I'm trying to do a complete brake job on the big Dodge--getting bad pulsation and shuddering, and who knows what kind of maintenance the previous owner did. I've got the front calipers off, but the rotors don't just slide off the hub. I've even tried gently hammering them to knock them loose. There's a "collar" that seems to hold the wheel studs in place. Looking at the new rotors, it looks like I remove this collar and the studs from the old rotor and install them on the new rotor, presumably using nuts on the back side of the rotor. But I can't get the old rotor off. Do I remove the center hub nut? It looks like this outer"collar" forms a cup that is held in place under the hub nut, which holds the rotor in place. There's no seam anywhere else that I can detect where the parts would come apart. I've got it loaded up with PB Blaster and can resort to the gas wrench if I have to, but would like to avoid that route.

Did a search on this, but I only found one post that says the rotors should just slide off, which they don't seem to do, rust or no rust. And the 2001 manual that I downloaded doesn't have info on rotors like on my '98 2500 4x4.

Also, on the passenger's side, there was a 3/16" or so steel spacer between the "collar" and the wheel itself. It looks OEM. Why is it there?

Any tips on removing sticky rear drums? Got one off, the other is a no-go...

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

For the fronts, you have to remove the caliper, the axle shaft nut (in the center with a cotter pin), and finally, you will have to remove the entire wheel bearing hub assembly. There are 4 bolts on the back of the knuckle. All 4 of those have to come out, and pray that the bearing assembly comes out as well. I know a few guys who split the bearing because they hammered it out.

If you plan to keep using your current bearings, I would hope you have access to a press, or an air hammer. Caution though, you want to baby that bearing unit. Support it as much as you can.

Once the 8 lugs are pressed out, you can see how the hub and rotor seperate.


As for the rears, the drum is not coming off because there is either rust, and/or clips on a few of the lugs, or you need to take a little more slack out of the shoes with a brake spoon or screwdriver. If you have a good hand, you can pound on the drums with a baby sledge. No need to swing like John Daly. Just uniform, moderate blows to the front of the drum around the lug area.


I hope this helps.

Good luck with your ride.

 

10-4 on what DD said. Don't use a wheel puller on the fronts or you will separate the bearing. I used my old bolts in the hub. I backed them out and tapped them to get the hub out. Before I did this, I soaked where the hub meets the knuckle with PB. Mine came out without too much problem. I think I was lucky from what I hear.

As for the rears, I backed out the brakes with a spoon and heated the between the lugs with a torch just enough to expand things. Mine came off. I upgraded to a larger brake cylinder and my rears are as smooth as the baby's behind.

If the front rotors are okay, Napa can turn them with the hub bearing attached.

Good Luck.

P.S.: Check your universals and b.j.'s while you are in there.

 

Tell me about the larger brake cylinders (I assume you mean the wheel cylinders, not the master cylinder). Is it a worthwhile upgrade as long as I'm in there?

I'll check the U-joints, too. How hard to change them? I hate the way "as long as I'm in there" adds up, but it's such a pain to take it all apart, I may as well do it now and not worry about it again.

Thanks for the advice!

 

Matt, check out the links, I think they will help.

While your in theredoes add up BUT, it sure is a lot less time consuming if you check the u-joints now and if they are bad, change them. Parts are not expensiveand doingu-joints at somepoint is almost a guarantee. On the other hand, make sure you never sieze the hub bearings when you put it back into the knuckleand the next time your in there, it will be a lot easier to take apart. The u-joints are not difficult to change, they are time consuming to get to but you're there. Getting the clips off that hold the u-joint caps on is sometimes a PITA. Having a vice helps. Good luck.

https://dodgeforum.com/m_498851/tm.htm

http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech/hub.php

 

OK, humor me here--what is "splitting the bearing"? I'm guessing I've done it. I was having no success knocking the hub out from behind using an air hammer on the four 9/16" mounting bolts, so I put a puller on the rotor (EDIT: I just noticed Crabman told me specifically not to do this--I'm a $500 idiot, I guess). It pulled the rotor off and brought the roller bearing with it. The race and hub are still stuck to the spindle, even though all four bolts are out. I'm guessing this hub and bearing assemblyis now junk, yes? Can I just pound the rest off the spindle with brute force now, since the hub will need to be replaced anyway?

I'm also guessing that the other side will be just as bad, if not worse. Should I just go ahead and replace both sides?

And as long as I'm in there, I'm doing the U-joints. Anyone have a part number and a good brand?

Thanks as always.

 

I'm guessing this hub and bearing assemblyis now junk?
yes. don't feel too bad, sometimes they just won't come off without busting them. its a stupid design.

Can I just pound the rest off the spindle with brute force now, since the hub will need to be replaced anyway?
don't mess up the end of the axle. might want to use some kind of puller.

I'm also guessing that the other side will be just as bad, if not worse.
maybe, maybe not.

Should I just go ahead and replace both sides?
i would.

And as long as I'm in there, I'm doing the U-joints. Anyone have a part number and a good brand?
spicer

check ball joints while you are there.

 

I've heard that some guys split their bearings, regrease them and put them back together. This was after I split my bearing a year ago when I used a puller to get mine off. ( Remember the goal of this forum is to learn from other people's mistakes ) I was careful to put mine back together, very careful. Thought I would get away with it when I was done because everything sounded great. That was a year ago and pre-winter salt. My front bearing are now talking to me. Fortunately, I greased the hub bearings when I put them back in so getting them back out won't be too much problem. I'm planning on putting new bearings in fairly soon.

As for your problem, did you read my link to the discussion on hub bearings and u-joints? Do you see the area where the hub bearing is stuck? It's that 1/4" around the hub bearing and knuckle. I would still try backing the bolts out and pounding them for awhile. All of them, not just one of them.Also make sure you use PB. You're hoping that it gets in while you'repounding. When all else fails, the last resort is the smoke wrench if you feel the bearing is shot. Heat up the knuckle area and pound again.Also, you might want toput an old socket on the boltbefore pounding or use another bolt so youdon't mess up the boltheadthus making your problem worse. With enough heat, itshould come off.

Another thought if it is still stuck,could you pop your ball joints out so youcould take your knuckle off the truck and work on thehub bearingeasier? Just a guess since the truck probably needs newbj's anyway while you're in there.

 

Thanks, Crabman. I've had that link bookmarked for months in anticipation of the job, even though I didn't expect to need it to just change brake rotors. Feh. Stupid heavy duty truck.[:'(]I am going to get a set of the larger brake cylinders while I'm at it, too.I'm already $700 into this job, what's another $40?

Last night, I doused the hub with half a can of PB and hit it with the gas wrench and pounded on all four bolt heads, both with a hammer and with an air hammer. It's not budging a millimeter. I haven't given up, and it's been soaking for 24 hours, but I'm guessing it won't help. I'll use the puller as a last resort, but expect it.

This truck has lived a very hard life prior to my acquiring it, so I'm not surprised that everything is rusted solid. I think it was used to push a plow, and every bolt I've ever touched on it has been rusted solid. With 74,000 miles, it seems to me that replacing both hubs and never worrying about it again seems like a good idea. I found Timken hubs at Autozone for about $200 each, which seems cheap. I'll probably replace both of them along with new U-joints (the upgraded Spicer 760x are at my local NAPA for $22). That way I'll never have to worry about it again, and with new hubs in there, it will be easier to replace the rotors in the future. Plenty of anti-seize to be used on reassembly.

The good news is that the ball joints are good--I had a pretty severe off-road accident during the winter, and it knocked the alignment way out of whack. The shop that fixed it warned me that I would need new ball joints, but ultimately said I didn't and that they were fine. If it was even remotely possible that I needed them and they could have sold me a replacement set, I'm sure they would have.

Let's hope I can press the studs out of the rotors more easily (I have a 12-ton press).

Thanks for all the advice. I'll let you know how it turns out. What did people do before the Internet?

 

i've never actually tried this so don't know if it works or not, but i read it over on diesel truck resources. they talked about jack up the truck so the front wheels are off the ground (obviously), backing out the hub bolts about 1/4", and then putting on a socket with extension on it, lining it up with a solid stop, crank up the truck, and then having an assistant turn the steering wheel and letting the power steering push against the hub. sounds like danger of flying extension - so use with extreme caution.