Help!!!! wheel bearings!!!!

[Bartman#1]

:{ Hello everyone, right now i have my buddies 03 dullie out in my shop, we are try to replace his front axle joints, but can't get the bearing/rotor off...

i have done this to my 99 before, and it was just a manner of beating on the bolts for the wheel bearing to sepeate it. is his truck with that new axle the same???? i forget what holds the whel bearing to the rotor... we have been messing with it last night and this morning and are getting frustrated... is it a matter of going and getting a bigger hammer???? i have an 8# at work.....



any help would be GREATLY recieved!!!!!



thank you all!!!

 

[ASchwartz]

I think I have a bad hub bearing and am going to replace it myself. I read my 03 shop manual and this is what it says;



Step 7) Back off the hub/bearing mounting bolts 1/4 inch each. Then tap the bolts with a hammer to loosen the hub/bearing from the steering knuckle.



Step 8) Remove the hub/bearing mounting bolts and remove the hub/bearing.



I asked Bob4X4 about the diagnosis and he said that I would need special tools in order to get the hub bearing off. I forgot to ask him what kind.



PM him and ask him.



Hope this helps.



Avi

 

[Bartman#1]

i think "tap" might be and understatement..... we have been hitting this thing with a 3# hammer all last night. anyone have any personal experience is how there truck came apart????? i have done my 99 but not a 03...



how about bracing off the frame and "pressing" with the power sterring????

too butch???? desperate... .

 

[MMeier]

how about bracing off the frame and "pressing" with the power sterring????

too butch???? desperate... .

IIRC, thats how someone here did thiers, be careful though, hate to find the limits of one of the PS hoses!

 

[Bartman#1]

c'mon guys!!!! out of the 50+ people that have read this thread, nobody has taken a wheel bearing assm off of their truck??????? anyone??? how did it go??? do you just have to beat on it for hours or what??? nobody has been though this????!!!! i can't afford to go to my local 5 star and have it done..... other people MUST work on thier rigs themselfs... .



HELP!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rbattelle]

The hubs are electrochemically welded (rusted) to the knuckles. As I see it, you have 2 options.



1. Try this.



2. Remove the bolts from the back of the hub assembly completely. Then get yourself a big chisel and a big hammer and go to town on the edge where the hub meets the knuckle. Obviously, this will destroy the bearing. But you're replacing it anyway, so who cares?



I'm not sure whether it's possible to get a puller onto the bearing Is there anything in the center to put the press screw on? I suppose the axle shaft would work...



I have not done this, but am dreading the day when I have to. COAT THE NEW BEARING WITH ANTI-SEIZE!



-Ryan

 

[Not_Agn]

It took me a couple of hours, torch, air chisel, etc. I ended up driving a chisel in between the knuckle and bearing hub. After a while of working it, it came out. Nothing wrong with the bearing itself, I need to replace the u-joint. I asked my local dealer about it, the tech told me he hasn't gotten one out with out destroying it. Said the u-joints he had to replace were under warranty so he billed dodge for the bearings also. I am dreading the other side. Lee.

 

[steved]

I used a propane torch to slightly heat the knuckle, a 5 ton puller on the hub, and a small chizzle to wedge between the knuckle and bearing...



The puller wouldn't do it by itself...



Both bearings are in my garage, in good shape... more than I can say for the ujoints... I replaced these with the dynatrac kit...



I reefed HARD on both bearings and both were fine... if you can, put a grease needle into the ABS sensor hole and add grease to them before you reinstall.



steved

 

[Slow Six]

If you do a search there are several posts on this that can explain better than I can. I loosened off the four bolts that hold the hub assembly on. Take a socket on an extension and place it on one of the nuts and place the other end against the axle housing. Start the engine and give the steering wheel some turn. The hub will loosen very easily. You do not have to loosen the axle nut. The hub and axle all come out in one piece. Change the U-joint and reassemble. Most of us use never seize on the mating surfaces before assembling so that the next time it is a lot easier. If you are doing this with some one helping be extra careful that you keep your fingers out of the way when the steering wheel is being moved. Sorry I didn't catch this post sooner but I just got in. The posts that deal with this are under the front axle u-joint topic and there are some excellent descriptions Others that have worked on these advise not to loosen the axle nut and try to pull the hub as it can result in needing a new bearing assembly. Hope this helps.

 

[chi440]

Been there - done that...



Ended up backing bolts out approx 1/4 to 1/2 in and rotating wheel to lock in one direction and placing a socket on the bolt (as a guide) and placing a blunt round air hammer bit through the socket and drive it with an air hammer - a CP 714 - was the only one with enough 'kahonies' to even budge it. . Then I worked from bolt to bolt and turn the wheel and then work on the other side - back and forth - etc. . while prying/pushing on the socket while driving through it with the air hammer - long process - ended up saving the bearings and sucess changing the outer axle joints.



be sure to 'clean' the hub surface and axle housing and apply anti sieze or a silicone grease to the surfaces to aid in assembly and for 'future' repairs... .



For the rotor - you just have to remove the 'clips' on the studs and then is semi-easily removed/sepaated from the hub assembly.



I ended up using a 'tinker toy' bit and a die grinder with 'emory cloth strips' to clean the rust off from the surfaces. .



Worked for me - must also use LOTS of ATTITUDE and PERSISTANCE...



It took quite a few hours - so plan on lots of time and you will want some ear plugs - air hammer will leave a ringing in the ears... .

 

[rbattelle]

Bartman, what happened? How did they come off in the end?



I think I've got a front u-joint going bad, so I'm going to need to pull bearings soon.



-Ryan

 

[ASchwartz]

I will be replacing my Passenger side bearing this wekend. I will give an update then.



Avi

 

[LDM]

I Bolted A 3' Piece Of 3/8 High Strength Chain To Two Lug Bolts Opposite Each Other Then Hooked A Small Come-a-long To A Solid Structure Put The Hook In The Chain Bolted To The Lug Nuts And Applied Some Pressure With The Come-a-long And With A Little Persuasion From A 3 Lb. Hammer I Pulled Both My Hubs On My 03.

 

[bighammer]

I think I've got an axle joint going again. My left side was replaced (after Muncie '04) by the dealer when I couln't budge the bearing. I didn't have to pay for it, but it's the same old stock junk in there. Not sure which side is bad yet, but I'm feeling a very slight tugging in the wheel only accerating out of turns.

 

[rbattelle]

Anyone know if the bearing is strong enough to hold together if it's pulled from the studs? I assume it would be, since that's the part that actually holds the wheel on - it must be exceptionally strong.



I'm thinking of making a tool that can be bolted onto the studs and provide a big steel "pad" far enough away from the truck to allow a large sledge to be swung inside to pound off the bearings. It would bolt onto 4 of the studs using the lug nuts and have a couple long (4'?) steel arms extending out away from the truck. At the end of the arms would be welded a large steel striker plate, where a hammer could be struck.



Basically a steel version of LDM's idea (great idea, LDM). One fear would be pounding the vehicle right off the jackstand. Yikes.



-Ryan

 

[Dieselnerd]

It helps to soak it with lots of penetrating oil a day or so before you plan to do the work. When you put it back together, use anti-seize on the surface and next time it will come off easy.

 

[steved]

Anyone know if the bearing is strong enough to hold together if it's pulled from the studs? I assume it would be, since that's the part that actually holds the wheel on - it must be exceptionally strong.



I'm thinking of making a tool that can be bolted onto the studs and provide a big steel "pad" far enough away from the truck to allow a large sledge to be swung inside to pound off the bearings. It would bolt onto 4 of the studs using the lug nuts and have a couple long (4'?) steel arms extending out away from the truck. At the end of the arms would be welded a large steel striker plate, where a hammer could be struck.



Basically a steel version of LDM's idea (great idea, LDM). One fear would be pounding the vehicle right off the jackstand. Yikes.



-Ryan

No, they some will sometimes stay together, most often they split apart... the stub shaft actually holds the 4wd bearing pack together... the 1-11/16" nut is needed to sandwich the whole works together...



What I did:



If you use a large three-jaw puller on the hub, while pushing on the end of the stub shaft, you can usually pull them apart (or if you are lucky, pull them off as one piece)... if you pull them apart, you can make a crude "box"-like puller out of 1. 5inch angle that threads bolts into the hub from the front... the box need to be just big enough to clear the edges of the inner piece of the hub and rest on the knuckle itself... then you basically use four bolts to pull the inner portion of the hub off the knuckle... using threaded holes already provided (you will need to get an assortment of different length 14MM (?) bolts and washers)... I don't care how long the hub was on there... this WILL remove it almost effortlessly... and with NO damage...



Once you have the inner piece off, add a load of grease to it if it is still good, and a 1/2" piece of all thread will squeeze it back together... the only trick is that a seal between the two halves will get dislodged, but is easily reseated using a flat screwdriver...



steved

 

[rbattelle]

No, they some will sometimes stay together, most often they split apart... the stub shaft actually holds the 4wd bearing pack together... the 1-11/16" nut is needed to sandwich the whole works together...



What I did:



If you use a large three-jaw puller on the hub, while pushing on the end of the stub shaft, you can usually pull them apart (or if you are lucky, pull them off as one piece)... if you pull them apart, you can make a crude "box"-like puller out of 1. 5inch angle that threads bolts into the hub from the front... the box need to be just big enough to clear the edges of the inner piece of the hub and rest on the knuckle itself... then you basically use four bolts to pull the inner portion of the hub off the knuckle... using threaded holes already provided (you will need to get an assortment of different length 14MM (?) bolts and washers)... I don't care how long the hub was on there... this WILL remove it almost effortlessly... and with NO damage...



Once you have the inner piece off, add a load of grease to it if it is still good, and a 1/2" piece of all thread will squeeze it back together... the only trick is that a seal between the two halves will get dislodged, but is easily reseated using a flat screwdriver...



steved

This is great advice. I didn't know the stub shaft actually held anything together. Makes sense (until now I couldn't understand the need for so much torque on the axle nut!).



With regard to the bolts that hold the hub to the knuckle - the threads are on the hub and the knuckle just has through-holes?



-Ryan

 

[steved]

With regard to the bolts that hold the hub to the knuckle - the threads are on the hub and the knuckle just has through-holes?

Yes, the knuckle is just through holes... threads are only in the hub...



steved

 

[TCluff]

put down that purse and hit that thing, use a 10lb, dont be scared to damage the bearing, a couple of good hits and it will come off, try to avoid too much heat as this will damage the ball joint boots, or try the puller and tapping on the hub at the same time, i have changed a few and after learning the first one, they are all alot easier... .