Sounds like you have front hub bearing noise;if the noise didn't go away after replacing the one ,possiblly that it was the other side.if you slightly lean the car from one side to the other.see if the noise gets louder.the side that it gets louder is the side to replace,also those hubs don't come apart.the are a sealed bearing set up.

 

The hubs on a dakota are not auto locking.their power is trasfered from the t/case and has open frt diff,they are not set up like ford junk

 

really you're sure about that? have you tried turning a 4wd dakota on dry ground engaged in 4wd? my verdict from experience says wheel hop and axle binding on the front end, can only mean one thing... i dont know about your year but i know my 2001 does exactly that

 

i bought and replaced my front hub assemblies about a year ago due to a loud highway hum. the ones i bought look as if they could be greasable there is a hole in it that is covered by a plastic plug with a rubber o-ring at the tip, and it has a screw holding it in place. is this possible that it colud be greasable? there is no grease fitting., but i have the loud hum once again!!!

 

Are the front hub assy's hard to change?

 

you gotta take off the tires, caliper, and rotor before you can get to the hubs. not hard, but a little timely if its ur first.

 

only hard part is getting the 3 large bolts on the large side, but you can work around it by turning the steering wheel.