Front hub problems

[JeffHarrington]

I have an 04 3500 dually with 2wd. It has 250k miles on it. I am in the RV delivery sector. I have had the left front hub replaced 8 times in the last 56k miles by the dealer. It lasts anywhere from 4k to 9k miles before it goes out again. The Mopar parts warranty is only 12k miles and they say that is from when I paid for it not from the last time it was replaced so I end up paying for every other one and then it is paid for under the parts warranty.



The dealer has no clue how to stop it from going out. I believe it is just defective parts. Their first idea was to put on a ground strap and replace the hub spacerwhich didn't work. Now their idea is to replace the knuckle but I have been told by a friend that there isn't one on a 2wd. Any ideas?



The truck runs fine except for this problem even the transmission is original with no problems. In my line of work I can't be replacing this every few weeks. Is this possiblly a lemonlaw claim even though I have 250k miles on it with no other problems?

 

[rbattelle]

Is this possiblly a lemonlaw claim even though I have 250k miles on it with no other problems?

Good question - it might be.



Maybe the installer doesn't know what he's doing. It's a long shot, but possible. If the bearing isn't properly torqued on installation, it can fail. The new bearings come with a big pink piece of paper that warns you to properly torque them in place according to the manual.



Another possibility is, of course, some kind of problem with the knuckle. I'm not sure why your friend says there's no knuckle on a 2wd - if that's true, how does the truck steer?



Ryan

 

[betterthanstock]

It has 250k miles on it. ... . I have had the left front hub replaced 8 times in the last 56k miles by the dealer. ... . Is this possiblly a lemonlaw claim even though I have 250k miles on it with no other problems?

Your troubles started right around 200K. Lemon Law? Are you kidding? Maybe small claims.



They may have damaged the knuckle when the first bearing was taken out due to rust (slightly bent it), or the bore where the new bearing gets pressed in may be damaged, so get it replaced. Good luck getting them to admit guilt in having damaged it themselves, but if I were you I would try to bargain for a knuckle at half price (their cost), and if they don't cooperate, take it to another shop. You could get it re-machined, but after a quarter million miles, I would put it a new knuckle, and new ball joint too.

 

[sag2]

If you got all the bad parts they made you should go out and buy a lottery ticket tonight. My vote is something they missed, or something they broke.

 

[jwilliams3]

I have an 04 3500 dually with 2wd. It has 250k miles on it. I am in the RV delivery sector. I have had the left front hub replaced 8 times in the last 56k miles by the dealer. It lasts anywhere from 4k to 9k miles before it goes out again. The Mopar parts warranty is only 12k miles and they say that is from when I paid for it not from the last time it was replaced so I end up paying for every other one and then it is paid for under the parts warranty.



The dealer has no clue how to stop it from going out. I believe it is just defective parts. Their first idea was to put on a ground strap and replace the hub spacerwhich didn't work. Now their idea is to replace the knuckle but I have been told by a friend that there isn't one on a 2wd. Any ideas?



The truck runs fine except for this problem even the transmission is original with no problems. In my line of work I can't be replacing this every few weeks. Is this possiblly a lemonlaw claim even though I have 250k miles on it with no other problems?

Quarter million mile lemon!! I would be ticked too!



Seriously they arent installing them correctly... . Find another shop.

 

[dezeldog]

I had to replace the right front hub on a 2wd at about 135k. It went out again in 5k. I watched my buddy, a DC tech install it and porperly torque both of the hubs. Those were the SKF hubs which are the oem units. Then at 145k the left one went bad and I found a timken hub assembly and I ws told that there is a lifetime guarantee on the timkens.



Jim

 

[wcjp]

I had to replace the right front hub on a 2wd at about 135k. It went out again in 5k. I watched my buddy, a DC tech install it and porperly torque both of the hubs. Those were the SKF hubs which are the oem units. Then at 145k the left one went bad and I found a timken hub assembly and I ws told that there is a lifetime guarantee on the timkens.



Jim

I wonder if maybe the torque settings in the manual are wrong. This would cause the unit bearing to go bad soon. Might want to try the EMS or Dynatrac hub conversion. While pricey, the lack of downtime would pay for itself.

 

[KSears]

I wonder if maybe the torque settings in the manual are wrong. This would cause the unit bearing to go bad soon. Might want to try the EMS or Dynatrac hub conversion. While pricey, the lack of downtime would pay for itself.

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I thought this was a two wheel drive truck????