Ive been reading a lot about the front bearings going out and what an expensive pain it is to replace $700 quoted from my local dealership thats 1 side. Question is can i use a puller to remove the hub or do i have to use the socket and bump steer method? From what i understand the bearing and hub are one, or can i replace the bearing only?

 

4x2 or 4x4?

 

4x4, sorry for the lack of info. I did check out dynatech $1900 I can replace the bearing enough times that the truck would be worn out buy the time that would pay for its self

 

Did you factor in the fuel savings with the free wheel Dynatrac hubs?

 

Did you cheack out EMS i got my kit from them for $1400 to my door. well worth the piece of mind no more unexpected roadside failures. I love the 2 low for backing the trailer in tight spots and picked up 1.5 mpg which when fuel prices where high i ran 30k miles without the hubs and then when i installed them for the same driving over the next 30k i dropped about 105 gallons over the previous 30k miles. back then that was $478. and unit bearings were costing $350-380 and my bearings were lasting about 40k miles so it seemed to pencil out for me.

Otherwise yes you can change them your self. easiliy you dont need a puller. with the side jacked up. back the four bolts out the back of the bearing. not all the way leave some of the bolt still threaded in. use a 3" 1/2" drive extention. put it in the knuckle between teh housing and one of the bolts fire up the rig and have someone turn the wheel so the extension pushes the bolt head and the hub out. then release tension and apply pressure to the bolt 180 degrees from the one you just pushed on. work it back and forth. even 150k rust belt rig this works pretty well. amazing the amount of force a PS pump and steering box can create to push on those little bearing bolts.

Change your axle joints while you are at it.

 

autoanything has the hub for i think $230 do it yourself, use bumpsteer method it shouldn't take more then 30-45min per side....the castle nut is 1"11/16ths and use an impact or breaker bar. Ive done 3 trucks so far each one was rust welded, but pops off easy.dealer is a rip....the dynatrac payoff is too long for me, much cheaper replacing the hub.

 

I would probably save a lot as i couldn't afford to drive the truck after spending that kind of money on hubs. Just kidding, when i look at things like the hub conversion and it's price I have to compare it with something else to justify the spending (Example) I want a new rear end for my drag car a Dana 60 from Strange Engineering complete minus brakes is $1960, no comparison so it's hard for me to spend that kind of $$ on what i think is over priced. That's just me. Yes there is the savings of time that i wont spend in the drive way replacing hubs every 100,000 miles and that can go a long way, right now I can get the new hubs for $249 a piece and do it myself that's the savings i see. Didn't mean to go off on a tangent

 

I will do the bump steer method seems easy enough thanks for the help.

 

I ended up backing out the four bolts and using a BIG hammer and a drift to break the hub loose from the axle housing using the drift on the bolt heads. It was a PITA job that took up most of a day counting trips to the parts store, etc. Put some anti-seize on the mating surfaces before putting it back together. Definitely replace the axle u-joint at the same time. You'd hate to have to pull it apart again this summer for the u-joint. Might be time for brakes too.

Torque spec on the axle nut was 250 lbs if I recall.

When my hub failed I'd started getting a squeaking up front while turning. Then one day at the lake it failed and was undriveable at 90K miles. Cost me another hundred to get it towed home. The axle u-joint was bad on that side as well. I continue to wonder if the tight axle u-joint produced a vibration that hastened the failure of the hub. The other side is still going strong 12K miles later.

 

Rock Auto has the hub bearings under Timken Brand but it is the SKF in the box for $202. Look under the 3500.

 

thanks for the info on how to and parts i'll post when the job is done how it went

 

I wish i had the manual hubs. They stop all the wear on all the front driveline. I have done a lot of thinking and phone calls on this but just can't let go of the $$$$$$$.