2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Hub removal - pulling to the left

[Hobart]

Truck has been pulling to the left and wearing tires on both outside and inside edge on both sides. Dodge said the problem was the camber was way out of adjustment. Next problem was removing the hub: The guys spent 3 hours beating it off with hammers ruining the hub and bearings ($350 for that alone) no hub puller was used. Total bill was over 1000$ and the truck still pulls to the left. The Dodge shop told me the truck is within specs and I'll just have to live with it. This is after 1000$!!

I'm disputing the charges based on the fact that the truck still pulls to the left and it seems like there should have been a less destructive way to remove the hub on a 4x4. Seems like it was either an unneccesary repair or the wrong repair for the problem. Wondering what others think?

 

[jelag]

Well... Caster is not a tire wearing angle... . that's what I was taught years ago... . the only effect caster has is to increase the ability of the truck to go straight when you take your hands off the wheel.....



Camber problems will usually only wear tires on the inside or outside based on how far out Camber is either positive or negative... ... A toe problem will usually result in either inside wear or outside wear again depending on which way its out..... Very low tire pressure will cause inside and outside tire wear... . and normal toe out on turns will scuff off the edges of tires on 4X4's... .



The pull to the left could be too much caster on the left front wheel... ... but that won't account for the tire wear... .



Why did they take the hub off..... there is nothing in any of this that requires the hub to be pulled unless there was some bad bearings in the left side (drivers)



On the freeway going straight down the highway, if you take your hand off the wheel, how fast would it go to the centerline... ... .



If you are correct about what the dealer told you... I'd say they don't have a clue what was wrong nor do they understand Camber, Caster, Toe, and Toe out on turns??? and the issues to correct the problem...

 

[Hobart]

They pulled the hub to replace what they said were worn ball joints and to correct the camber.

There was and still is an almost constant pull to the left on most road surfaces; although on a road that tilts strongly to the right the truck will wander right.

 

[JessePayne]

I would get an alignment done and find out what the caster,camber, toe numbers are. Moog sells an adustable ball joint that allows you to adjust camber up to 1degree other wise it is not adjustable. The 4x4 front axle doesnt have caster adjustment on the steering knuckles only the lower control arms. So essentially there is no way to set cross caster without twisting the axle (one side further ahead of the other). The best way to get rusted on bearings off is press them off with the power steering. Search the forums to find out more on how to do this. After putting on your third gen track bar did you check to see if your axle was centered from side to side. Im not sure if this will cause the problem your having but it might be worth checking out.

 

[jelag]

I should have mentioned this before.....



Have you had them check for a bad belt in one of the front tires... a belt that has slipped out of place will cause a sever pull... ... sometimes you can spin the tire and watch the thread... as the tire spins it sort of zig zags over a couple of inches... or switch sides..... when you do that with the front wheels you change their rotation and the pull will change...



jim

 

[TLarsen]

The guys spent 3 hours beating it off with hammers ruining the hub and bearings ($350 for that alone) no hub puller was used.

That should be disputable. It doesn't sound like they used the proper procedure to pull the unit bearing. The FSM says to remove the 4 unit bearing bolts, then loosely re-thread them back in and use a punch and hammer on the bolt heads to drive the unit bearing from the knuckle from the back side.

 

[jkalchik]

Yup..... and if anybody uses a slide hammer on my hubs with any intent of reusing the hubs, they'll be buying me a new set.