ok ... i just got this 2001 dodge ram 1500 4x4 4door.....it looks like it was a auto but it now is a 5speed 318 ..no auto or manual lock hubs for the 4x4 just shift in and out.. ok well my problem is it keeps wearing my wheel bearing on the passenger side i have replaced it 3 times then i got a better built more heavy duty wheel bearing and after like 5 days i got home and thought i could recheck everything so i just jacked it up again and what do u know... in and out she goes (the tire/wheel bearing) can anyone steer me to what this could be and how much the cost would be around and if the job it hard to do on my own

please anyone ... i need some help asap winter is here and all i got it this truck to get me off my farm and to my job

 

Well, Timkin is the best brand. But they should last longer than that no matter the brand. The hubs are always locked. When 4wd is selected, the passenger wheel is connected to the driver via the CAD. On my truck, the driver side wears parts out sooner. Many diesel owners get manual hubs for better mileage. Did it get air at some point? The whole axle could be bent. Does it steer ok? Is the torque to spec? I would take a bunch of measurements and probably just get a junkyard axle as a last resort.

 

Wheel bearings should not fail that quickly, no matter what kind of abuse you are giving it. Are you torquing the axle nut to the correct spec?

 

ok no i do not have torq spec on the nut.. but i have replaced it 4 times i dont think that is the prob.... now the steering is fine but on the axle passenger side where the bottom ball joint looks like it is not level but at a upward angle not a lot but u can notice when going over it could that be the problem and would i have to replace the whole front axle? (like the whole thing)... it cant be caused from the tie rod ends? and alignment? the guy i got the truck off of is telling me its the tie rods and alignment.. but i dont wanna spend that money if i need a axle.....or could the tie rod ends that have play in them also knock my wheel bearing apart??

well thank you all for your help so far and hope u have some patience with me on this im 30 and it my first dodge truck... i love the truck runs tip top just need to get this wheel bearing thing fixed


Anthony

 

I think on the 4x4's the nut MUST be torqued to spec, or, it eats up the bearings. (the axle nut helps hold them together.) I think it is in the neighborhood of 185 foot pounds. If it ain't tight, it will indeed munch up bearings rather quickly.

 

+1 - the torque on the center nut is extremely important and will certainly cause the bearing to fail in short order if not set correctly. Once that's done, if the front end is way out of alignment, I'd take the truck to a good driveline shop to have it looked at. If the alignment is bad, it should also be mulching tires, too.

 

I'm still on factory bearings at 120K...and thats 37s on factory rims for 75K miles. Inner C on that side is probably bent, even with an improperly torqued nut that quick of failure tells me there is a an angular load on the hub unit. First order of business change it again since it's a quick ordeal and go get an alignment, anything more than a degree is too much.

And I mean change it only when your ready to take it for an alignment right then and there.

Now, there will be lots of disagreement with what I'm about to say but if money is tight, removing the old balljoints and heating the top riser of the inner c until you've compensated exactly the angle to correct the bend can be done. You cannot use tires bigger than factory anymore and do NOT hit the cast iron with a hammer to move it, use bars and/or a power pack only.

This is a fix that for the cost of two ball joints generally works fine, the inner C is almost always the only point on the axle that is bent on trucks I've worked on that ARE out of camber.

Ohh I almost forgot one more option, an adjustable camber ball joint, that's if 2-4 degrees is all the correction you need. Only major issue with that method is you will have uneven caster if you only do one side, the alignment tech will probably tell you the same thing and that means labor doubles at the shop. You want it even because the truck will drive and turn unpredictably otherwise.

 

so u r saying that piece that is bent is call the C joint which the top and bottom ball joint ar inserted in to right if so we are on the right page the bottom looks like someone hit on it what caused for bottom half of the c joint is bent upward just a bit..

now a way to fix u say is use bars and maybe a jack? to bend back down..


and there is another ball joint i can order to work with the angle? but u r saying if i get one side i will have to get the other side/?

sorry still a little confused but thank you for your help so far

 

Without pix there is no way we can tell if its bent or not, even then it would be hard to tell. The inner "C" can be cut off the axle tube and replaced if needed, cheap part but major work. I sold my old Dana 44 rebuilt for $250, look around on the web to see if a used one is out there for sale, much better way to go.

 

Agreed it is alot of work to cut and weld on a new one. And I second that pictures speak a thousand words, try to show us how off camber it is right now.