3rd Gen hub bearing assembly replacement
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09-28-2010, 11:11 AM
Join Date: Aug 2004
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3rd Gen hub bearing assembly replacement
I just wanted to share a little about my hub replacement that I had to do last weekend. The truck has about 45,000 miles on it and the front driver’s side tire was severely worn on the outer edge. During a brake job last week I noticed that when I spun the tire the bearing assembly was making a grinding noise. After reading a bit on the forums it was obvious that this is a common problem on these trucks. I was able to find a replacement Mopar assembly for $99 on eBay (local dealership wated $250 and AutoZone wants $218). After reading many horror stories on the forums about getting the old hub off I was worried that it was going to be quite the PITA. This truck has already seen three Michigan winters so I was assuming that the hub would be pretty well rusted to the knuckle. Here are a couple of quick tips to get the job done.
1. Lots and lots of penetrating oil. I used almost an entire can of Liquid Wrench (local store didn’t have PB Blaster) on it. I started by letting it soak over night and reapplying the following morning. Blasted both sides of the three bolts that hold the assembly to the knuckle as well as the large axle nut and on both sides of where the dust shield contacts the hub assembly and the knuckle.
2. You'll need a large 35mm deep well socket to get the axle nut off (1 3/8" will also work). The axle nut is supposed to be torqued to 185 ft. lbs. from the factory however mine was more like 50 and may have been the cause of the premature failure. The easiest way to get the nut off is by leaving the brake rotor and caliper on and inserting a strong flathead screwdriver into one of the vanes of the brake rotor. Once the screwdriver contacts the caliper it will stop the whole axle from rotating allowing you to really crank on it.
3. To get the three bolts off that attach the hub assembly to the knuckle you'll need an 18mm socket. Dodge's service manual states that you need to pop the upper ball joint off and remove the tie rod end in order to move the knuckle and gain access to the bolts. However this is not necessary. Once you have the axle nut off you can pound the axle shaft with a rubber mallet until it's flush with the front of the hub assembly. Start the truck and turn the steering wheel all the way to one side. This will allow you access to two of the three bolts, then turn it all the way to the other side to get the remaining bolt out. You may or may not be able to completely get the bolts out as they have a lip that can catch on the axle shaft. This is fine though you only need to unthread them from the hub assembly. This is the trickiest part of the job because as you're trying to gain access to the bolts the axle shaft wants to push itself back out slightly. I had to pound it in and hold it flush with one hand while working the socket wrench with my other.
4. If you're working on the front driver’s side like I was, you'll most likely have an ABS speed sensor to remove as well. This requires an allen wrench of the proper size, or a T30 torx will do the job too.
5. The only thing holding the assembly on now is rust. I've read that some people have had a hell of a time getting them off. One way to do it is to piece together some socket extensions between the back of the hub assembly and the frame and use the power steering as a hydraulic ram to push the hub out. Another way is to thread the bolts back in a few threads and with a socket on them smack them with a hammer or buzz them with an air chisel. Well it turned out that I was one of the lucky ones because all I had to do was smack the outer edge of the old hub assembly from a couple different angles and it came right out. I really think that the penetrating oil was the key here.
6. Put it all back together. I took the dust shield off and cleaned it a bit and put anti-seize on both sides of it where it contacts the knuckle and the hub assembly. I also had to clean the inside of the knuckle. There was a thick build-up of a hard white substance (probably corrosion from the dissimilar metals) that I cleaned up with a Dremel, though sandpaper would do the trick too. The three bolts get torqued to 120 ft. lbs. and the axle nut gets torqued to 185 ft. lbs.
Sorry for the lack of pictures but I’m usually elbows deep in grease and oil five minutes into a job. Hope this helps someone else’s job go a little smoother.
1. Lots and lots of penetrating oil. I used almost an entire can of Liquid Wrench (local store didn’t have PB Blaster) on it. I started by letting it soak over night and reapplying the following morning. Blasted both sides of the three bolts that hold the assembly to the knuckle as well as the large axle nut and on both sides of where the dust shield contacts the hub assembly and the knuckle.
2. You'll need a large 35mm deep well socket to get the axle nut off (1 3/8" will also work). The axle nut is supposed to be torqued to 185 ft. lbs. from the factory however mine was more like 50 and may have been the cause of the premature failure. The easiest way to get the nut off is by leaving the brake rotor and caliper on and inserting a strong flathead screwdriver into one of the vanes of the brake rotor. Once the screwdriver contacts the caliper it will stop the whole axle from rotating allowing you to really crank on it.
3. To get the three bolts off that attach the hub assembly to the knuckle you'll need an 18mm socket. Dodge's service manual states that you need to pop the upper ball joint off and remove the tie rod end in order to move the knuckle and gain access to the bolts. However this is not necessary. Once you have the axle nut off you can pound the axle shaft with a rubber mallet until it's flush with the front of the hub assembly. Start the truck and turn the steering wheel all the way to one side. This will allow you access to two of the three bolts, then turn it all the way to the other side to get the remaining bolt out. You may or may not be able to completely get the bolts out as they have a lip that can catch on the axle shaft. This is fine though you only need to unthread them from the hub assembly. This is the trickiest part of the job because as you're trying to gain access to the bolts the axle shaft wants to push itself back out slightly. I had to pound it in and hold it flush with one hand while working the socket wrench with my other.
4. If you're working on the front driver’s side like I was, you'll most likely have an ABS speed sensor to remove as well. This requires an allen wrench of the proper size, or a T30 torx will do the job too.
5. The only thing holding the assembly on now is rust. I've read that some people have had a hell of a time getting them off. One way to do it is to piece together some socket extensions between the back of the hub assembly and the frame and use the power steering as a hydraulic ram to push the hub out. Another way is to thread the bolts back in a few threads and with a socket on them smack them with a hammer or buzz them with an air chisel. Well it turned out that I was one of the lucky ones because all I had to do was smack the outer edge of the old hub assembly from a couple different angles and it came right out. I really think that the penetrating oil was the key here.
6. Put it all back together. I took the dust shield off and cleaned it a bit and put anti-seize on both sides of it where it contacts the knuckle and the hub assembly. I also had to clean the inside of the knuckle. There was a thick build-up of a hard white substance (probably corrosion from the dissimilar metals) that I cleaned up with a Dremel, though sandpaper would do the trick too. The three bolts get torqued to 120 ft. lbs. and the axle nut gets torqued to 185 ft. lbs.
Sorry for the lack of pictures but I’m usually elbows deep in grease and oil five minutes into a job. Hope this helps someone else’s job go a little smoother.