Front Unitized Hub Bearing Help !

[LambertM]

Getting close to 96k km and have been preparing myself mentally for a hub bearing inspection or even worse a full removal and replacement. After reading many of your posts, Ryan's seems to have displayed quite a traumatic experience.



Anyhow, I've been hearing a low pitch contant rattling coming from the from left but could never isolate the problem. Today, going down the highway, I distinctively heard a loud noise, and from there the rattling was amplified to a loud "cling/clang". From this point there was a specific grinding noise which was intermitent. From there I took the next exit and drove back home... no wobble by the way. At lower speeds, there was no grinding, however the rattling was ever so present. It was intermittent but followed wheel speed.

Once parked, peeking into the wheel well, the front left hub was very hot compared to the right side. The caliper seemed ok.



Having said this, I am suspected a hub bearing failure. I would appreciate if anyone could confirm this... I fear the worst :{



If so, any recommendations on bearing replacement. The SKF aftermarket seems interesting, I don't know about Mopar nor Napa. Any hints on what is best quality for the money. I intend on getting the OTC puller, but no recommendations on free spinning hub... can't afford it !



The are a lot a lessons learned I can gain from existing posts, but any other hints and tips would be appreciated.



Thanks

Marc

 

[MickeyMiller]

Marc,

Ryan has already done the legwork for you:

Originally Posted by rbattelle

The prices on the 2003-up front hub/bearing assemblies are outrageous. The best price from DC that I can find is from allchryslerparts.com - $251 each plus shipping. Quad 4x4 gave me a quote for $342. 95 each. Some dealers are charging up to $450 each.



Realizing that Dodge is really just an assembler and all their parts are sourced from elsewhere, I went on a search for the company that supplies the hub/bearing assemblies. I eventually found them - SKF Industries. These guys are the OEM supplier to Dodge, and they're based out of Sweden. They recently bought Chicago Rawhide.



It turns out that SKF won an award for the bearing design on our trucks. An Automotive News PACE award, to be precise. I *think* it's called an "X-Tracker Asymmetric Hub Bearing Unit" (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Here's what the judges at Automotive News had to say about these bearings:







Pretty impressive, no? I know, get to the point. Back to the good stuff.



So SKF is just a bearing manufacturer. As such, anyone who has an account with them can buy anything from their product line. A quick search on their website came up with part number BR930502. With that in hand, I did a Google search on "SKF dealers" and came up with a lot of hits. I submitted quotation requests to about half-a-dozen of them. Of those, only 3 or 4 were able to locate the part number. Of those, the two lowest cost dealers were Dalton Bearing, Inc. and E. B. Atmus. I ended up going with E. B. Atmus, who had great customer service. The price? $168. 74 plus shipping. I ordered up 2 of them which came drop-shipped from SKF's warehouse in Hebron, KY. Shipping cost me $10.



So for a grand total of $347. 48 I have 2 brand new OEM front hub/bearing assemblies.



Below are a couple pictures of the bearings, which arrived today. They are even made in the US! They come pre-packed with grease, and the ABS sensors are included and installed. I'm very excited about finding this deal. Isn't the free market grand?



-Ryan

 

[rbattelle]

I really feel that if you're prepared, the job is much easier. I made an offer for TDR members to borrow the tools I made for pulling the bearing for only the cost of shipping (which could be substantial... they're heavy), so there's always that option.

Bear in mind when I bought direct through an SKF supplier a few years back the price was lower than it is now. If going that route, it's to your advantage to contact more than one supplier.

Ryan

 

[jelag]

I read where you can pull the sensor for the ABS and grease these bearings... but can't see how to get this done... .

Has anyone done this and had some success...

 

[rbattelle]

I read where you can pull the sensor for the ABS and grease these bearings... but can't see how to get this done... .



Has anyone done this and had some success...

I'm pretty sure Steved did this. I looked at doing it when I replaced my bearings, but didn't. I think a needle fitting would be most useful.



There's a balance to be struck. Too much grease will kill the bearings just as fast as not enough grease.



Ryan

 

[LambertM]

Good News !



After taking the wheel off, rotated the disk back and forth to isolate the news and make sure it was what I thought. With some help from da wife, slid underneath to find out that the rattle was coming from the forward prop shaft yoke bearing in the double cardan. I could see that the seal popped and the bearing in almost free to move within the yoke.

Relief... the hub bearing Gods had answered my prayer.



I'll check if its still covered under warranty. By brother had his changed under warranty last year. We'll see. If not, I'll tackle it myself and figure out what I'm getting myself into.



By the way, I was checking prices this morning and found a Timken Hub Brg HA590032 for $200 at Rock Auto. Picture looks close to SKF model. E. B. Atmus was closed so I could not get a quote.



Thanks for the help ! I'll post after repair.

 

[BMH95]

Yup, Rock Auto does not actually have the parts. I placed an order two weeks ago and they called after a couple of days to say they were out of the Timkens, and i would have to take the $290 upgrades. I just went to Napa and baught their top of the line for $300, and they came with the speed sensors and a lifetime warranty.

 

[RJWEST]

Do the hub conversation before the hubs fail... .
Pays in the long run...

 

[LambertM]

I don't know if this good news, but the dealer will replace the damaged part under warranty(7yr/115k km)... replace it with probably the same zerkless u-joint. I'll stick to this for now, since they are asking for $460 CDN for the complete front shaft assembly. $3 per fwd bolt (4x) and $9 per aft bolt (4x). I'll start saving up, that and probably stock-up on the wheel hub brgs. . one at time :{



My wife called a dealer in Burlington, VT and for you guys across the border, the shaft assy is $350. No worth the drive for me.



Sry RJWEST, call me lazy but I'll stick to the auto-locking hubs and whatever pain it brings even though you're probably right that it does pay off in the long run.



By the way, for those who are interested, I have P/N's for the shaft assy and bolts (maintenance manual recommends changing bolts since they have a patch of red loctite, or just use the olds ones and apply red loctite 242):



Shaft Assemby 52123112AA (for 5. 9 ETH, Auto transmission)

FWD bolts 06506497AA

AFT bolts 06033358