Hub Bearing Assemblies

[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:

"SKF's X-Tracker is the most significant innovation in the global hub bearing market since the integration of ABS sensors in the 1990s. It consists of an asymmetrical two-row wheel hub bearing arrangement with the outboard bearing race a significantly larger diameter that carries more rolling elements than the inboard row. This uniquely innovative architecture increases the camber stiffness of the hub unit by as much as 70 percent, adds significant load-carrying capacity and extends service life. This is accomplished without need to change any of the surrounding components and without increased cost. "

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. Oo. Oo.



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? Oo.



-Ryan

 

[JDerbedrossian]

Is their a reason you got new ones, and thank you very much for doing the grunt work for us, makes me wonder how much everything else costs on these trucks.



Jake

 

[rbattelle]

Is their a reason you got new ones, and thank you very much for doing the grunt work for us, makes me wonder how much everything else costs on these trucks.



Jake

You're welcome, and I got new ones in anticipation of ruining my originals during removal to replace u-joints. Plus I always like keeping spare parts on hand.



-Ryan

 

[mattymac]

Great info Ryan! Thanks for the investigative research! Im sure alot of people here appreciate it, and will use this valuable info!

 

[evldsl]

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. Oo. Oo.



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? Oo.



-Ryan

:-laf If only diesel fuel was the same free market.

 

[Hercules130]

great info, but when the time comes i am going with the dynatrac manual hub conversion.

 

[HOBrian]

Thanks Ryan, I plan on ball joints, u joints, and hub bearings this summer. I am so excited



I thought about the manual hub conversion but with the savings Ryan found I can't see paying the price difference.

 

[opjohnny]

Ryan, thanks for the good work.

 

[steved]

You're welcome, and I got new ones in anticipation of ruining my originals during removal to replace u-joints. Plus I always like keeping spare parts on hand.



-Ryan

I used a 7ton puller on my hub bearings to get them off... didn't even hurt them a bit... just FYI...



I don't know why you would damage a bearing getting it off... even if you split them in half, they squeeze right back together... I have pull a bunch of them apart without damaging a single one.



Good info though... and you thought I was anal about the FASS filters...



steved

 

[klenger]

The question for me is, will I be able to find this thread 3 years from now when I need it.

 

[steved]

The question for me is, will I be able to find this thread 3 years from now when I need it.

:-laf



I have read so many threads and thought the same thing... "when I need this, will I ever find it again?"



Maybe we should start putting a keyword for the useful posts in like "booger", "pinetree", or even "muffler bearing" so we can find them easier with the search??



steved

 

[dezeldog]

Ryan, in your search for those hubs did you happen to come across the hub assembly for a 2wd unit. TIA



Jim

 

[Turbo1Ton]

The question for me is, will I be able to find this thread 3 years from now when I need it.

I have a worksheet in my Excel PM log that I put part numbers and descriptions in. That way I don't have to wait for the goobers at the parts store to look them up, I can just give them the number and they can go get it.



I added this part number immediately after reading this thread last night. Thanks Ryan!



Jeff

 

[CMNS PWR]

Ryan, what is the part number from Atmus?

http://www.ebatmus.com/search.epl?Query=hub+assembly

Thats all I see.



My front left u-joint is completely shot, so I might as well replace the hubs as well. My 03 has held up well for 130k miles.

 

[SHobbs]

Curious about the Y2K 2wd models as well.

 

[rbattelle]

Ryan, what is the part number from Atmus?

http://www.ebatmus.com/search.epl?Query=hub+assembly

Thats all I see.

I don't see it on that page. I contacted E. B. Atmus via email and asked for a quote specifically on SKF number BR930502. Within 1 day they replied with a quote. If you want, I can forward you the email of the lady who sold me my bearings. Just PM me.



Here is a link to the SKF online catalog. Didn't see parts for you 2wd guys...



-Ryan

 

[CMNS PWR]

I placed my order for 2 assemblies today. Like Ryan's order, they are shipped out of KY.

Does anyone know offhand what size the hub bearing mounting nut? They will probably need to be replaced as well. Its #5 below.

#ad

 

[rbattelle]

I thought I'd bring this back up. Today JLovas PM'd me to say he ordered some of these bearings from Atmus and apparently lots of people who read this board have done the same. Man I love the free market!



CMNS PWR - how did yours go? What size did those bolts turn out to be?



Ryan

 

[ACoffel]

The nut is 1-11/16" I can't remember for sure , but I think the 4 bolts that

hold the unit bearing in place are 19mm . I vaguely remember because I

just installed a freespin kit and got rid of the junk bearings in question.

I've got two good ones ( if there is such a thing) if anyone needs them.

They have 28k miles.

 

[JLovas]

Yes, the axle nut is 1 11/16". The 4 bolts that hold the unit bearing have a 18 mm head. I put in a u-joint this past weekend and it was quite a chore pulling that hub/bearing off. I put a puller on the hub, tightened it up quite a bit, then used my air hammer and pounded on the four bolts that hold it on. Obviously I backed the bolts out 1/2" and I left a snap-on 18 mm 1/2" drive impact socket on the head so that I wouldn't ruin the bolt. Needless too say that the socket is shot as I mushroomed the drive end quite a bit. The whole job took me 5 hours from drive in to drive out, tools clean. I'm going to try and get the other u-joint done this week and it should take only half the time now that I know what I'm doing. Thanks for everyone's advice and shared experience on this topic!