Front wheel bearing
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If I had to guess, the 3300lb rating on the door jamb sticker is either front or rear GVWR...which is different from the axle ratings.
And yes, if that spindle nut was several turns loose, that would def cause catastrophic damage because the bearing wouldn't be seated in the race and come apart rather quick. I'm curious as to if the nut cover and cotter pin were present when you popped off the dust cap. Now that I think of it, was there a dust cap?
And yes, if that spindle nut was several turns loose, that would def cause catastrophic damage because the bearing wouldn't be seated in the race and come apart rather quick. I'm curious as to if the nut cover and cotter pin were present when you popped off the dust cap. Now that I think of it, was there a dust cap?
You are right about the weight rating. That's the number I was looking at in the door jam. I did just poop the hood and found the sticker which also says DJB 3300# FRONT AXLE
Everything was there, the dust cap, the cotter pin, the nut cover, plenty of grease and everything looks mint. There is barely any rust at all.
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I usually back the bearings with as much grease as I can manage, put everything together, and tighten the nut finger tight while spinning the rotor.. (displaces grease that keeps things from seating properly). When I have it 'tight', I will use a wrench to turn the nut to the next spot where I can insert the cotter key. Yes, that does put a LITTLE BIT of pre-load on the bearings, but, being doing it that way for decades, (that was how I was taught...) and never had a failure.
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You are right about the weight rating. That's the number I was looking at in the door jam. I did just poop the hood and found the sticker which also says DJB 3300# FRONT AXLE
Everything was there, the dust cap, the cotter pin, the nut cover, plenty of grease and everything looks mint. There is barely any rust at all.
I'll admit, I'm not a guru on Dodge/Chrysler stuff and my van is just a kayak hauler and sort of farm truck. I hope you can track down the appropriate parts. And don't forget those inner wheel seals. I had to stop what I was doing mid-job and run to the local O'Reillys to pick them up.
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Following up. I replaced the outer wheel bearing and race and the inside dust seal. The race on the old outer bearing was shot. The inside bearing looked fine. The inner bearing basically just fell out when I took the dust cap off. Hopefully I didn't miss anything with the inner bearing. I cleaned and re-packed the inner bearing with Lucas tacky red #2 along with the outer bearing.
Getting the race out for the outer bearing was a bit of a pita. I took a right angle die grinder and a dremel adapter with a mini Dremel cutoff wheel and cut a groove in the race. After I did that, and when I went back to hammering, the race cracked and the remainder was easy to know out.
When installing the new outer race, I happened to have a huge impact socket. Probably a 32mm? That worked great for putting the new outer race in. I haven't put the wheel back on yet to give it a test spin.
I am in the process of lining the inner wheel well with some abs sheet that I got from Amazon. I'm copying the liner that I took out of the passenger side. I'll take a heat gun and bend the abs and I hopefully it will come out nice and reduce some future rust 🤞
Getting the race out for the outer bearing was a bit of a pita. I took a right angle die grinder and a dremel adapter with a mini Dremel cutoff wheel and cut a groove in the race. After I did that, and when I went back to hammering, the race cracked and the remainder was easy to know out.
When installing the new outer race, I happened to have a huge impact socket. Probably a 32mm? That worked great for putting the new outer race in. I haven't put the wheel back on yet to give it a test spin.
I am in the process of lining the inner wheel well with some abs sheet that I got from Amazon. I'm copying the liner that I took out of the passenger side. I'll take a heat gun and bend the abs and I hopefully it will come out nice and reduce some future rust 🤞
Last edited by mikkowus; May 16, 2025 at 08:20 PM.
