jrs_dodge_diesel

Good evening DTR. I wanted to pass along some knowledge I recently gained while working on my front bearings. This applies to the late model (2000-2002) 2WD Rams only!

I'm at about 195,000 miles on my 2001 2WD Ram, which recently had a front hub bearing start growling while going down the road. Testing is fairly easy while driving, most hub bearings will growl louder when you turn one way and get quiet turning the other way. Best I can describe the sound if you never have heard a bad bearing is that it sounds similar to mud tires rolling down the road.

The early second gens (98 and 99) are easy to deal with, since the bearings are replaceable and you can also pull and repack them with grease periodically. Plus I believe they used a standard castle nut with a cotter key to hold it to the spindle, like the 4x4 Rams.

The later second gens (2000-2002) have a hub unit bearing, and a different spindle nut. The hub has two non-replaceable sealed bearings, which means you can't grease them, and if they fail you have to replace the entire hub assembly. No big deal there, it's a fairly easy repair. The hub assemblies are easy to find at your local auto parts store or Rock Auto (where I got mine). Where I got hung up is the spindle nut. There is no aftermarket source that I could find that sells this nut. The only source is the dealer. Dodge doesn't even call it a spindle nut. In their terminology it's called an axle nut. The nut is a large flange nut that also has a nylock ring to keep it on the spindle threads without backing off. They are not easy to find, and most dealers don't stock them. And as of this post, they are $17 each.

They are large, it takes a 1 9/16" socket or a 1 5/8" socket to remove them. You are not suppose to reuse them either, the nut even has "DO NOT RE-USE" stamped on it. On the 2500 and 3500 Rams, they get torqued to 280 ft/lb. Yes, you read that right, 280 ft/lb.

Finding the nut was the most difficult part of the repair. As I mentioned, there are no aftermarket sources for these spindle nuts that I could find. AFAIK these are a dealer only item.

The part number for the spindle nut is Mopar # 6505007AA

Quick rundown on the process:

• Set parking brake and chock the rear tires
• Raise front end and support with jack stands
• Remove tire
• Remove brake caliper bracket and hang out of the way with rope. Do not let it hang by the brake hose!
• Remove brake rotor
• Remove spindle nut and pull the hub assembly off the spindle.
• Clean the magnetic pickup for the anti-lock brake system.
• Clean the spindle and apply a thin layer of grease
• Install new hub
• Install new spindle nut, torque to 280 ft/lb
• Install brake rotor and calipers
• Install tire
• Lower truck
• Road test