Wheel Bearing/Hub Assy-What's Involved?

[midlife crisis]

I have seen some posts regarding Wheel Bearing and Hub Assembly replacement. Being a converted Ford guy, I have spent one heck of a lot of time under Ford front ends, but I have'nt gone past pulling of the wheels on this Dodge. (Still @ 12k miles)

What is involved in this job?

Has anyone done it?

I see folks posting $400, 500, 600, all kinds of numbers.

What do the parts alone cost?

Are they available aftermarket?

Are special tools involved?

Does the factory manual show this procedure well enough to purchase it? (Okay- Thats probably a dumb question)

Guess you can see where I am going with this... I plan on doing this myself when the time comes.

Thanks for helpful input-

 

[rbattelle]

Holy cow that's a lot of good questions with long answers. Start with some light reading on the subject:



Removal method



That gives an interesting method for removing the assemblies. As for a source for new bearings, I'm hoping Quad 4x4 (www.quad4x4.com) starts offering them before mine go bad. New assemblies run $280. 80 EACH at Dodgeparts.com.



As for the service manual, it basically just says to remove the rotors, then unbolt and remove the hub/bearing assembly. Right. It assumes there's no rust.



-Ryan