I would like to hear detailed USEFUL descriptions of problems you all have had with the front unit bearings. This will most often involve replacement, but I would like to know how you first recognized the problem and details of your truck configuration, useage and mileage. For example what year, series, body style, powertrain, 4WD or 2WD etc. Then what is your duty cycle - % commuting, % towing (how much weight), % off-roading, what part of the country, dirt roads, sand hills, exposure to water (fording) etc etc. Finally the mileage when they were replaced and whether you did it yourself and actual difficulty in removing bearings etc
In otherwords, constructive description of the situation and no "those bearings are %*&!&@ " type comments
As a request - please start your replies with this :
Year
Series
Body Style
Eng / Trans
4WD or 2WD
mileage
Shot in the dark here but are these covered under 7/70 powertrain warrantny??? Im sure i already know the answer but wanted to double check...
2003 1500 QCSB Hemi
56,000 miles stock except for Bilstein shocks
Right front bearing shot, dealership told me the mopar unit on national backorder until god knows when, had to go with a Napa unit. Hope its good! Cost me $290 for the bearing plus $100 in labor!! Yes i know i got raped but i dont have the time now to put in a new one, just did the front brakes again not too long ago!
Next time i will have to go with a Timken for the other side, btw are these usually replaced in pairs?
I was counting on the Lifetime Warranty also.. nope. Per the fine print and the Service Manager it only covers "internally" lubricated parts. I take that to mean it would cover the stub shaft axle bearing (front) in the differential and leaves you hi and dry on the wheel hub bearing.
I tried to get one from the dealer, none in stock. Parts guy says there is 1000 on national back order with no expected delivery date. He said try aftermarket. NAPA had 2 in stock (now have 1).
07 1500 4WD, both outer tie rod ends @ 35500. Right front wheel bearing @ 38800 (after cutting apart look liked seal was leaking, rollers and grease full of fine dirt).
Year 2004
Series 1500
Body Style QC/SB
Eng / Trans 5.7 Auto 3.92 with 285’s originally then 315’s at 100,000 km
4WD or 2WD 4 x 4
mileage 157,000 km
First noticed some light creaking and cracking noises when turning thought it was linkage, lasted for about 5,000 km’s then it sounded as if the wheel was going to fall off turning into a gas station one day, just a terrible cracking / grinding of metal when I turned then all the time. From the time it got loud turning only to all the time was about 20 miles of driving on the way home from northern Mi. Thankfully we were at the boarder when it got bad, drove home and the truck has been parked for a week now until I get the parts. Will be doing both sides just to be safe. Passenger side is the issue though.
Truck is used mostly for commuting 90 %
Tow snowmobile trailers 2 or 4 bed 10 %
Live in Southern Ontario, paved roads 95 %, gravel roads and farm laneways 5 %, no sand or water exposure besides rain. Plenty of salty roads in the winter for our area.
Truck has 157,000 kms on it and I am having a mechanic from the local dealership do it on the side.
Mine recently makes a small pop every once in a while and while driving I have narrowed it down to the front drivers side. I have been leery of my BJs and bearings ever since doing my lift and rims so the first thing I did was lift the tire and went back and forth and up and down with it and I see I need a new hub soon. Thankfully on ebay they are not but about 90 bux.
can a bad wheel bearing cause vibration while accelerating? I can hear grinding/ticking sound when i spin my pass front tire while on the lift. also i can see the pass side of the diff plunging in and out when the tire spins. so that means it only vibrates when the front suspension is drooping (or accelerating hard)
i'm replacing the bearing today, see if that works. i wanted to do both the pass and driver side while i was at it but the drivers side that comes with the sensor is on national back order for a month!
yes, bad wheel bearings can cause vibrations. both your front wheel bearings should be identical. doesnt make sense that one would have a sensor and the other wouldnt.
nope. according to my VIN only one side has a sensor. weird. but i cant get that side for a month. should i just get a diffrent brand for the drivers side? will it make a diffrence if one side is MOPAR and the other isn't?
If you have rear ABS there is a sensor in the drivers side wheel brg hub. I asked the dealer and they said sometimes on the left and sometimes on the right front for rear ABS. Either way they didn't have any left or right nor will be getting any soon. NAPA has partno BR930285 as the brg assembly with a sensor. Its not listed in any parts listing that I could find but the guy behind the counter remembered it as the one and sure enough it was.
Year 2006
Series 1500
Body Style QC
Eng / Trans 5.7
4WD
mileage 36700
Front left went to complete shit in 3 weeks. Started with a faint grinding noise.
The right cv shaft went to crap 2 weeks before that and the dealer replaced the whole shaft. Their is obviously issues in these trucks.
trip back from Omaha growling bearing gave on Ohio turnpike blew apart cost 3800.00 heavy damage frt left ,rim tire also!found tie rod and upper ball joint bad also.Commuting and hwy travel no plowing,no towing,no beating.Winter driving some off road hunting some dirt roads.
'03 2500 4x4 hemi
replaced driver's side at ~106k
it was completely destroyed, gave enough play for the axle shaft to shift and begin to push out, so far that the brake caliper shifted past the full stroke of the brake piston and i lost brake pressure.
pulled the bearing to find it in pieces.
used the socket extension/steering technique to remove both driver's and pass side bearings
found a set of new ones for 99 each, no problems with em yet, 2000 miles later.
if you're driving a 2500 4x4, the hubs aren't too bad to remove with the steering technique.
look for my thread on wheel bearings (called front axle woes), it's pretty well explained, saves a ton of time and money
the change isn't difficult, just takes patience and a big hammer and breaker bar
06 with 88k miles. left side want out. Unfortunately it the side with the ABS sensor. Some parts suppliers don't even show the right part number. The sound it made going out was pretty weird for wheel bearing. Sounded more like an electric motor going bad. Mine actually even showed an ABS code.
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