Ram hub bearing question?

[flyinlow]

Any one change a front hub bearing on a 2004 Ram 1500 4x4? Can you push the half shaft in far enough to get the the hub retention bolts out or do you need to take the upper bal; joint apart?

My son took my truck to Texas (1000 miles) to help his brother move and the bearing went out as he got there.  I did check them when I put front brakes on last month    He has changed one on his 2003 2x4 , and it was not too bad.

[Chryco Psycho]

no reason to split the ball joint from what I recall

[bull]

I just did both on my 4x4 2003 Durango, which is essentially the same thing. It's actually a very simple job.

Remove the wheels, remove the calipers from the adapters and tie them back to something with wire or zip ties and then remove the rotors and dust shields. Remove the outer/center spindle nut and washer then the three mounting bolts at the back that hold the hub onto the control arm. One of these three bolts is a bit of a pain to get to but not bad if you have a universal adapter or a wobbly. In my case I also had to unplug the ABS harness but not all of these have front ABS so check yours first before buying the hubs. This is where things can be difficult. There's a lip on the hub that goes inside the control arm and it gets pretty rusty. I hammered on mine for quite a while and it wouldn't budge until I grabbed the heat gun and blasted the control arm. That made things go much faster. The half shaft will go inward quite a ways but not far enough to clear the hub so it's just a matter of getting the hub off.

Autozone has the best deal I can find on these hubs. About $160 for Timken, which was about $150 less than the dealership and probably $100 less than anywhere else.

There's a puller in this picture below but forget that. It didn't help anything.

[flyinlow]

Thanks for the replies !

They got it installed. Damn lock lug stripped. That was the biggest headache. They will be removed when the truck gets back to Ohio. The calliper was wired up and as they started to put it on it slipped and kinked the brake hose metal portion. Replaced that. The rocket scientist at Autozone kept telling my sons that the 5.7L engine was a Chevy engine and asked if they where sure it wasn't a Chevy? My youngest son (diehard Mopar guy) asked if they where putting Hemi's in Chevy trucks down here in Texas.

They did this repair with basic hand tools in a driveway. No airtools or lift. I was impressed and relieved when they called and said it was done and drove fine.

[bull]

Thanks for the replies !

They got it installed. Damn lock lug stripped. That was the biggest headache. They will be removed when the truck gets back to Ohio. The calliper was wired up and as they started to put it on it slipped and kinked the brake hose metal portion. Replaced that. The rocket scientist at Autozone kept telling my sons that the 5.7L engine was a Chevy engine and asked if they where sure it wasn't a Chevy? My youngest son (diehard Mopar guy) asked if they where putting Hemi's in Chevy trucks down here in Texas.

They did this repair with basic hand tools in a driveway. No airtools or lift. I was impressed and relieved when they called and said it was done and drove fine.

How much did the hub(s) cost them, if you don't mind telling?

[flyinlow]

[How much did the hub(s) cost them, if you don't mind telling?

They bought the  Timken bearing hub,3 year warranty, at Autozone.  $205 for the anti-skid one.  The truck was loaded with two motorcycles and pulling a boat on the return leg, made it back to Ohio with no further adventures. 

I will be removing the lock lugs and replacing the other hub bearing after the holiday.

[bull]

They bought the  Timken bearing hub,3 year warranty, at Autozone.  $205 for the anti-skid one.  The truck was loaded with two motorcycles and pulling a boat on the return leg, made it back to Ohio with no further adventures. 

I will be removing the lock lugs and replacing the other hub bearing after the holiday.

Good deal. I probably would not have changed both hubs had the shop not misdiagnosed the noise. I went in thinking the drivers side hub was bad, the shop owner thought the front diff was bad and his top mechanic said he thought the passenger side hub was bad. So I went with the opinion of the top mechanic, replaced the pass side hub and the noise was still there. The next day I changed the one I thought was bad in the first place and the noise went away. Oh well. So much for second opinions.

[flyinlow]

My sons 03 Ram had one go out a couple of months ago. 130K. When I replaced the front brakes and calipers on mine a couple weeks ago getting it ready for the trip to Texas I did check the wheels for end play and they seamed fine. I remember hearing a slight groaning sound occasionally 5-10 mph  that would go away quickly and I attributed it to worn brakes with a sticking caliper slider. I was surprised how fast the bearings go bad in the pick up truck . Quiet to undrivable in about 100 miles. I have replaced two sets on my wife's Booneville. They have always started making noise over a 1000 miles, giving you plenty of warning. I pitched the lock lugs yesterday and with 93K. on the truck I am going to replace the other side soon. Reset the clock with Timken bearings ,hopefully I can forget about them for 90-100k miles.

I have added a 35mm and 18mm swivel socket to the trucks tool kit. A small floor jack and pickle forks will go to on any long trips.

My Chargers front wheel bearings are 39 years old and doing fine.   Hub bearing ,what a racket.