OK, I thought I was prepared for this job after researching extensively on this forum. But I had no idea how stuck the parts would actually be. Also, this is not intended to be a full write-up, there are other posts here that do that much better than I could.

My left front axle u-joint had gone bad, so with 124,000 on the truck I decided to replace unit bearings, ball joints and axle u-joints on both sides while I had all the tools together (or so I thought).

So first the brake rotor wouldn't come off, so I decided that I would replace that also since that and the bearing will come off together. But the power steering method wasn't budging it at all. So off on a search to find a heavy duty puller.

This is what I found at a rental place:


After much beating it finally came off.

I went and got the 6-ton press from Harbor Freight, but that was not moving the u-joint out, so this is what I had to do to that:


And after cutting out the middle it still took the press and 3 rounds of pressing and beating to get each cap out.

But patience, persistence, and much searching for the correct tools finally prevailed.


RD

 

welcome to the club oh yeah i bought 3 ujoints for 2 axles figure that one out and at 60 bucks a pop it was a crappy mistake

 

Now you need to get ready to replace those unit bearings. Using that puller like that most likely damaged them.....

You might want to simply replace the whole deal with a free wheel kit. I recently did this on my 06 and couldn't be more pleased.

I did a write up on my web page

www.rvbprecision.com

 

Yeah, I did unit bearings, u-joints, ball joints, rotors and pads, all on both sides while I was at it. Couldn't justify the cost of the free-spin kit at this point in my budget, maybe next time around.

RD

 

what type of puller exactly is that one you used?
just in case i need one in the future- god i hope not!

 

I don't know what the brand was or anything. I found it A-Z Rental in Spokane, WA. I don't know if you called them if they would tell you what it was or not....

I don't know what else would have worked. There was an incredible amount of pressure there to get them off. The power steering method did nothing but bend a socket extension.

RD

 

Racer,

Before you seriously consider a free spin setup look at my recent threads about mine. I'm not so sure they are the answer for everyone.

Hopefully, with greaseable axle joints and good unit bearings that are in there with anti-seize, you'll never have so much trouble again.

Isn't it fun working on a Dodge front end?

 

Funny, I just had a wheel bearing grenade on me the other day. I had changed the other side awhile back and had as much trouble as Racer Dude, so I was expecting the worst. It seems though, that if you drive 20 miles on square roller bearings, they create enough heat that the hub unit comes out with just a good whack with a hammer!

 

My axle u joints seem to only last about 100,000 miles and are greased every other week.

I have 442,000 on it and the driver side is on the 3rd set and will probably have to change the passenger side next month.