Okay, my truck is back from the mechanics and he noticed my wheel has quite a bit of play on the passenger side (opposite of the ball joint issue that's been fixed on the drivers side). He said I was going to need a new wheel hub and bearing assembly, along with a new Spindle nut, I am going to be getting a Moog Hub and bearings assembly, but if I can have a family member do it who is handy with cars, I would like to save the $50 labor charge, since my mechanic will let me bring my own parts in, instead of him supplying the parts.

How hard is it to do it yourself to swap out the hubs? The mechanic said he tried to take the spindle apart to regrease it but it was the non regreasable type here:

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/d...rm=spindle+nut

So to save myself a little money I want to either attempt it myself or have my car savvy family friend tackle it.

Opinions?

Vehicle is a 2000 Dodge RAM 1500 Laramie SLT RWD 5.2L V8 Non Sport with back ABS only.

 

If you have a big enough socket, it's not the bad of a job. Just keep in mind that spindle nut gets some serious torque on it.

 

My friend has a torque wrench I can use I think I seen on a youtube video its specific bolt is 1 3/8 inches:

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/d...rm=spindle+nut

So what's all involved? Just taking off the tire, brake system, then rotor then torquing the old nut off, placing the new hub on and torquing the new bolt on to 185ft pounds?

 

I was about to say something but then I saw you have a 2wd. So what i was gonna say is completely useless for you

 

Yep, that's pretty much all there is to it. Don't use the torque wrench to take off the nut though..... they tend to hang on pretty tight. Torque wrench won't like that.

 

Okay, i'll go off of a youtube video I watched and go from there, it was for a Dakota, but it was fora 2WD that used the same nut that mine requires, the guy in the video said 1 3/8 but all I see when I even google Torque Wrenches is 1/2 or 3/8, so i'm assuming i'd use the 3/8's to torque a new one on? Also, as long as the torque wrench torques past 180, I should be fine right? Some torque wrenches I have seen say they only go to 18 ft pounds

 

1/2 and 3/8ths, when referring to torque wrenches, (or ratchets of any description) refers to the drive size. You need a socket the right size for the nut, with the right size hole for the drive. You aren't going to find a 3/8ths drive ratchet, let alone torque wrench, that will tolerate 185 ft/lbs..... you want the half inch drive feller. Then you need a half inch drive, 1 3/8ths socket to go on it.

 

AHA!, seem im an idiot haha, I got it now, that makes a lot more sense, problem tho for me is the friends torque wrench says it only goes up to 150 ft pounds, the recommended is 185, so if the torque wrench itself is only good for torquing to 150, would I need to find a different wrench? Or can I just continue to torque once or twice to get it to or around 185?

NVM, i'm just going to rent a big enough torque wrench from autozone to do the job, so I feel i'm doing this right, let me run through steps to make sure I am going to do it right:

Remove Tire
Loosen and remove caliper
remove caliper housing
Remove Rotor
Break and remove old spindle nut
Remove old hub
Clean assembly that hub slides on to
install new assembly
Install spindle nut
Torque to 185 ft lbs
Replace everything back

Done?

 

Page 2-9 of the 2001 factory service manual(free download in the faq's section) describes the process.

Dave

 

Yep, that's pretty much it. have a big hammer handy to break the rotor loose from the hub. It's been on there a while, and will probably be reluctant to come off. Hit the "hat" area, not the swept area. (the part the pads ride on.)