excellent job...I enjoyed reading this...love the color..

X2 ... Can you install those kind of axels w/o using the locking hubs ????

Great writeup! Was this the short kit or the regular kit?

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The spindles aren't stainless, do they need protection to prevent rust?
On that note, do the Dynatrac ones require rust protection too?

Loving the color of your truck. I have Yukon free spin hub kit and RCV's and love them.


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Great looking truck! Love that color!!! I am VERY jealous of your front end setup!!! RCVs and manual hubs= AWESOME!!!!

Thanks for all the compliments.
The hubs are the shorty kit as featured here:
http://spyntec.com/category/dodge-short ... rsion-kit/
I'm not sure about the rust prevention; just want to make sure.
The RCVs can be installed without the hub conversion. You can custom specify whichever type of outer axle shafts you need.

The front center caps...did you use a hole saw?

The Spyntec email representative suggested a 4.25" hole saw, as he heard that had worked for others.
I was fortunate enough to have a co-worker (with access to a 3-axis NC milling machine) help me cut the center cap holes.

I knew I smelled RCV's before I even opened up this thread:):):):) Your going to love the RCV's indestructable nature. that is a chunk of money to spend in ALL the right places:) Good work.. I was surprised to see that you needed a puller to remove the bearing assemblies on such a new rig!!!!

This is so awesome. Is this really about $4k in parts?! :O Toss in some Carli ball joints and its a real quick way to spend $5 grand! Man... I need to find a money tree!

omg best looking truck ever just wondering if you got this custom painted or factory colour, I want his truck

twistedpw wrote:omg best looking truck ever just wondering if you got this custom painted or factory colour, I want his truck

I'm with you on that. That is a very nice looking truck. I didn't think a PW would look good in that colour but it sure does. Maybe when I get the itch (and do enough damage to the current paint) I will do mine in orange. Then I could have a match for my orange big block powered Dakota. Well done sir!!

Thanks for the comments, guys.
Omaha Orange is a factory color for the ST series trucks.
The color choices for the ST model are far more plentiful than the SLT model. The only PW logo that is standard with the ST model is the tailgate decal. I had the hood decals added.
I believe most Power Wagons are based on the SLT trim package, and that's why there are only a handful of colors available. There are many more PW decals on the SLT model, also.

I love this...RCVs & freespins right out of the gate...BADASS!

Loving this truck. Very cool keep it up!


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Plus I wonder what scratches look like on an orange truck hmmmmm


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Hahahaha! Striped cream-sickle! Hahahahahaha!