i have an 06' 3500 SRW. it has 50,515 miles on it, my front wheel bearings are starting to develop some play in them. where can i get replacement bearings/hub? advance auto can't get them, nor do they have access to them...

also, can i convert to manual hubs?

 

You can convert to manual hubs but it is about $1800 for the kit. Try NAPA for the bearing assemblies I think they are around $350 a piece

 

here is a manual hub kit. you could do for about 1,250 a little cheaper. and there stuff is top notch.
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/...it_p_1714.html

 

Are you sure the bearings are shot? There is some play in the ball joints. I replaced my first set thinking they were done (dealer recommendation) and they were actually fine. You can also grease those unit bearings through the ABS sensor hole.

 

i think he is talking about the U-joint in the hub. just go to a real parts store tehy sell them. I got SKF's at Bagnell in Quincy for $60 a side. Depending how much salt you got in your area will make the job easy or hard. One side took me about 45 mins longer than other

 

My Concern is that Ballistic's Hubs are made out of aluminum and Solid axle's and Dynatrac's are made from steel.
Jim O

 

what is your concern? most of our wheels are aluminum. a lot of drive shafts are aluminum also.

 

wheel bearings are about 256 apiece i believe start blasting them down with pb blaster now!
pull the brakes off and the dust shiel take the 5mm allen head out of the hubs and grease them they might last a little longer!!!!

 

I’m interested in seeing how these ballisticfabrication conversion kits hold up. Aluminium? Lets see, pistons, transmission cases, transfer case housings, airplanes and beer cans..what is the worry?

 

None of the auto parts you listed would hold your life in their hands if they failed...

I haven't looked at the kit, but if there are aluminum parts touching steel parts there would be galvanic corrosion between the dissimilar metals. Specially down on the axel where salty water would accumulate.

 

How about this ?

http://www.amazon.com/Timken-HA59003.../dp/B000IYCSLW

props to mini14...

 

You may be feeling movement in your upper ball joints. They are not really ball joints per se. They look like ball joints but they are not, I have a brand new set under my desk at work and was dismayed to find they slide about 1 inch in and out. They move when the truck is jacked up. I have heard them described as a floating king pin. Read about a AAM 9.25 axle for a description. My unit bearings where still fine at 120000k, I was replacing u joints in the axle shafts. I had to heat, jack and beat them out,to get at the u joints. Just my experience.

 

I would recommend the conversion to manual hubs for several reasons but the main one is two tapered wheel bearings per hub that are serviceable and if necessary replaceable for reasonable cost should you ever have a failure. Another advantage is the ability to unlock the hubs so the front axle is disengaged when you do not need it. The DynaTrac kit is pricey but worth it as I plan to hang on the vehicle for some time. I would recommend DynaTrac's hub selectors if you do purchase their kit as they are a slimmer profile than the Warn hubs and appear to be a much stronger component.

L8r,........dogger