Found a set of Warn hubs today, but..

[isaac_alaska]

Found a set of warn hubs that fit my truck! Pretyy exciting. They are super heavy duty, they weigh 3-4x what the "superwinch" hubs I have weigh. They're solid steel, no castings here. They say "auto" and "locked" on them. I need to take them apart and clean them and make sure they aren't broken inside. If they're in the auto setting, does that mean they only lock up in forward, and would freewheel in reverse or while cruising down the road?

When I took one of my hubs off to make sure these fit, I found that there's quite a bit of play in my stub axle spindle shaft. I expected a good deal of side to side play, but it also slides in and out axially at least 1/2"

What is normal spindle play with the hub removed?

[Elwood]

1/2" of end play on the outer stub shaft doesn't sound right. The two bronze bushings - one in the steering knuckle and one in the end of the axle housing - plus the dimensions of the universal drive assemblies (Tracta joints) control the end play, and 1/2" seems like a lot. I'd want to pull the steering knuckle and universal drive assembly, and see what's going on inside there.