While playing around with my front end trying to find a clunk and polishing my wheels, I noticed that my drivers side hub sounds like it's going out. It's not grinding but it's making funny noises that the other side isn't and it's not rolling smoothly. Not to mention with the tire mounted on the rotor I can push it in and out about 1/16". So it looks like it's time for a new hub. Oh goody.

So just how hard is it to change these out? I was looking at the FSM and it doesn't seem to bad if you can break the bolts loose (guess it's time to remove the stripped 12 points for the caliper bracket, joy). Any suggestions on removing the hub nut? How about removing the studs? I read somewhere about sticking a socket in between somthing and turning the wheel and that pops the hub loose or something like that? Thanks for the help yall.

 

To get the bearing out of the knuckle, loosen the 4 bolts , and put a socket/extension on the head of one , and turn the steering wheel so the other end presses up against the axle housing , and it will press the bolt out.

 

Not sure how this works on the 2nd gens but this is how it ended up on my 3rd gen
http://xj.cdevco.net/auto/3rd_gen_u-joint/


Haven't had to do it again to try the more sophisticated method

 

BB, I changed 4 on my drivers side, before I go one to work. The last one I had put on at a Dodge dealership. The ones from NAPA & other stores are cheaper, but I put 3 of them on in less than a month. I was tired of working on it, so I let the Dodge man bust me for his labor & higher price part, but I have had NO more trouble either. If it is not rolling smoothly & already wiggling around. Fix it NOW, before that mess comes apart on you going down the road. Mine nearly caught my truck on fire & caused me to wreck. It is that bad when they come apart. Your 01 is a little different design than my 99 I think. It isn't bad to take aapart though. Go get the hub that Dodge sells. You may pay more, but it is worth it. As for the studs, on mine, I just take an old lug nut,screw it on, & knock them through with a hammer. I press them back on to make sure they are snug. An airwrench won't tighten them up enough. Be safe & press them back tight, if yours is made like that.

 

I removed mine to change the rotors and found that if you leave the axle nut tight the bearing won't seperate.
good luck i had a heck of a time getting the bearing housing off, use lots of anti-seize when going back together.
scotte

 

Mine might be part of the hub, I'm not entirely sure though. I hope so. Finding a place to press them in on a friday or saturday afternoon ain't gonna be easy. I planned on getting the hub from dodge as I didn't think you could pick one up from anywhere else.

 

BB just a regular old press set up will work. Surely one of your buddies or someone has one in their backyard shop. I got one, but rarely use it. My friends all know I got one too, especially on Sunday afternoons. They are a great tool to have when you need it, instead of having to hunt a machine shop up. Napa does have those hubs, but the 3 I bought was slinging the grease out of them. They are supposed to be sealed. It sounds like your design may be a little different than mine, not sure.

 

Mine's definately sealed. I might have a buddy with a press but I don't think so. I'll have to call him tomorrow. If not, I think I know of a place that could do it but I don't know. I'm gonna run by the dealer tomorrow and see if they'll warranty the hub for me. On top of that I need to remove the stripped 12 points for the caliper bracket out. This should be interesting. At least I got my grinder working again.

 

I guess I am glad I got the 6 pointallen head type found on most Chevies. It would be hard to strip them out. Good luck. The ones on the back of my hub are 4 12mm 12 point bolts. That is not what you are talking about being stripped is it Blue?

 

Nope. I've got the allen bolts for the caliper. I'm talking about the bracket that holds the caliper on. Those are the ones that are stripped.

So just how bad is my hub if I can shake it around? Reason I'm asking is I've got a 100 mile round trip tomorrow to class that I need to go to. Not to mention a date tomorrow. Yall think it will be alright this one last time? It's getting replaced saturday regardless but do you think it will last just one more trip?

 

If you can shake it I would be scared to drive it that far. Skip the class, go somewhere close for the date.

It would probally be ok if you took it slow, but it would be a risk.

 

That's what I figured. I emailed my profs and told them what's up and they said that's fine. I'm not missing anything anyways. I'm gonna try and reschedule my date for saturday night. I'm gonna be working like mad to get this hub swapped tomorrow. Between that and the DSS I should have my work cut out for me.

 

Work hard and you should be able to get it done in time...

Good luck. With the hub and the date.

 

If it's like my '99 hub, it's pretty straightforward - except for your stripped hub bolts, not sure how you're going to back them out, they're supposed to be at 125 ft-lbf; Make sure you loosen the castle (hub) nut before raising the truck....
I got my assembly off with a few smacks with a rubber-headed mallet, came right off; Put a wrench / screwdriver thru the u-joint there, keeps the axle from coming out while you're getting the hub assembly off.
Drifting the lug bolts out was pretty easy, drifting the new lug bolts in was QUITE the PITA.

AND....try to drive it as little as possible until it's fixed, it could cause SERIOUS safety problems.

Note: Should take a couple of hours to swap it. I also recommend going with the OEM (not NAPA) part - it costs more, but it's made in the USA and is of better metal than the foreign made NAPA component. A little piece of mind there, will be about $60-$80 more.....

 

It's not the hub bolts that are stripping, it's the bolts holding the caliper bracket onto the steering knuckle that are stripped.