2009 RAM 1500 Wheel bearing replacement

[Coldjensens]

I need a replacement wheel bearing on my 2009 Dodge RAM 1500 4x4. It looks like the labor part of this is $150 over the cost of the better (Moog) bearing/hub. Normally that means it is something I can readily do myself. However looking at online videos it looks like a royal PIA to do with jacks/stands in a gravel driveway without air tools. (I have air and an impact driver, but it needs to be rebuilt). Still I am curious if someone has done one without air tools and just using jacks. If it is so bothersome and time consuming as it appears, why is the labor only $150?

Thanks.

[Nlambert]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

I need a replacement wheel bearing on my 2009 Dodge RAM 1500 4x4. It looks like the labor part of this is $150 over the cost of the better (Moog) bearing/hub. Normally that means it is something I can readily do myself. However looking at online videos it looks like a royal PIA to do with jacks/stands in a gravel driveway without air tools. (I have air and an impact driver, but it needs to be rebuilt). Still I am curious if someone has done one without air tools and just using jacks. If it is so bothersome and time consuming as it appears, why is the labor only $150?

Thanks.

I swapped the wheel bearings and hubs on my 2012 Ram 2500 in my driveway with hand tools. It was simply removing the brake caliper and rotor, and then removing the axle nut, unbolting the hub and unplugging the wheel sensor. The most difficult part is removing the axle nut but once that was off it was a breeze. It took me about 2 hours total, and about an hour of that was trying to get the axle nut off. A large breaker bar with an extension worked for me.

[sunsprit]

This has got to be one of the simplest jobs to do on the late model vehicles.

Other than size of the parts being a bit larger than many FWD cars, it's a no big deal project with similar layout.

Unbolt the wheel, remove the axle nut (easy … jam a bar between the cooling fins up against the caliper frame to lock up the rotor/axle, then use a 1/2" drive breaker bar with a cheater pipe to give more leverage on the nut), remove the caliper (2 bolts), remove the caliper frame (2 bolts), remove the disc rotor, disconnect the ABS sensor, unbolt the hub assembly (3 bolts), and pry the hub assembly out of it's place. Clean up the parts as needed with a wire brush/emery cloth for the close fit parts, install the new hub and bolt it up. Reassembly of the rest is straightforward and simple with hand tools.

I watched a 14 yr-old kid do this on his ranch truck a few months ago. It was his first time undertaking such work and he only had hand tools and jack stands to work with in his Dad's shop. Took him less than an hour, start to finish. His Dad looked in a couple times, told him what to do and the boy did the work without any problems except for Dad to verify that the axle nut had been reasonably well torqued on reassembly.

Easey-peasey to the point where I wonder why a shop would charge $150 to do it … with pro power tools, this job's pretty quick and easy to accomplish in a lot less than an hour. Much simpler than the older style hub assemblies that needed to be pushed out with a lot of force, typically with an air hammer and punches.

If you do this project yourself, do be careful about "jackstands on a gravel driveway" surface. BTDT … I've had more than one vehicle slowly topple a jackstand on less than a solid surface.

[Coldjensens]

Video said you have to remove the steering knuckle, TPMS sensor, ABS and some other part that you need a pickle fork to remove. The pickle fork removal is what I dislike because you end up breaking stuff too often. Of course that is going back a ways where everything had to be wedged apart with a fork. Maybe it is netter with newer cars

I will look for more videos or directions and see what they say. Thanks for the information

Maybe I will just do it this weekend if I can find the Moog hub someplace. I hope I can rent a 36 mm socket from an auto parts store. I would surprised if I have one that big.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Video said you have to remove the steering knuckle, TPMS sensor, ABS and some other part that you need a pickle fork to remove. The pickle fork removal is what I dislike because you end up breaking stuff too often. Of course that is going back a ways where everything had to be wedged apart with a fork. Maybe it is netter with newer cars

I will look for more videos or directions and see what they say. Thanks for the information

I think you may have found a video of an earlier series 4x4 front end, which were definitely more difficult to work on than a 2009.

I recall doing the hub/bearing assembly replacement on my 1996 Ram 2500 being a much more difficult project, especially the removal of the hub assembly.

Maybe I will just do it this weekend if I can find the Moog hub someplace. I hope I can rent a 36 mm socket from an auto parts store. I would surprised if I have one that big.

I just looked at a youtube video of doing this project on a 2010 1500 4x4. One of the points the guy made was that it's a 35 mm socket, not a 36 mm as listed in several repair guides. What counts, of course, is what's on your vehicle.

Socket options: check out single sockets at HFreight, or perhaps they have an inexpensive 1/2" drive socket set covering the range you need. With their 20% discount coupons, it's almost as inexpensive as a rental. As well, single sockets available at Menard's or other box stores for relatively low cost. Recently, I was at HF and they had a "manager's special" on a 3/4" socket set and ratchet, extensions, and breaker bar for cheap … IIRC, it was $24. It will be very infrequently used, but it's pretty amazing how well even cheapie 3/4" drive sockets and breaker bars will work compared to flexing 1/2" drive tooling on some of these larger fasteners when you've got that once-in-a-blue moon project.

[Nlambert]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Video said you have to remove the steering knuckle, TPMS sensor, ABS and some other part that you need a pickle fork to remove. The pickle fork removal is what I dislike because you end up breaking stuff too often. Of course that is going back a ways where everything had to be wedged apart with a fork. Maybe it is netter with newer cars

I will look for more videos or directions and see what they say. Thanks for the information

Maybe I will just do it this weekend if I can find the Moog hub someplace. I hope I can rent a 36 mm socket from an auto parts store. I would surprised if I have one that big.

You shouldn't need to remove the steering knuckle or disconnect the linkage to swap the hub. You also don't need to remove the TPMS sensor as that is inside the tire. You just need to unplug the ABS sensor harness as the sensor is made into the hub. The hub bolts to the knuckle. Pickle fork is not needed.

You can get the hub at Oreilly's. Both of mine were in stock. I went back with Precision hubs.

[Coldjensens]

Two days of working on this thing and I am giving up, putting it back together, and taking it to the shop. This instruction below is actually accurate in case someone comes along who is thinking about doing this. There is no way to get a socket on the three hub bolts . Without taking the entire suspension/drive system off the wheel. There simply is not enough clearance to get a socket in there. I even went to a bunch of stores trying to find thinner walled sockets.

O and BTW for anyone else who comes along looking at doing this. I bought the MOOG hub set at O'Rielly auto for $239, then I found out Rock Auto sells them for $139. I am going to try to take it back since it is still in the box.

So a lot of good lessons learned here for someone else. 1. Take it in. Not worth the work. 2. Get expensive parts from Rock Auto online.


1. Tools needed:
a. 36MM socket for axel nut
b. Hydraulic floor jack
c. Knocker loose penetrating oil
d. Air impact gun (makes axel nut easier to remove and many other items.
e. 2 jack stands
f. Torque Wrench
g. Breaker bar and possibly extension (cheater)
h. 21mm socket, 13mm socket, 22mm socket
i. Medium flat tip screwdriver
j. Pickle fork for breaking upper ball joint loose
k. Cold chisel and mallet
l. Optional tools for severe corrosion:
i. 10Lb sledge
ii. Torch
iii. Breaker bar cut to 30 inches
iv. 8 inch gear puller
2. Jack up both sides of front end and place jack stands on cross member just inside the mounts for the lower control arms.
3. Remove wheel and slide it underneath the frame for a safety.
a. If you don’t have air tools, remove the center cap of the wheel and then put it back on. Lower this side back down so that you can use the breaker bar to loosen the axel nut. It will be had to turn ALL THE WAY OFF.
4. Remove the Brake caliper (white) and caliper holder. (yellow). Use a piece of wire to hold the caliper so you don’t damage the line. I set mine on the upper control arm. but keep in mind, you will have to move it for step 7e.


5. Once brakes are out of way, you can use a sledge to pop the rotor of. Mine was loose on this side.
6. With Rotor gone, you will now need to remove the axel nut all the way. you can use a prybar to hold the hub in place.


7. To access the hub bolts, you will need to remove the CV joints. Some have said this is optional but I could not get a socket on them.
a. Take your Mallet and tap on the axel . you should see if move slightly.

b. Go underneath the truck and with your screwdriver and mallet, place it as indicated by the arrow. You will not see any gap here initially. Use the tip of the screwdriver to remove the grease and yuck. You will notice that the end right at the front diferential has a slight taper where it transitions from the round part of the shaft to the splined area. Stick your screwdriver against the CV joint side of this and tap it in with hammer. Rotate the shaft ¼ turn and do this again. Repeat a few more times and you will see a bit of space form. Midway down the splines is a retainer ring that holds the CV joint to the splines. You are simply releasing it. keep in mind that when you re-assemble this, you will need to push the CV back all the way.

c. Now, back to the outside, place your floor jack under the lower control arm and jack it up just enough to take the weight off the spring.
d. Loosen and completely remove the ball joint nut. (book says to trash it and replace it with new)

e. With pickle fork, separate the ball joint. Raise the upper ball joint so that the steering knuckle is free. You can also slightly lower the lower control arm but don’t fully let it hang. (keep it supported)
f. Now that you can swing the top of the steering knuckle outward, pull the inner CV joint to you and it should fully come off the axel. Support it with a wire and then with your mallet, tap the axel completely free of the hub.
8. Put the upper ball joint back together at least a few threads so the steering knuckle is firmly supported.
9. From here it is time to remove the three bolts that hold the assembly on. I found it helped to turn the steering one way or the other to allow you to get the wrench on it.

10. Remove all three bolts. Now in a perfect world, it is here where the hub just slides off and falls to the garage floor like a good little auto part does. Mine did not.
a. 1. Use the tool you made from the wrecking bar and insert it thru the hub. Put the crooked end in the frame where the lower control arm is mounted.



b. Attach the gear puller to the outside of the hub.
c. Crank it down as hard as you can get with a 3/8 ratchet.
d. Beat the ever living crap out of the hub with the sledge.
e. Use the cold chisel to help try and separate
f. Use the penetrating oil
g. Curse
h. Take a potty break
i. Beat the crap out of it
j. Chisel
k. Curse
l. Take a smoke/drink/lunch break
m. Finally it breaks loose.



**Note, the light colored area shown here where the bearing gets wider is all corrosion.

11. Take a die grinder or sand paper or wire brush and clean out the knuckle in preparation for the new hub.
12. Flatten out the dust plate that you bent with the sledge. (no biggie here right?)
13. Put the plate back on and then put the hub on. Line up the holes and the ABS slot.
14. Put one bolt in to hold it together. Don’t thread it all the way.
15. Put thread lock on the other two bolts and thread them in. remove and put it on the first and replace.
16. Tighten them fully back down. Torque to 150 ft/lbs
17. R remove the ball joint nut and pull ball joint back apart. Add some axel grease to the splins of the axel and insert that end into the hub. Do the same on the other end. Be sure it seats fully on the axel.
18. Reconnect upper control arm with balljoint. Tighten nut down, but not too far. Remove the floor jack from this area.
19. Run the axel nut back on. Do not torque yet.
20. Put the brake rotor back on and re-assemble the caliper mount and caliper.
a. Be sure to connect the clips on the ABS line so it stays out of the way. Connect its plug too.
21. Torque the brake caliper mount bolts to 130 ft/lbs (bigger bolts) caliper bolts are 25 ft/lbs.
22. Recheck that you got everything buttoned up
a. Hub bolts
b. CV joint in place
c. Upper ball joint
d. Brake caliper holder
e. Brake caliper
f. All the little clippies
23. Knock the center cap out of wheel and then put wheel on.
24. Lower truck on that side to ground so that you can torque the lugs to 130. Then torque the axel nut to 175.
25. Take truck off all jack stands. You are done. be sure that the jack handle does not slip and puncture the side of your chest freezer forcing you to buy another one.

[britinspain]

I bought a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 last week and when driving between 40 and 60 mph there is a droning noise coming from the front so I was confident it was the front bearings, I haven't worked on cars for best part of 30 years but thought I could handle this.

I replaced all the front moving parts both sides, the bearings, ( had to buy Mogg from Autozone, cheaper ones out of stock ), rotors, calipers and new Pads, took about 4 hours to do both sides including bleeding the brakes in the Florida heat, just over 100 degrees, that was the worst part, that and the stupid ABS cable clip which wouldn't disconnect properly with my big hands.

I didn't have any issues releasing and removing the 3 bearing bolts, I just used a standard socket set and it got in the gap fine, it was a smaller set with the 3/8 wrench which could make the difference because it is a tight area.

I was pleased with myself until I drove the truck and the droning noise remains, so for me at least a waste of several hundred dollars and a morning I'll never get back.

I now think the noise is just the big tires