Hey having a problem with my 97 dodge ram 1500 4x4. Heres a little background. A few months back I had my ujoints, balljoints, and other front end stuff replaced. Then one day my drivers side wheel bearing fell apart while driving (luckily i wasnt going fast and was able to pull over). This was in february so I had a shop replace both hub assemblies because I dont have a garage to work in in the winter. They said the axle (im assuming outer shaft) was a little beat up due to the failure of the wheel bearing.

A week or so after that I had the truck jacked up to change oil and I checked the wheel and there was a little play so I brought it back to the shop I had fix it (I dont have a 1 11/16 socket on hand) and they said the nut was a little loose and they tightened it. The play went away.

Fast forward to yesterday I was noticing a faint clicking in that same drivers side wheel. So I jacked it up and holding it at 12-6 I felt a little play. Tried tightening the nut and it moved like one opening on the castle nut but the play is still there.
So I am assuming the wheel bearing is bad but it is only a few months old? I dont get any noise in the front end that I can here besides the faint clicking I heard yesterday but that noise was gone today. Could the axle being a little marked up be the reason the bearing went? I was going to buy a new hub assembly but should I replace the outer shaft as well? I dont have access to a ujoint press I heard i can do it on a vise with sockets though. If the ujoint is still mint could I reuse it or should it be replaced.
Im welcome to any and all opinions on this. Thanks for ur time.

 

Is there a cotter pin installed in the castle nut?

 

Yup. I asked the shop i had do it what exactly was wrong with the axle. They said the threads were a little messed up so it was hard to get the nut on. My dad thinks this is the reason he thinks its not seating properly. Im pretty ignorant so I feel like i can get a new wheel bearing and torque it to the specs and be good. But maybe the threads being damaged arent allowing it to be torqued right? But the bearing had no play when they retorqued it a while back. But now there is a little play again. Need this truck for work so I wouldve liked to do it this weekend but I cant get an outer shaft and ujoint untill monday. What you guys think?

 

Clicking could be either ball joints or wheel bearings. Side to side play is the wheel bearing, top to bottom play is ball joints, if I remember right.

 

Ball joints were replaced not to long ago and it feels like its in the hub? I could be wrong tho. I had my buddy look at the ball joints while i was checking for play and he said he couldnt see any play in the ball joints. But maybe its just hard to see. Keep the advice coming people I need answers. I appreciate both replies so far.

 

Pull the wheel, then pull the axle nut and see of the bearing feels loose without the wheel on it. Even without the nut torqued on it, the bearing should not have any play in any direction and should be firm to turn.

If there's any play in the bearing, it's shot. Also, check the threads on your axle yoke (where the castle nut screws on) and see if they're damaged. The threads could be damaged so much that the castle nut is jumping threads and loosening itself without turning. If this is the case, you'll need a new castle nut and yoke.

 

Talked to the shop more. Now theyre saying they had a real hard time getting that castle nut on and id most likely need a new bolt and outer axle if I pull it off. After hearing that I'm skeptical to pull that nut off because I need the truck driveable for work monday. Im also having a hard time finding an 1 11/16 socket local my friend misplaced his, and no auto parts stores around here stock the outer shaft so I need to wait for this driveshaft place to open monday and pick up a new outer shaft, nut, and hub assembly.
So at this point I'm at a standstill I'm going to look at it more tomorrow. For now I guess im going to replace those things and hopefully that solves my problems.
This is so frustrating because Ive replaced pretty much everything in the front end so I thought everything would be fine for a while. Guess not. I keep dumping money into this truck and its killing my budget for my race car build. Oh well.
Thanks for ur input audiomechanic. Still free to ideas as well so anyone else with knowledge on this feel free to post it. Thanks guys.

 

You're welcome. Let us know what the shop tells ya, man.

Best to ya.

 

i think a u-joint is binding.

jack it up turn the wheel one way, and spin it, see if the wheel has a hard time turning. check it by turning the wheel both ways and spinning.

 

Seemed to spin fine forward when i checked it Ill definetly look at it again tomorrow and post what I find out. Thanks.