I have had a humming noise comming from my front end for the last month, and I thought it was the tires, so I had them replaced. the humming noise was still there, and this morning I had the front end aligned, but when I drove home the humming is still there. It stops when I turn to the right around a curve, but immediately returns when I straighten the steering wheel back up. I turned left around a curve and there was no difference, it only stops when I turn right for some reason.
I read all I could on the internet and basically Im guessing its a wheel bearing, but I dont know which one. I called around to my local auto parts store and none of them carry this bearing. I learned through all this, that not only does bearing have to be replaced but the hub too. Its $184 at the dodge dealership for each side, and they want $15.70 for the nut that has to be replaced too. I found it cheaper online for $108 for each side, but I dont know which side I need or if I should replace both sides? Also, does anyone know what that nut is called? The website where I found the hub/bearing for 108, did not list the nut, and they have a search feature, but I put "nut" into the feature and it came back with nothing, lol. It would help if I had the name of that nut.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated, as I've never replaced bearings before. I have a great set of tools, and hopefully it wont be too hard to try on my own, as Im a poor broke fellow and cant afford the high labor cost of the dealer. Im assuming I just pop the old bearing/hub out and pop the new one in, and theres not much more to it? I realize that I'll probably have to remove the caliper and all, but I think that will be no problem.

Edit: Its a 2001 dodge 2wd ram 1500. I dont know if it makes a difference, but it has the small V-8 engine in it, and it has anti lock brakes on the rear only.

 

We'll need information on your vehicle like year and model ... 4x4, etc.

 

Im sorry, its a 2001 dodge ram 1500 short wheel base 2wd. It has antilock brakes only on the rear and not on the front.

 

Definitely sounds like your wheel bearing has gone bad, the change in sound when turning is usuallly a telltale sign. And, yes, welcome to the new age were mechanics no longer pack wheel bearings just change everything out. If you have ABS, and I'm sure you do, then it's even more expensive. Just had this on my S-10 Blazer and the part was 184.00 at Advance. No surprise, being an Advance part, that it went bad within months. Replaced (under warranty), 6 months later the ABS went out on the new part. Got a refund and went to another store. Spend the nickel and get it from NAPA, O'Reilly's or Federated. You get what you pay for. Definitely a DIY project. As for which side, jack it up and spin the tire, you should be able to hear or even feel the rumble. Install new on whatever side you think is bad and drive away. Noise gone? Golden. Still hear it? Switch out the new part onto the other side and put the old one back on the side it was removed from. This will probably solve your problem but I have found they fail in pairs within a close time.