Was getting ready to change out my steering damper so I got my truck(ram2500 4x4) up on the stands. I noticed my drivers sidefront wheel very loose so I suspected bad ball joints..WRONG ..my axle appears to move quite a bit at the end of the axle housing. Everything else is tight.. So I'm thinking maybe the bearing and seal shot? Go to look in my haynes manual and it says that it is a dealer only serviced due to special tools.. Can I get this front drivers axle out and change the bearing and seal myself..I'm a big time do-it-yourselfer..I just replaced my transfercase extension housing seal the other day. I'm aware I'll have to rent some tools and remove alot of stuff, but I'm needing some instruction or sitelinks to help along the way. My haynes manual takes me as far as removing the hub to get to the hub bearing. Hope I get some input here ..thanks

 

The axle movement is side to side... Do those axles have c-clips..4 wheel drive is new to me for real.

 

The hub is a seald unit. I believe some people have tried to break them open to replace the bearings but not sure about it. You can get the hubs from nappa or Rockauto.com. Id suggest doing both at the same time they tend to go in pairs. PS forum has a great write up about how to replace hubs. Im in the middle of replacing my u-joints so ive gone through most of that write up in the last couple of days. The hardest part for me was getting the axle nut off. I had to heat the nut up and then use an impact gun. The other part that might give you trouble is getting the hub assembly out check around there are a bunch of different techniques.


PS Write up

 

Thanks for the info, but my problem is at the end of the front axle housing. Where the axle goes into the housing the bearing there has a massive amount of play...Is there bearings at the end of the axle /diff. housing? The hub bearing you are refering to is at the back of rotor? right?

 

your 2500 will have the dana 60, rather than the dana 44 in the PS writeup. however, except for the location of the seals (i think), they are pretty much the same design.

the wheel bearing (hub bearing) is inside the steering knuckle, which is sort of attached to the end of the axle tubes. there is not a bearing inside the axle tube. (unless i'm wrong about the d60).

 

But why would that axle shaft yoke(?the part that mounts a u-joint) heading into the axle housing have such a large amount of play on the drivers side but not on the pass. side..Is it because of my hub?

 

the outer axle shaft runs through the inside of the hub bearing. that brg should hold it nice and tight. the inner axle connects to the outer via the u-joints, which should also be tight.

 

Appreciate you staying with me on this..my tie rods are tight ,my ball joints seem tight, but that wheel sure wobbles and all I see back there is the shaft moving in the end of the axlehousing.. So am I looking at replacing the hub bearing and seal I guess? Any $$ figures on that for a 2500 ram. I understand I got to buy the whole hub with bearings perssed?

 

the bearings are expensive. probably $200-300 each depending on autozone vs napa/mopar. i think the seal is on the outside end of the axle tube on the d60, but i could be dead wrong. i think the brg just slides into the steering knuckle, not pressed in, and the (new) big nut holds it all in. getting the big nut off can be difficult, and getting the old bearing out of the steering knuckle can be difficult too. this is just a guess - but i'd guess at $250-350 in parts. $200+ in labor to pay somebody else to do it.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,1636

 

Are you sure its not the u joint. if the inner axle shaft has alot of play but the outter shaft ( the pat the goes into the knuckle ) doesnt, then it must be the ujoint. They have bearings on the caps that can wear. My guess is you have a blown u joint and hub assembly which would = loose tire and loose inner axle shaft.