How to Replace Wheel Bearing Hub Assembly 2002-08 Dodge Ram 1500 Truck
Created on: 2011-04-18
Learn how to replace your own wheel hubs on your 02-08 Dodge Ram. In this video, the expert mechanics at 1A Auto will show you how to replace a hub that's vibrating, groaning or loose.
-
step 1 :Remove the wheel and tire
- Raise and secure the vehicle.
- Remove the lug nuts and then the wheel.
-
step 2 :Remove Caliper
- Turn wheels all the way in the opposite direction of the side you are working on.
- Use your socket wrench to remove the caliper bolts.
- Use a wire tie to help prevent stress on the caliper.
- Use your socket to remove the brackets.
-
step 3 :Remove brake disk
- Take care not to touch the rotor, and if you do make sure to clean it with rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits.
-
step 4 :Remove Hub
- Use a 35mm socket to remove the hub nut.
- Give the axle a slight tap with a hammer to loosen it.
- Use a pry bar to remove the axle.
- Remove the 3 bolts securing the hub using your 18mm socket and extension and ratchet or breaker bar.
- You can use penetrating oil to help.
- Disconnect your ABS sensor.
- Use a rubber mallet to break your hub free, and work around the flange with the hammer to pull it off.
- Remove the hub and shield.
- Clean up any corrosion with a wire brush.
-
step 5 :Install new hub
- Use some penetrating oil to prep the knuckle for the new hub.
- Put the three 18 mm bolts in place and tighten the nuts to 100 ft lbs.
- Reinstall the ABS harness.
- Replace the axle.
- Tighten but don't torque the lug nut.
-
step 6 :Put brakes and wheel back on
- Remember to replace the lug nuts on in a star pattern.
- Lug nuts tighten to 120 ft lbs
- Hub nut is 185 ft lbs.
- Make sure to check your brakes and steering before driving again.
- Make sure to pump the brakes and seat your rotors.
Tools needed
-
13mm Socket
Large C-Clamp
Socket Extensions
Torque Wrench
Jack Stands
18mm Socket
Flat Blade Screwdriver
7/8 Inch Socket
13/16 Inch Socket
Ratchet
Wire Brush
Floor Jack
1/2 Inch Breaker Bar
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike Green. I'm one of the owners of 1AAuto. I want to help you save time and money repairing and maintaining your vehicle. I'm going to use my 20-plus years experience restoring and repairing cars and trucks like this to show you the correct way to install parts from 1AAuto.com. The right parts installed correctly; that's going to save you time and money. Thank you and enjoy the video.
In this video, we're going to show you how to replace the front hub on this 2004 Dodge Ram. This is a four-wheel drive truck, same as most 02 to 08 vehicles this generation. Tools you'll need: Various both standard and metric sockets, ratchet, breaker bar, and a pipe for some leverage, (the bolts for the hub are quite tight usually), sledge hammer if you have some problem with your rotors, a large screwdriver, small pry bar, wire brush, large C-clamp, penetrating oil, jack and jack stands, and a torque wrench.
First you want to remove your wheel. If you're just using hand tools, start with the vehicle on the ground, loosen the lug nuts first, then raise it, secure it with jack stands and then remove the wheel. I've got air tools; I'm going to use them. These are either 7/8 or 22 millimeter; both will work. The next step, you may want to loosen your brake fluid cap a little. Okay, in the interest of keeping this video a little bit on the short side, I'm going to just kind of go through taking the brakes apart in 3x speed. You can probably gain enough here if you don't quite know how to get them apart or if you want to see this part of the video in real time, just check out our other videos for the Dodge Ram front brakes. Again, like I said, you can probably get enough to understand how to get the brakes apart just from this. Enjoy it even though it's a little quicker and then we'll get to the hub.
Now you're going to want to remove the axle. You want to remove the hub nut, which is a 35-millimeter bolt. If you're using hand tools, you will need to do this before you take the tire off. Lift the car up, take the center cap off, take the lug nuts off, take the center cap off, put the lug nuts back on, put the car back down, and then while it's on the ground use your hand tools to loosen up the nut. Then you can lift the car up. I'm just going to use my impact wrench and it helps me to zip the nut right off.
Now you want to separate the axle from the hub. You just want to use a hammer and give it one good hit. That'll tell you if the axle is free from the hub. You just hit it once and watch it really close and the axle should go right in. You won't need an axle pole or anything if that happens. You see I hit it and the axle goes in so I'm all set. Now what you want to do is get a pry bar and go way up like that. Pull your axle right off like that and your axle's out. Okay, now with the axle out there's three 18-millimeter bolts. You see one right down there, one up here, and there's one over here you can barely see. Before you actually take those bolts out, you want to disconnect your ABS sensor if you're vehicle has ABS. The connection is up there. Pull the clip out of the fender. There's a little tab that you have to press with your thumb and then disconnect it and pull it free from all the clamps that hold it to the brake hose and stuff.
We are going to use our 18-millimeter socket. Okay. Actually I'm going to loosen this. Again, be controlled with your pole. Use my pipe here. More leverage. Okay, these bolts are very tight. They also have a Loctite on them so just the combination of your 18-millimeter socket, your ratchet handle or a breaker bar, and a piece of pipe for some leverage and can get them loose. Once you have the bolts out you can actually cut them out pretty easy. Okay, wire brush. Clean everything up here a little bit. You want to feed your harness through and then the harness up, over like that, put your hub in. Prepare your bolts. Feed it through the top hole and do your best. Get the backing complete on there and then start into the hub.
Just make sure our harness is out of the way. I'm just going to use my impact wrench and just tighten this top one up a little bit. I'm not going to tighten it up. I'm just going to get it in there. Make sure it's nice and secure. Okay, I'm going to start my other two bolts and this should still be loose and moving around. I'm just going to fast forward here as I start the other two bolts and then I'll hook up my harness. Make sure you put it back into all the little grommets and clips that hold it in place so it doesn't chafe against anything. Then reconnect it and then I'll preliminarily tighten up all the bolts. The next thing you see me doing is torquing the bolts.
Now I'm going to use the torque wrench to get the top one. For the top one if you use a nice, long extension like that, loop it through from the back. Torque them to 100 foot pounds. Okay, we'll just fast forward again as I torque up the other two bolts. Now we're just going to take our axle. Put it right up in here, feed it into the hub. Turn it a little bit so you know where to push it with the hub. Push it right in. Now I'm going to take my hub nut and using my impact wrench just to get it on there, not really to tighten all the way up yet. Okay, now I'm going to grab hold of my CV joint on the inside. You go up on the top, pull your joint in as much as you can. Going on to the axle and then push it all the way on. Make sure it fits on there.
Okay, just in the interest of making this video a little bit on the shorter side, I'm just going to fast forward through putting your brakes back together. If you'd like to see this video or this part of the video in regular speed just check out our other videos for the Dodge Ram front brakes and you can see this whole part of the repair being done in regular speed. Now with everything back together, put your wheel back on. Don't put the center cap back on. Thread your lug nuts on there, and then just preliminarily tighten them up and then lower your vehicle down. Your hub nut, 185 foot pounds; my poor torque wrench only goes up to 150, so there's 150 and 25. Okay now raise the vehicle back up, take the lug nuts off, put the center cap back on, and preliminarily tighten up the lug nuts. Let the vehicle back down and torque the lug nuts to a 120 foot pounds using a star pattern. Very important, you've had your brakes apart so make sure before you drive the vehicle, pump your brakes a bunch of times, make sure the brakes are working correctly.
We hope this helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free 888-844-3393. We're the company that serves you on the Internet and in person.
Shop Products
Dodge Ram 1500 Front Ceramic Brake Pad & Rotor Kit with Wheel Bearings TRQ BKA52061
- Ceramic
- Vented
- 13.19 in. (335mm)
- 5 Lug
- Tapered Roller Bearing
- (1) Front Ceramic Brake Pad Set with Contact Point Grease & Hardware
- (2) Front Brake Rotors
- (2) Front Wheel Bearing & Hub Assemblies
How To Replace Front Wheel Hub Bearing 2003-12 GMC Savana
Find out how to replace a failing front wheel hub and bearing assembly by following along the 1A experts in this how-to video
