Wheel Bearing Woes

[Doug Beard]

Hey all,

Vehicle in question is a 2003 Doge Dakota SLT 4.7l 2WD with Daimler Benz 545RFE Trans.

Mileage is 208,000 if that’s important to you.

I cannot find a replacement wheel bearing/ hub assembly that fits the driver front corner like the factory one. I have shelled out big bucks for a quality, made in Japan Timken hub assembly that is as close to OEM as I can find. (The factory bearings are Japanese Timkens) The bearing type is a sealed, non-serviceable tapered roller bearing.

The old bearing went bad this time last year, and I failed safety inspection. At 198,000 miles, that’s fine with me. It DID NOT seize the races or damage the spindle when it failed. It wasn’t making any noise, hence why I didn’t catch it before inspection. Lo and behold, I have been told by my mechanic (trying to get front suspension in good shape for new tires, rear end is fine) I will probably fail again this year for play in the same bearing. I claimed the old one under warranty, got a new one, followed all the installation instructions (torqued to 185ft/lbs) using a new spindle lock nut, just like last January, and it STILL has runout; albeit less than before, but only because I have since preloaded it beyond what is recommended.

When I replaced the bearing last year, I did not check for play, but I think it was there like it is now. The inspector didn’t even put the truck up on the lift, just checked that there was a new bearing there during re-inspection and put a new sticker in the window. He said earlier this week the runout isn’t that bad, and that he would have no problem passing it, but if I’m about to drop $600+ on new tires, I want to know they aren’t going to wear funny. I can definitely feel and hear a little bit of play when I lift the truck and pull at 12:00 and 6:00 on the tire.

185 ft/lbs is stated in the Mopar service manual for RWD front spindles. I have torqued it to 250ft/lbs (max for my wrench) the bearing just feels like it isn’t seated, and there is still excessive play/ runout like it is worn. My spindle is clean and looks to be in perfect shape. (No scoring, heat marks, or any other signs of damage) The bearing spins like a skateboard wheel with the tire on it, which doesn’t seem right either. Isn’t there supposed to be a small amount of resistance?

This is NOT my first tapered roller bearing job. I’ve never had a problem like this. Meanwhile, the front passenger bearing has 208,000 miles on it, and is still tight as a drum and quiet.

My questions are this:

-What does a bad spindle look like?
-Is this particular part simply not the right size for the spindle on my truck?
-Is 185ft/lbs irrelevant if the bearing isn’t preloaded properly?
-Am I completely missing something?

Thanks so much for your time!

Topic

[college man]

[quote=”dbeard” post=181929]Hey all,

Vehicle in question is a 2003 Doge Dakota SLT 4.7l 2WD with Daimler Benz 545RFE Trans.

Mileage is 208,000 if that’s important to you.

I cannot find a replacement wheel bearing/ hub assembly that fits the driver front corner like the factory one. I have shelled out big bucks for a quality, made in Japan Timken hub assembly that is as close to OEM as I can find. (The factory bearings are Japanese Timkens) The bearing type is a sealed, non-serviceable tapered roller bearing.

The old bearing went bad this time last year, and I failed safety inspection. At 198,000 miles, that’s fine with me. It DID NOT seize the races or damage the spindle when it failed. It wasn’t making any noise, hence why I didn’t catch it before inspection. Lo and behold, I have been told by my mechanic (trying to get front suspension in good shape for new tires, rear end is fine) I will probably fail again this year for play in the same bearing. I claimed the old one under warranty, got a new one, followed all the installation instructions (torqued to 185ft/lbs) using a new spindle lock nut, just like last January, and it STILL has runout; albeit less than before, but only because I have since preloaded it beyond what is recommended.

When I replaced the bearing last year, I did not check for play, but I think it was there like it is now. The inspector didn’t even put the truck up on the lift, just checked that there was a new bearing there during re-inspection and put a new sticker in the window. He said earlier this week the runout isn’t that bad, and that he would have no problem passing it, but if I’m about to drop $600+ on new tires, I want to know they aren’t going to wear funny. I can definitely feel and hear a little bit of play when I lift the truck and pull at 12:00 and 6:00 on the tire.

185 ft/lbs is stated in the Mopar service manual for RWD front spindles. I have torqued it to 250ft/lbs (max for my wrench) the bearing just feels like it isn’t seated, and there is still excessive play/ runout like it is worn. My spindle is clean and looks to be in perfect shape. (No scoring, heat marks, or any other signs of damage) The bearing spins like a skateboard wheel with the tire on it, which doesn’t seem right either. Isn’t there supposed to be a small amount of resistance?

This is NOT my first tapered roller bearing job. I’ve never had a problem like this. Meanwhile, the front passenger bearing has 208,000 miles on it, and is still tight as a drum and quiet.

My questions are this:

-What does a bad spindle look like?
-Is this particular part simply not the right size for the spindle on my truck?
-Is 185ft/lbs irrelevant if the bearing isn’t preloaded properly?
-Am I completely missing something?

Thanks so much for your time![/quote]

A bad spindle would be scored or chewed up. As for the bearing when I google A lot of hub
assembly’s come up. see if this helps.

[Author]

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