2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Front hub bearings

[Dieselnerd]

Does anyone grease their 4x4 front hub bearings? Now that I have my hub off to replace the u joint I was wondering if anyone has greased the bearings while the hub was off. I have a grease needle, would that be a good way to put some extra grease in there or is there a better way?



Thanks...

 

[Dan_69GTX]

I've used a needle to insert oil into a sealed bearing before, but never greased one.



The problem is - what type of grease was used by the manufacture of the bearing?



If you mix grease types, then you will have ruined the grease - generally different type of grease, when mixed, will form a liquid.



Generally that is "bad".



The other thing is you don't want to put in too much grease. That will create excess pressure and possibly blow out the seal, - again - that is "bad".



If no grease has leaked out, then no grease should be put in. I say that due to reliability reasons and Yes, that is my opinion, not fact.



Others - what are your thoughts?



Dan

 

[Dieselnerd]

I put it back together without adding grease. Bearing turns nice and smooth and looks well sealed. According to the service manual they are lubricated for life however long that is. After that I guess it's time for new hubs.

 

[Joe G.]

I've seen some posts on here where some people have packed the bearings with grease. I have NOT seen any posts from those people saying that they have umpteen thousand miles and no trouble. Or that the bearings failed after the packing. So, unless someone chimes in with a report we don't know if packing helps or hurts.

 

[Extreme1]

Here you are Joe! I seperated my driver side bearing almost 7 years ago when replacing the rotor. I didn't have the $$ to replace it (ot the tool to get it out) so I slapped (carefully applied) some Amsoil water resistant brearing grease (works great on the sleds) on the exposed bearings. I have driven umpteen thousand miles since and it seems to be doing OK. Actually, it's probably about 135,000 or so. I just checked them this week and they are still tight.



These bearings do seem to last a long time as long as they have grease and stay dry.

 

[AKTRAPPER]

i heard rumors of front bearing failure with wheels falling off. mine have not had problems: 200k so far. heard of putting zerks in . any thoughts or experience???

 

[mike r]

I replace one bad one on mine last June at 62000 miles and found it during a ball joint change. I did change both due to the fact that I have heard that If you have to remove the rotor to turn it you may damage the race trying to put the rotor back onto it due to the stud mounting of the rotor. The grease on the new ones was something similar to a GE lithium grease that we use at work. Did not resemble a moly grease so I would be careful what you use to regrease them.

 

[Robin]

I agree with above posts about "if none came out, don't put any in. " As far as quantity of grease in sealed bearings, it depends on the speed they run. An over filled bearing on a 3600 rpm motor shaft will quickly over heat. A wheel bearing runs about 600 rpm at highway speed so is not sensitive to overfilling.



Personally I have always preferred a spindle arrangement with two widely separated bearings. But then with four wheel drives, you have to deal with the Torrington bearing that supports the outer driveshaft. They are delicate and can tear up an axle quickly, especially if run unloaded, ie: hubs locked, not in four wheel drive.



But the single bearing front wheel system seems to work pretty well. There's an adage that sez that these bearing will last a half million miles, or 500 miles after hitting a curb hard at an angle.

 

[ox1]

We're not in 70's Chevy era anymore Toto!

Hijaking this here thread rather than start yet another:



Well, went to pack wheel bearings today - just to say I did - and to show the kid how to pack Timkins by hand... .



Well now, looks like the joke is on me!



After spending much time beating the hub spacer (duelly) off and wishing the factory had heard of "neverseiz" - AND mushrooming the hub to the point that I will need to doctor that up before reasembly now - AND scratching my head to think that the axle nut was THAT tight (!) on Timkens (?) - AND then to not be able to remove the hub? Even after having Jr. run the prybar and me knocking the rotor with hammer - turn 1/3 and repeat... .



... . I finally decided that this has to be a first - that I can't finger out how to take something apart. Time to check with the boyz!



So - I have done some checking and I guess I don't have to / not really applicable - to pack them as they are a sealed ball bearing assembly eh?



And to get this apart I would need to take the four 12 point bolts loose from the inside of the ... . uh ... . back there next to the u-joint?



I now understand why the axle nut was so tight - it AINT setting tension on Timkens.



I think I'm just outdated... .



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Farther up (I think) in this thread someone mentioned that the bearings were close together. That was what I was thinking as I am looking at this thing! It'd be nice to have - say 4" spacing between the bearings. I guess there just aint enough room for that in a 1 ton truck?



Oh well, I guess they last pretty good anyhow eh?





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Is there at least Timkens in the back? I took it apart enough to see that they were in fact oil bath rather than grease pack and put it back together.

 

[Willys]

The front bearings are in fact sealed and are not serviceable, you have to replace the unit. I did this to mine a few years ago- they were toasted after driving through some deeper than expected(*frozen) water puddles in the mountains. Anyways, Napa sells the bearings for around 250, Dodge wants 500 something.



Sorry I dont remember the whole procedure for removal, its been a few years ago. I'm sure someone on here can get if from their service manual- I dont have mine right now. I would suggest not taking anything else apart unless its broke(on the hub) at least. It can be a pain the in butt putting things back in just right. good luck



Andy

 

[SMorneau]

Dodge can sell you the entire rotor and hub assembly ready to bolt on the truck for about $325. Of course that depends on your parts guy. I think the Rotors are pretty decent quality so i would consider the assembly.

 

[JoshPeters]

Ahh yes... the Hub bearing. Removal can be a PITA. Bring some patience, a 6 pack and a little elbow grease. Regular grease not required. Remove the wheel, remove the caliper, (dually Remove the spacer) Remove the axle nut, on the back side of the spindle there will be 4, 14mm 12 point bolts. loosten them most of the way. Leave a good ammount of threads, as you will be CAREFULLY (but with force!) pounding on those bolts. They hold the hub into place. Pound in a cross ways pattern. Initially it may not want to release, just pound more. They will move! Once the hub/bearing/rotor are free do as you need to. U-joints, front rotors, and bearing replacement can now be done. My first time I needed to use a file to repair the points of the bolt to get the socket back on. If you have an air hammer this works exceptionally well for this job.



Josh

 

[RDHamill]

I had a wheel bearing fail one mornig on the road, ground and whined for a while but I got it home.

When I pressed it apart, there was nothing inside to call grease, atfer giving the ******* $350, I drilled the bolt hole for the ABS senser so that I had access to the cavity between the inner and outer bearing.

I put in a shot of oil, and then filled it with grease. Liked it so much I did the other side. and made a new bolt with grease fitting.

The OE hub lasted 90,000 miles, dealer told me they go at about 75000. Now that I can grease them, they should last a long time.

The right side now has 190,000 on the original bearing, the left is now up to 95,000.

As for the concern for types of grease, while I agree with the theory the guys are using, in practice any grease would be better than what's left of the factory grease after a few miles, which is nothing as far as I can see.

 

[diesel DOG]

Doing ball joints I ruined mine and they were 700 at the dealer :--) for the two fronts.

 

[Willys]

Seeing this thread come back to the top reminded me I replaced the passenger side hub about a month ago. I was going through some other repairs, when I had the front end lifted. I checked the play of each wheel, just for curiosity and noticed I had a LOT of play in the passenger side wheel. I thought at first it was ball joints but after a few minutes of inspection realized that the hub was coming apart. There was way too much play in the hub for it to be safe. I bought a new hub from O'Reilly's for 180 something(non ABS style), and it has a USA made Timken bearing. The old bearing was a japanese brand, I can't remember off hand but I do have pics somewhere if anyone is curious. This old hub came from NAPA for around $250, around 80k miles ago. The new hub is at least the 3rd one on this side, in 260k miles.



When changing the hubs, it helps to have the old hub around to use as an anvil to run the lug studs into- not using an anvil can cause the seals to come loose. Trust me, I've been there... An even better anvil is an old rotor from the truck, if you have changed them before.

 

[KB0OU]

You should never beat on the bolts holding the front unit together.

Loosen all 4 bolts about half way out.

Put a socket on each bolt one at a time and use the steering knuckle to press out, by turning the steering wheel so the knuckle hits the socket.

Back all 4 bolts out completely.

After this the unit will fall out, replace the bearing.

 

[WilsonF]

This is an idea someone on another forum came up with. If or when my bearings go out I will try it.
Ram Modifications
Scroll down twords the bottom.
Floyd

 

[Dieselnut59]

Is there any way to fabricate a greasable system to lubricate the ball joints also? My 1996 has 222,000 miles and no trouble but i hear the horror stories of the 3rd gens and ball joint failures. I believe in grease fittings. I wish everything that moves could be greased. I replaced my front universals (on my 1996) with greasable ones and they have been working great for at least 150,000 miles, greasing them at every 5,000 mile oil change.

Any ideas for greasing the upper and lower ball joints?

Thanks, John

 

[CumminsPower98]

The "Ram Modifications" link above is mine and with hundreds of thousands of OTR miles as well as lots of daily driving and a little bit of off roading I can testify that keeping these bearings and ball joints greased extends their life. I use Amsoil grease in all my front end parts and have had no liquefaction or other problems. I did not get zerks put in my upper ball joints due to an inability to get a normal drill in there but amazingly they are still tight as ever. With all the trouble I see on here with ball joints, I have been very pleased with mine. See the bottom of my mods page below in signature for details on the bearing and ball joint zerks. The outer seals on my bearings do leak a little as seen when I had it apart last so I'm sure they would have been dry long ago if I hadn't been able to grease them. At work we have an '05 3500 with only 70k miles and its ball joints are already shot. I don't know how it was used before they got it but that just seems lame to me.

 

[Dieselnut59]

That is awesome. I would love to do the grease fitting thing. Is the metal on the hubs a PITA to drill?