Wheel bearing/hub

[burnchassis3]

I just changed my right front,and it was alot easier then I thought it would be .
About 1 hour 15 minutes total.
Be sure you have an 18mm wrench
18mm socket..
torque wrench for 77 lbs and 180 lbs.
36 mm socket.
A gear puller would have been nice ,but I didnt use 1..I used brake cleaner and a small screwdriver and a rubber hammer.
Sorry,this is for the 4wd hub.

Break the 36 nut loose before you lift the truck in the air...and retighten it after the wheel is down again.
Simple fix!

[Chris Stewart]

Good job BC,
Mine took alot longer but I work slower nowadays, I guess I get to enjoying it.

[Bryan Burkhalter]

Figured out after I bought a 36mm socket that this checklist was written up for the 4wd an not the 2wd. I did, however, use the 18mm socket and wrench. If you plan on doing this in your driveway, be ready to hammer the crap out of the wrench to break the bolts loose. I didn't have room in my wheel well or laying down under the truck while it was on stands to get a good angle to really pull/push the breaker bar/wrench/ratchet. So ended up beating the wrench with a hammer to break them.

Also learned that when you grab a hub from a salvage yard, if it comes still attatched to the break rotor, you may as well take it directly to a garage with a press. Cause no amount of molesting in my carport would seperate the two. Luckily the garage did it for free (with additional comments about how the hub looked like garbage and wasn't going to work). Driver side took roughly an hour or so, mainly getting things figured out for myself. Passenger side took all of about 15-20 minutes, counting the time to remove the tire an put it back on afterwards.

I rented the puller from Advanced, and ended up not using it. It's not really renting, it's a security deposit. They refund the money, including tax, when you bring it back. The Haynes manual I bought wasn't too much help. For some reason, it only outlined the steps for a 4wd on the hub bearing replacement. They are basically the same, but the directions you find in the "how to" section on this site are identical. It's a very simple process, but may get a bit hairy if you have to deal with stubborn bolts.

Once I got the old brake rotor/bearing hub off, I took a few shop rags and layed them out on the ground. Then turned the whole unit with the lug studs facing downward, and from maybe about 8 or so inches off the ground, dropped it down a couple times and it broke free. I wasn't able to get the ABS sensor cable off of the hub prior to removing the brake rotor, on account that my L-allens wouldn't fit into there. So if you follow the cable with your hand up through the rubber flap into the engine compartment, you'll feel where it attatches to the frame. At this spot, you can pull it up with some pressure, and pop the retainer out of the frame. Disconnet it right there, and route the cable out so you can remove the shield behind the rotor and move the entire rotor so it's more manageable.

This is just some things I can think of as lessons learned off the top of my head. Just did this yesterday, and the bearings run like a champ. Took it out for about an hours worth of driving both in the city and on the highway, and it's a night/day difference to what I had before.

[Chris Stewart]

Thanks for the report Bryan, that good info will help someone along.