Nick02Ram

Went to leave somewhere yesterday and truck started pullin real hard, and the brakes went out. Nursed it back and jacked it up, and the bearings were completely shot, as in scattered all over the road. Also, it somehow stripped out the axle nut, and pulled threads off the halfshaft. My question is how much of a project is this gonna be? And maybe any tips on getting the hub off, I've tried before to do my ball-joints and it was a pain, got fed up and quit.

John Faughn

It can be a huge problem , a lot of it depends on your experience & tools .
Getting the hub out , unscrewing the 4 bolts on the back side , just a few turns , then using the power steering & some metal to put between the bolts and any solid / non moving part of truck ,with eng running use steering wheel to turn , remember to just do side to side & top to bottom evenly , this has to come out straight / not at any angle .
It may be best / cheapest to have some one do it for you [ if they let you watch ] if you have issues doing it your self , it could cost more .
Next is do not get the cheapest part , may have to replace more often with cheap parts .

Nick02Ram

Thanks for the advice. I work at a shop, we mostly work on semis, and I'm pretty mechanically inclined, so I got the tools and hopefully enough know-how to get it done. I attempted ball joints a while back and got stuck figurin out the best way to get the hub off. I'll have to try that.

So how hard do I need to crank the wheel to get em loose without breaking any of my steering components?

And anyone got any good websites/ stores to check out for good parts (at a good price) I'm on a real tight budget and can't afford to have my truck down (of course it is saving me on the diesel bill)

mcoleman

I just changed mine out Saturday. Took me about 3 hours and that was with a little time for the PB blaster to soak in. The assembly sells over the counter at Oreilly's for 321.00. I used a 4X4 block of wood and the power steering a few times and then cranked the wheel around and hit the tire with a sledge hammer on each side. The base plate stayed on the end of the axle when the bearings separated so I used a chisel/ drift and tapped it off. Not a hard job at all.

high bid

If it's the same hub used on a 1999 4x4, I'll give you the used one I have. It's in good cond and didn't need to be replaced but I thought it was bad. You pay for shipping....about 22lbs.

mcoleman

Should be different since his is a 02.

scottsjeeprolet

Good prices here and Timken too boot!
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php
Make sure that you anti seize the back of the hub when you put them back on. Easier next time.

Sam 01

I have two Front bearing assemblies. I removed when I installed manual hubs. They have about 25,000 miles on them. $125 each + shipping. Sam

Nick02Ram

thanks guys, I actually ordered one thru NAPA using our shop discount/no tax. Should be in tommorow, just gotta start rippin the old one apart. It is nice havin a lift though. And that way since I have no cash on me right now I can pay for it later since the shop bought it.