I'm looking for the correct bearing for the drivers side front wheel.
Here is a picture of what fell out

dodge b2500 1996 front drivers side outer? wheel bearing


My drivers side front bearing went. The cage did really. There was a lot of popping and creaking noises and this morning I took it all apart. I think the bolt holding the bearing in wasn't tightened down properly. It was way too loose and that's where things probably fell apart. The cage for the bearing was partly busted open and all the bearings fell out when I took it all apart. Was the correct bearing installed in the thing in the first place? Guess its time for a new bearing!!?!?

Anyways, on rock auto and other places, there seem to be a million different bearings. I know Schaeffler, F.A.G, TIMKEN, SKF are all good bearings. There seems be be ones listed as 4000 lb axles, and others listed as without 4,000 lb axles. Some come with raceways, some don't. I also read you want to replace a seal at the back as well? Also, a lot of the bearings listed don't have matching sizing.
When I search for the part number that was on the bearing that came out of the van, "M12749", "LM12749" comes up. I am guessing the L before the M got scrubbed off?

Here is a link to what Rock auto offers.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...l+bearing,1672

What should I order? Should I attempt to measure the old bearing to get an idea of whats going on? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You want the bearing WITH the race..... which you will have to drive out of the rotor..... Hammer and a long punch will do it. Then you need to press the new race in. Can likely rent bearing/seal driver set from your local parts store. (I just bought an inexpensive one, and I am still using it 40 years later.....)

On your drivers door frame, should be a weight sticker. See what it says for your front axle, to make sure you are indeed getting the right bearing. I would be REAL tempted to replace the inner bearing/race as well, along with the grease seal. I would at the very least pull it, and inspect it. Not gonna get a choice on that anyway, as it will need to come out to drive out the outer race.

 

Thanks so much! The outer bearing was so cheap, I'll probably order the inner just to be safe and keep it in a box if I don't use it.
On the topic of bearings, what grease should I pack it with?

 

Regular average everyday wheel bearing grease. You can get a tub of it for cheap at your local parts store. Also, be GENEROUS with the grease. There is no such thing as 'too much' in this particular case.

 

"he's right don't you know"

lol

 

Just wrapped up all new rotors, pads, bearings on my '94 B350 last night. A couple notes on this:

You mentioned "bolt holding the bearing in wasn't tightened down properly. It was way too loose and that's where things probably fell apart." I think you meant the spindle nut...but I want to make sure you understand that nut is only supposed to be finger tight, per FSM. There is virtually no pre-load on that nut. Once the whole bearing and rotor assembly is installed on the spindle, the proper procedure is to tighten that nut down to 240-300 in. lbs while spinning the rotor by hand. This ensures the bearings are fully seated in the races and the whole rotor/bearing assembly is fully seated on the spindle. Then you loosen the nut completely and then snug it down finger tight. I just used the socket in my hand to just snug up the nut with minimal force. Then you put on the retainer cap and secure it with a cotter pin.

But...backing up here a bit...you need to know why that bearing failed to begin with. It's hard to tell from your photo what type of bearing that is. I'd recommend just getting all the parts to do rotors, pads, bearings and seals and freshen everything up. You CANNOT just stuff a new outer bearing in there on a used race. Bearings and races can be mixed-matched but only if they are both new (re: bearing AND race). To add, you should really pull everything apart and look at the spindle to make sure it's not boogered up. If it is, you need a new spindle unfortunately. I don't think a "repair bearing" even exists for the outer bearing...nor is it physically possible to use one due to the design of the spindle/bearing. Hopefully you got lucky and the bearing didn't chew up the spindle and the bearing failed due to lack of lubrication (which can still cause a lot of damage). Either way, if it fell apart like that, there's a good chance the spindle is damaged and it should be torn all the way down to the spindle.

The sticker for my axle weight was actually on the underside of the hood. I could be mistaken but I believe all the 3600lb axles have the spindle/bearing type setup vs the 4000lb which have a separate hub bearing assembly on the spindle. You will 100% need to confirm this though as those two different axle assemblies have a lot of differences between them.

In my case, I purchased the Raybestos rotors which come with inner and outer races already installed. You will need to get the corresponding inner and outer bearings, pack them with grease, and install them. Just throw away or hold on to the races that come with the bearings. I like to keep them for my shop press. The inboard (larger bearing) goes in first and then, yes, you will have to tap in a new wheel seal. This can be tricky if you don't have a metal sleeve the same diameter as the flange of the seal. I was fortunate enough to have just such a sleeve so it was easy to drive the seals in. The bearing must go in before the seal because you cannot get the bearing into the rotor with the seal installed. Make sure the spindle is cleaned off and then smeared liberally with grease. Then carefully put the rotor/inner bearing/seal assembly on the spindle and push it on until it seats. Should take minimal effort. Next, take the greased outer bearing and set it in the race over the threaded portion of the spindle....then washer, then nut. Follow the procedure outlined above on the nut torque. Then goes the nut retainer and cotter pin. Tap the dust cap back on.

Some notes on the brakes: the "fingers" on the outboard pad will probably need to be bent because the outboard pads MUST either go on with a slight interference fit...or at minimum no play between the pad "fingers" and the caliper. This will probably require several test fits. Don't just slap them on there and call it good. It will cause issues and rattle around in there if they aren't installed properly. In my case, someone prior did exactlly that and the brake pad shim came loose and came halfway out of the caliper and was just chilling there. Clean and grease both the machined surfaces on the caliper and the caliper bracket where the pads ride. Also smear of grease on the piston surface that contacts the inboard pad and smear of grease on the outboard flanges that contact the outboard pad. Don't go crazy on the grease and make sure it's suitable for brakes. Do NOT use wheel bearing grease. Make sure the caliper retaining clips are installed in the correct orientation as well as the small anti-squeal tabs, which go on TOP of the retaining clips. Bolts are 15ft lbs. And be sure to monitor your master cylinder fluid when depressing the caliper pistons back into their bores.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for all those details. putting 240-300 in-lbs on the bearing while spinning the rotor is sine info. I haven't come across before.

I looked inside my drivers door and I saw a sticker for 3300 lbs which was kind of odd as I haven't seen any parts out there with that number. After work I'll check the hood sticker next. I remember seeing one.

The nut holding the bearing in was definitely too loose(spindle bearing nut?). I could turn it a few times before it bottomed out. My guess is there could be a number of bad things that happened. Maybe the bearing installed wasn't even the correct one. But whatever happened, I'll tear it all the way down and see if there are any other bad parts and replace everything.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

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.

 

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?

I posted a snippet from the FSM about that tightening procedure. Note, they call it (incorrectly) a "hub nut." Also note that they allow for a tiny bit of end play, from three-thous down to one ten thousandth (basically zero). At the high end of that (.003) you might be able to discern a little movement by hand but I think a firm in and out push/pull coupled with an audible "yep-that-ain't-going-anywhere" is more than sufficient if you do the procedure properly. I def did not pull out my dial indicator for that job. The method @HeyYou described is also a valid method.