Good evening I tried to post on a older thread, but it did not work.
I have a '98 2wd with a v-6. 130,000 miles. long story short. I think I have my front end howl diagnosed to a rt front wheel bearing. I also have bad upper and lower ball joints. I don't have any play in the wheel, but you can hear the rt side making noise when you spin by hand, and the on road noise goes away when you turn to the right.
I have the ball joints for tomorrow. I ordered the wheel bearing it will arrive tomorrow afternoon, BUT
How can I tell if I have the replaceable big bearing? or I need the whole HUB assy???. If I do just the bearing, Does it require a press to do the bearing change??

thanks

 

They don't sell just the bearings for the 96 and up Dakotas you want the Hub assembly I would replace the ball joints first then the Hub.

Are you replacing both top and bottom ball joints?

If replacing Both sides replace the coil spring isolators and your Stabilizer Bar links.

Look at your top control arm bushings they may be bad or very close to bad replace them also.

With your front end replacing everything at one time is the best way to go as you will need an alignment after you finish.

Grab a friend a few beers and get it done in two or three days.

The control arm bushings are best done by taking them off and have a machine shop replace the bushings they are almost impossible to do DIY correctly besides they can do it in 2 hours it will take you way longer than that and you will find out it was very hard to do.

Tell you the truth after doing my front end I say just buy new upper and lower control arms you get the ball joints and new bushings already done then all you do is swap them out.

The best part is they are cheap and saves you time and a lot of grunt work look on rockauto.com.

Look at it this way for the lower control arm the ball joint is $35 and bushings $15 so around $50 for parts a new Raybestos Pro grade control arm is $95 tops more money but you save time and a lot of very hard work removing rivets but you will need the proper tool to get the lower arm off.

 

2 wheel drive is the basic single large bearing/hub assembly. They are not hard to R&R at all. Leave the truck still sitting on the ground, chock the front wheels, put the parking brake on, pop out the center caps from the wheels and use a 1/2" breaker bar with the spindle nut socket to crack the nuts loose. I had to stand on the bar and bounce on the handle to get my spindle nuts loose. Then you can jack the truck up, put it on jack stands, remove the wheel, caliper and pads, remove the rotor and spindle nut and the hub/bearing unit should slide right off.

The important thing to remember is be absolutely sure you torque the new spindle nuts to their specified torque. I replaced my front wheel bearing/hubs a few years ago and they only lasted about 15 months because I did not torque the nuts properly. When I re-did them last year I bought a good 1/2" torque wrench and made double sure I had the right torque on the spindle nuts. Mine is 185 ft-lbs. Yours may be the same.

Speaking of spindle nuts if your new hubs don't include new nuts, Napa sells a good one, less than $10.00 each. $tealerships can charge more than twice that much depending on where you go. You should not need a press or any special tools other than a breaker bar and axle nut socket. I think mine is a 35 MM and I paid about $12.00 for it at Advance.

Jimmy

 

Thanks Auto zone has the bearing for sale for $74, or the whole spindle for sale for $74. and those have a 1 year warranty. I think I will wait till I get home and get some from rockauto. I also think I will take the autozone ball joints back and get those from rock auto as well. lets hope I make it home from thanksgiving on my howly bearing

 

I have Auto Zone Duralast hubs on my truck now, they have been on there since last November and I have had no trouble at all with either one. I believe they are made by TRW and so far are good quality. I remember I printed out a $20.00 off a $100.00 purchase coupon from the Pep Boys website and Autozone honored it so I saved $20.00 on the pair.

I also have Duralast upper ball joints on my truck, they are doing fine as well. TRW also makes the Duralast ball joints. The uppers don't take near as much abuse as the lowers. My lowers are TRW branded ball joints, I got those at Advance with a discount code. All 4 are doing fine.

I don't know how far you have to drive to get home but I would not chance it on a bad wheel bearing. Best to replace it first before hitting the road, bad hubs can get so hot they will sieze to the spindle and leave you on the side of the road or worse yet cause an accident. Just my 2 cents there.

Jimmy

 

last time I checked mine were just howling, not getting hot, but I did not check this trip, it is 350 miles back to the house. I will do a 40 mile test tomorrow and see if they get hot.

 

350 on those wow you must be crazy a short trip yes but 350 that's asking for a disaster.

The problem is the bearings are dry as a bone usually when they start howling at you. Driving on it for that long you will see the hub get very very HOT.

 

A hint as to what your bearings will be doing as you drive.

 

with that mileage count and the number of vehicles in your signature.....I vote have somebody drive the cherokee to come get you....

 

Changed rt front wheel hub with a Moog, hub, cost $84 out the door from Advance auto parts, 3 year manufactures defect warranty, no replacement unless there is a manufactures defect.
The main problem is solved. I will do the ball joints when I get home.
Sort of funny I got a loaner 1/2 drive torque wrench from O'reilly. This thing was already bent about 10deg when I picked it up, I adjusted to the Haynes specd 185 ft/lbs. This loaner torque wrench clicked out at maybe 100#'s obviously not enough. So I made my own torque wrench from a 4ft bar and some dumbells, it was a fun science/physics project for my young nephew, and worked very well.
Yes when I get home I will check it with my good wrench.
Thanks all for your help on getting the correct parts