I was unable to find a DIY on replacing the front wheel bearing / hub assembly. Anybody have anything to share about their experience with this job? 2002 Ram 1500 QC 2WD.

I had a coupon for an oil change at my local dealer and they actually treated me right! He brought me into the shop and let me look around under my truck and pointed out some things he saw. The good news is that everything looked great, engine compartment was bone dry, no leaks. The bad news was that my front drivers side wheel was obviously loose, i'm surprised i did not notice this or hear it grinding before it was pointed out to me.

 

i got one installed last month for $100 (bearing/hub was $400) i think it's worth it being so cold up here

mine made a slight grinding noise like sand stuck in the brakes and then it started to grind real bad and pop, the guy at the shop said my wheel almost fell off when he put it on the lift lol good think i got it in

he also said be prepared to do the other ones soon because they usually go together

I got 143,000 KM (bout 90 000 miles) on my truck

 

Its pretty simple. Ive changed my passenger side 4 times.
Jack truck and place jack stands
Remove tire
Remove brake caliper
Remove caliper bracket and rotor
The bearing is held on by 3 bolts on the rear side, they are held on by loctite so will be a bit tight breaking loose. It is also a good idea to put more loctite on them when reinstalling. Same with the caliper bracket.

Reinstallation is the reverse of removal. If you live in an area where corrosion is an issue, or the roads are salted, you may have problems actually removing the hub from the steering knuckle.

Its a pretty straight forward job. I can change one out in under an hour from deciding to to washing hands afterward now. Good luck!

 

That sounds pretty simple... i've done plenty on FWD cars, just not a truck yet. I found a thread somewhere that involved removing alot more components from the suspension. I like your method better!

 

BigDaddy has it all right. However I would look at replacing both sides at the same time and checking all the ball joints and tie rods for any that also need to be replaced while you have it apart.

 

Thanks for the input. Nothing seemed to jump out at me while it was on the lift. Everything else looked pretty tight and sound. I have never had any other issues with the front end so far, it feels very tight on the road so hopefully nothing else needs replaced!

 

Glad to hear that everything went well for you.

 

It was definitely as easy as you said it would be. I am blessed with a very clean truck and nothing was too rusty or corroded. The hardest part was pounding out the old hub assembly. I thought of taking some pictures to post but I really don't think it would be worth it. It's essentially as easy as a brake job with the additional step of removing the three hub bolts and pounding the hub out!