I just got done replacing the passenger side wheel u-joint this weekend. It was a bigger pain than I thought it should have been. I was too pi$$ed to take pictures during the replacement. The steps to do it were pretty easy, but actually doing it was a pain in the rear. The first thing that you do is to put the front onto jack stands, then remove the passenger side tire. Next (since mine is 4X4) remove the plate on the front axle between the diff and the tire. After that remove the calliper and the rotor ( 2 bolts (so far so good)). Next remove the 3 12 point bolts that hold the hub assembly to the knuckle ( you will have to turn the tires to the limits in both directions to get these bolts off) Step 5 is to remove the cotter pin and castle nut from the axle. Now for the hard part, remove the wheel hub assembly from the knuckle. Mine was rusted together, so after 2 cans of "PB Blaster" (great stuff) and a lot (about 3 hours off and on) of beating on it (back side of lugs) it finally came off. Last pull the axle through the knuckle, and replace u-joint (more "PB Blaster" and beating). A couple of quick side notes; 1. if you want to cuss and just want to sit in your garage all day on a weekend you should try this. 2. When this happens to you, put a light coat of axle grease on the parts of the hub and knuckle where they meet to help ease the next time this part needs to come off.

 

easy way to remove your wheel bearing get couple long bolts same thread long bolts screw them in and turn the wheel both ways all the way bottoming the bolts out back and forth and it will start pushing the wheel bearing out learned this at chrysler school few years ago from an old tech works well

 

Great start to a thread, Robert. It just so happens I'm endeavoring on the same mission (Driver's Side) after the UV joint "repair" by the local Aamco seems to have, catastrophically, failed (resulting in the complete shearing of my inner and outer axle shaft). So, $580 later, I've a new axle shaft assembly to install.

So, I got to the part where I need to remove the wheel hub assembly from the knuckle. Dodge Service department recommended I beat on it. I'm only 30 minutes into that session, and I'm not sure I want to continue down the other requisite 2 1/2 hours of sitting in the garage and cussing.

Dodgeguy97 to the rescue? I'm looking for a period (or some sort of punctuation) in your post somewhere, but I think I have the general idea of what you're saying. You mean to say that I need to get a couple of bolts of the same size but a bit longer. If I thread these in-place of the three bolts I removed, I should be able to turn the wheel back-and-forth and it will bottom-out the top of the bolts against the axle assemble. Is that right?

If that's it, how much longer should the utility bolts stick out of the knuckle assembly? I'm going to get a couple of sizes (and I'll post my results accordingly), but it'd be helpful to know how much to stick-out of the back.

Dodgeguy97, please let me know if I'm reading this correctly.

Robert, I was going to use white lithium grease on everything I put-back together. Do you think axle grease would be better to prevent sealing by rust?

Thanks!

- Dave

 

You are doing it right. And if you are going to get 3 bolts, you can also hit them with the hammer instead of trying to get the right length to wedge them. BTW, you can use a piece of steel as a wedge. And be careful with the axle, you don't want to ruin the seal. Oh, and btw, when you put the hubs back in, use anti seize compound around the part of the hub that goes into the spindle. And clean all the rust off everything first.

 

I couldn't find 9/16"-18 bolts in anything longer than 4" (which is what came off of the hub to begin with). I opted not to buy them because they were the same length and they weren't stainless. In hindsight, I probably should have bought a couple to beat them up with the hammer (which is how I started the hub off of the knuckle). Needless to say, I'll need to replace them the next time (I had to use a larger socket to get them back on).

This brings-up a question: where the heck do you find these "special" bolts these days? Can't get them at Lowes or the specialty bins at your local True Value. Any suggestions?

 

Get the original bolts from dealer or jy. If I was you I would replace them asap if you banged them up pretty bad. Before they rust in place and the larger socket just strips the head, then you'll be screwed. Then you will have the old ones for next time.

 

what i found works for gettin the hub to seperate, is thread those 3 bolts out part way, and then using an impact hammer with (an adapter to fit the size of the head of the bolt) hammer the bolts forward, because the bolts are of strong grade, they can handle being hammered by the air hammer. keep unthreading the bolts and hammering until the hub comes off. make sure to hammer all 3 little by little, dont just crank one bolt all the way out and hammer it till it doesnt go ne further, do each bolt lil by lil

 

The best way to get the hub off is to buy a 3 jaw hub puller from your local autoparts store. They run about $15-$20 and your are less likely to damage anything beating on it. The first time I pulled my hub assembly I beat on it and within 6 months I was replacing it.

 

A puller will seperate and ruin the the assembly 99 percent of the time. That is why every one does it the other various ways.

 

... that, and I don't see anything to leverage against with a puller (as I have one). Pushing from the rear seems the safest bet.

Oh, and good call on the "extra" bolts, Zman. However, I'll have to get to that when we don't have a single-digit day. Welcome to Pittsburgh!

Great advice, all. Thanks!