Archived hub help

[19swinger70]

hey guys. this is in reguard to my 96 4x4 extended cab177,500 miles. (ive only had it about 3 months. ). for the past month, gradually, my front brakes had been pulling to the right slightly, and fading a bit. i also noticed my front right tire"beating" at higher speeds. the front tires have been wearing funny as well. the lugs arent wearing evenly. and i dont mean outside inside differences. i mean, one lug is more worn than the one in line next to it, and it's pretty random. within the past week, i noticed some serious wobbling. so, i went ahead and bought rotors, pads and calipers, and went to change it all out today. when i jacked up the right side, i noticed that i could grab the tire and shake the hell out of it, and it wobbles and goes crazy like it's hanging there by a thread. at that point, i stop, and have a look around, i notice that the wobbling has nothing to do w/ my ball joints. but i can see the hub moving around from the back. it's also, at this point, that i notice that this front axle unit is put together different from my 85 ramcharger 4x4. i have rebuilt the front end on it, adjusting the bearings and putting new rotors on ect. i guess im stupid for thinking they would be similar) so, im taking it to a frame and axle shop tomorrow for the loose hub or bearing help. i've never seen this happen before. also, i have a lukes link on the track bar, and a dual stabilizer on the steering. any observations, or similar stories?

 

[SteveMiller]

Not that this will help you but yeah my 97 had the passenger side hub go out so I replaced it. Whole hub assembly was around $300. the job really wasn't too bad but the part isn't cheap. I did my axle u-joints at the same time since its just easy to do while everything is apart.



My drivers side joint is going out now too. I hear it making noise though to tell me its going. From what I hear they usually warn you with some noise or something. Sounds like yours has been trying to tell you something.



I was able to move my tire but I wouldn't say it was as loose as you describe but I could have just gotten to it early enough for it to not be too bad.



Good luck

Steve

 

[JohnCooper]

When you have tire "lugs" wearing at different rates (one lug taller than the next), it usually indicates bad shocks.

 

[19swinger70]

i've heard that about the bad shocks too. im anticipating putting them on too, but im going to see how it goes after the hub fix. the shocks are fairly new, but i dont think they are very heavy duty. they are summit brand. i'll probably replace them w/ rancho 5000's. i'll have a new joint put in as well.

i'll be glad to get it back on the road, driving my ramcharger is expensive w/ gas costing $2 a gallon. i drive 100 miles a day. oh well. thanks for the responses.

 

[19swinger70]

well, i had been driving the bad hub around long enough for things to really heat up down there. the big axle nut was actually welded to my axle. it had to be cut off. :--) the joint was of course trashed as well. after snapping an extension in half with my breaker bar(my 3/4" drive ingersal impact wouldnt touch it either), i sent the truck down to a local axle and frame shop to get this stuff done. he cut the nut off, and is hoping to gingerly repair a couple of the threads on the axle so it's still usable. hope it is, the hub is going to cost enough. i really wish it was a hub setup like my ramcharger, putting new bearings and adjusting it is a piece of cake. i think it has a dana 44. oh well, different animal. i hate having someone else work on my crap though.

 

[JohnCooper]

I have wondered how much it would cost to have Currie fab up a Dana front end that would replace the American Axle front end that's up there now. The difficulty would probably be in getting the ABS brakes fitted and working properly.

 

[19swinger70]

i have to admit, im a dana fan.