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Front wheel hub replacement

4.4K views 19 replies 9 participants last post by  Mopar-Mofun  
#1 ·
I've had a steering wheel shake that I've been chasing for a couple years now. I thought it was a bent rim because it seemed to get better/worse after tire rotations. It got worse and then the van started pulling left pretty badly. On multiple occasions, I've grabbed the tires when up on jacks to test the wheel bearings and the wheels didn't budge and I had no unusual bearing noise. Then, on a whim this morning, I grabbed the top of the driver's tire and pushed/pulled. To my surprise, it had quite a bit of play in it! I tried it again when I got home and it wouldn't do it.

So, I decided to just go ahead and replace that hub. I was prepared for battle in getting the hub out, but shockingly, upon taking the last of the 4 bolts, the hub fell out into my hand! I was relieved I didn't have to hammer it out or remove the knuckle. The entire job took me all of 30 minutes.

The van drives so much better now, so that must have been the cause of the pulling and shaking. Now there is just a slight hint of shaking at times, so I may go ahead and replace the passenger side hub as well. I've had bearings go bad before, but they always had that hum/grinding noise, but not this one.

My apologies to those that have spent hours beating their old hubs out! I am suspecting that hub had already been replaced at some point, which contributed to it coming out so easily.
 
#3 ·
Possible that the 'out of round' has transferred to the tire in a sort of cupping wear pattern. Try a tire rotation and let us know what you find. Or, if you are ready, buy the ole girl a new set of sneakers.

My FJ Cruiser with TRD mag wheels occasionally has the 'Death Wobble' and when I sense it start to start again, I simply rotate the wheels and it goes away for another 4500 miles or so. It is all over the FJ forums and Toyota has a TSB to replace a centering pressure spring that is a marginal fix at best.
It is just a reminder that it is time to rotate tires.

Of course, if after new tires you still experience it, go ahead and replace that other side before teaching your new tires bad habits.

you know, a badly cupped tire usually starts with a flat spot that makes the tire hop. And when that tire lands, it starts to wear another flat spot that makes the tire hop and when that second hop lands, it...
Mosty seen when there is a weak or bad shock/strut that does not dampen the 'hop'.
Cheers!
 
#6 ·
Possible that the 'out of round' has transferred to the tire in a sort of cupping wear pattern. Try a tire rotation and let us know what you find. Or, if you are ready, buy the ole girl a new set of sneakers.

My FJ Cruiser with TRD mag wheels occasionally has the 'Death Wobble' and when I sense it start to start again, I simply rotate the wheels and it goes away for another 4500 miles or so. It is all over the FJ forums and Toyota has a TSB to replace a centering pressure spring that is a marginal fix at best.
It is just a reminder that it is time to rotate tires.

Of course, if after new tires you still experience it, go ahead and replace that other side before teaching your new tires bad habits.

you know, a badly cupped tire usually starts with a flat spot that makes the tire hop. And when that tire lands, it starts to wear another flat spot that makes the tire hop and when that second hop lands, it...
Mosty seen when there is a weak or bad shock/strut that does not dampen the 'hop'.
Cheers!
"Death wobble", what's that? :biggrin: On a Toyota? I switched the front tires, side to side, the last time I was getting a bad wobble from the off-road tires on the Jeep. Changing the direction of rotation worked.
 
#4 ·
About 3 or 4 years ago there seemed to be a rash of counterfeit Timken hubs out there. Around this time I replaced the front hubs on a friend's 2008 DGC using Timkens as I always have since 2007 because of their outstanding quality, long life and good reviews. Last year one of the hubs started growling, so I'm going to replace it with a MOOG hub.

I read reviews of the Timken hubs and found a lot of negative reviews around 3-4 years ago. Most everything before or after that were positive reviews. That made me think counterfeit. I used Timkens in my 2000 back in 2012-13 and they are still quiet, however the bearing itself said "SKF" on it. I've had bad experience with SKF hubs on GM cars so I'm surprised the hubs have lasted. I replaced the hubs on my wife's 2001 Grand Prix with SKF and they only lasted a couple of years, at $350 for the pair. I replaced with Timkens which were about the same price, but were highly regarded in the online forums. They were the last hubs I put on that car, had it for another 6 or 7 years and traded it in still solid and quiet.

When I change hubs with these aluminum knuckles, I use a twisted wire brush cup on my angle grinder (and a face shield!) to clean the white corrosion off first, then coat with grease or antiseize in the hub bore to ease removal later if need be. Also, since the hub flange is symmetrical you can remove the bolts and flip the flange 180* after a few years so the races will wear in fresh places and you get extended life out of the hubs.
 
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#5 ·
Even the cheap white box hubs should last 60,000+ miles.

The hub coming out so easily must have had some anti-seize between the surfaces. I have seen the front hubs, second time around, be harder to get get out, than the first time. I have never seen a front hub on the vans being easy to get out. It usually requires many swings by a big maul followed up by an air chisel and many words of wisdom, in another language. You were lucky.
 
#7 ·
The tires have about 20k miles left in them. The van is much smoother now, but with that tiny bit of wobble left, I'm going to go ahead and replace the passenger side. I just ordered the other hub and will work on it this weekend. Fingers crossed it is easy too, but I'm prepared for a fight!

I forgot to mention that the new hubs are MOOG. They were $116 each at Advance Auto, but I had coupons that made them $90 each.

I replaced the struts, half shafts, and tie rod ends about 30k miles ago, and those all seem in good shape still.

Here's to hoping my luck continues!
 
#8 ·
Just reached 150,000 miles and looking at replacing the front hubs. Those really cheap 2-piece Chrysler lug nuts have snapped off 2 on one wheel. That's dangerous. I learned in the past not to pound out the studs and replace with new ones as it messes with the 'trueness' concentric balance. The hubs are just too small to go that route. And to replace 2 of the lug bolts isn't worth it on one front hub.

Looking around in this now post-covid era, prices are drastically insane at the box auto parts stores.

Rockauto prices too have gone up some, but still attractive enough to do on-line ordering. Even the lug nuts are very reasonable right now.

So, I had the van lifted, wheels off, and idle in drive. Only the drive side spun and the passenger disc momentarily would grab and slightly move. Either the drive half-shaft went bad or the spines in the front hub went. Regardless, I'm out of lugs on both sides and the front hubs are getting replaced.

Will replace the front discs too with the Raybestos Element3 Coated Rotors as the current ones are badly rusted and I've not taking chances this winter with them.

Death wobble. Been there before with a '94 caravan. So bad, that over 20mph one would think the wheels would just fly off. $300 later in parts and time, all was good.
 
owns 2006 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN SXE
#11 · (Edited)
Just reached 150,000 miles and looking at replacing the front hubs. Those really cheap 2-piece Chrysler lug nuts have snapped off 2 on one wheel. That's dangerous. I learned in the past not to pound out the studs and replace with new ones as it messes with the 'trueness' concentric balance. The hubs are just too small to go that route. And to replace 2 of the lug bolts isn't worth it on one front hub.

Looking around in this now post-covid era, prices are drastically insane at the box auto parts stores.

Rockauto prices too have gone up some, but still attractive enough to do on-line ordering. Even the lug nuts are very reasonable right now.

So, I had the van lifted, wheels off, and idle in drive. Only the drive side spun and the passenger disc momentarily would grab and slightly move. Either the drive half-shaft went bad or the spines in the front hub went. Regardless, I'm out of lugs on both sides and the front hubs are getting replaced.

Will replace the front discs too with the Raybestos Element3 Coated Rotors as the current ones are badly rusted and I've not taking chances this winter with them.

Death wobble. Been there before with a '94 caravan. So bad, that over 20mph one would think the wheels would just fly off. $300 later in parts and time, all was good.
Spinning the wheels while jacked up, that is normal operation. Nothing wrong there. Differential will give power to one preferred side, and the other may spin sporadically. I place jack stands under the control arms and put the vehicle weight on them when doing this. This one time in votech, we did something like that with a front wheel drive Dodge Charger 2.2L on a lift with front suspension sagging. An inner CV boot blew out and slung grease all over. It started smoking and made a burning smell, as grease was flung onto the hot exhaust manifold and started burning. What a mess! Learned not to test vehicles that way, to have suspension at road attitude when putting in drive. :LOL:

Changing a couple of studs on a hub not worth it??! Only time I've not been able to change a stud on a van, is because the hub was so rusty after removing the original stud that the hole was too big for the replacement to adequately "bite" and keep from spinning when torquing a lug nut. Replacing the studs does not upset the balance of the hub because the difference is so minimal. If that were the case any small pebbles getting into the tire treads would cause a vibration.

Right on the ball with the crappy factory lug nuts though! (y) GM externally threaded lug nuts with screw-on plastic covers look and function nicely in these salty states. You can get black or gray plastic, or stainless metal-capped plastic ones to suit your asthetic. The stock nuts start to rust under the stainless steel cap, making the cap swell up/bulge. Sometimes you can still get lucky and pound a socket or tire wrench onto it and get it off (usually the cap comes off after). Other not-so-lucky times, you can't get the socket on far enough and it rounds off! Now you're stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire you can't change! Ah, the special kinds of he'll we endure in the salt belt. 😂
 
#9 ·
On my '04 Trailblazer (I hope I don't get in trouble for mentioning that) I can change out a front wheel bearing/hub in 45 minutes from the time the jack goes under the truck until it comes out from under the truck. If I dawdle. And take my time.
Mopar-Mofun, I used Element-3 calipers on the back of the wife's '06 Trailblazer. I though they were pretty good quality. They work great! I think you'll be happy with them.
 
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#13 ·
Impact wrenches eventually loosen the stainless steel caps on lug nuts, especially during removal where they have to pound on them more. That's not a Chrysler design fault. It's a wrong usage of tools fault. Chromed caps will get beat up as well starting with the first wheel work on the vehicle. Same for anodized coatings. Been there, had that happen.
From TireRack:
We do not recommend using impact guns or torque sticks when installing wheels. Impact guns can damage hardware and wheel finish. Some vehicles, such as Porsches, require the use of special sockets to tighten the hardware without damaging their anodized coating. Impact gun torque can vary widely from low torque (resulting in loose wheels) to extremely high torque (resulting in damage or broken hardware)
150,000 miles on a front hub is getting near time to replace. May get another 25,000 miles, but don't count on it. I had near 230,000 km (143,000 miles) on the 2002 when I replaced Driver's side due to noise/looseness. The second one went shortly after the first one. Replacements only lasted 100,000 km (Inexpensive Edge bearings).

My hubs were rusted in place pretty bad, required a sledge hammer and an air hammer to remove. Sometimes, if you are lucky, they practically drop out. A coating of anti-seize is recommended (hub to knuckle) on the new installation.

Good luck with your project.
 
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#14 ·
Impact wrenches eventually loosen the stainless steel caps on lug nuts, especially during removal where they have to pound on them more. That's not a Chrysler design fault. It's a wrong usage of tools fault. Chromed caps will get beat up as well starting with the first wheel work on the vehicle. Same for anodized coatings. Been there, had that happen.
From TireRack:


150,000 miles on a front hub is getting near time to replace. May get another 25,000 miles, but don't count on it. I had near 230,000 km (143,000 miles) on the 2002 when I replaced Driver's side due to noise/looseness. The second one went shortly after the first one. Replacements only lasted 100,000 km (Inexpensive Edge bearings).

My hubs were rusted in place pretty bad, required a sledge hammer and an air hammer to remove. Sometimes, if you are lucky, they practically drop out. A coating of anti-seize is recommended (hub to knuckle) on the new installation.

Good luck with your project.
Rockauto order is in. :) Used the discount code from their posted thread on this site.

Read enough reviews to make my head spin on these front hubs. The box auto parts store's named brand are the ones to run away from. Learned other than Mopar OE, that the Moog, Timken and Doorman are the only 3 good choices. Buying on-line the Timken has prices to buy two for $60 vs. buying one at $125 at a local box store.

Glad about the disc rotors being Raybestos Element-3. Heard so much good things about them. And for a mere $10 more being up in a rusty belt, it will greatly help overall.

Going with new hubs and new disc rotors would keep it all clean when the two parts are united together.

The Caravan spent much of it's life down south. So, I would expect the hubs to just come out.
 
owns 2006 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN SXE
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#15 ·
I don't know where you read that Dorman is good, but most of their products are usually garbage that barely fit (if at all) and don't last.

Moog used to be really good stuff, but like all of the globally sourced junk parts today, they are a crap shoot as to what you are actually going to get. I've read of people getting two Moog parts in identical boxes with identical part numbers, and the parts themselves were made in different countries, and look drastically different quality wise.:sneaky:

Timken is supposedly still good, but who knows for sure.

I didn't feel like paying for Timkens when I put hub assemblies on the back of my van, so I got GMB ones. From what I could find, other people have reported having good luck with them.
 
#18 ·
Timken is supposedly still good, but who knows for sure.

I didn't feel like paying for Timkens when I put hub assemblies on the back of my van, so I got GMB ones. From what I could find, other people have reported having good luck with them.
Delivery is sometime Monday for the Timkens.

I'll keep in mind the GMB for the rears. Come Spring, when finding the Nivomats, I'll do the rear hubs as well.

BTW, I got GREAT news. For anyone needing lug nuts, the PTC 98138 M12-1 X 43mm is the BEST replacements I found. They are still the 3/4 [19mm] lug wrench size too. These are the CORRECT height vs. many sold on the web being nearly 1/2-inch way too short and stubby !
 
owns 2006 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN SXE
#16 ·
Another thing to consider is the dust shields but they should be okay, the rear ones tend to rust out.

Yes, Dorman fit and finish can be lousy.

National was a good brand I believe. Part of MOOG now?

Warranty should be considered, two years minimum.
 
#17 ·
Who needs dust shields?:) When they are super crusty and don't do something important like hold the parking brake shoes in place, I usually just take them off and toss them on the scrap pile.

I just quickly skimmed through the hub assemblies on Rockauto. Timken must be going downhill. Their warranty is only 12 months, just like the GMB ones I bought that are half the price.:sneaky: Moog and SKF are 36 months. Mevotech is 5 years. Raybestos is the only one that has a lifetime warranty, which is surprising.

When I replaced the one on my the front of my truck, I used a Mevotech because it was cheap and has a good warranty. The dust shield was crusty and badly mangled around the mounting bolts, and only covered about 1/4 of the rotor to start with, so it went on the scrap pile.

The National bearing I put on the back of my truck was almost twice the price of the Autozone special, and it was still Chineseium. For what it's worth, the machining on the outside of the AZ Chineseium one actually looked slightly better than the National one.:sneaky:
 
#19 ·
Still a capped nut that can rust and swell and strand you on the roadside not being able to change a tire, I'll pass. The standard lug nuts are actually short; those ones are longer and are for steel wheels with plastic wheel covers secured by the lug nuts.
 
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#20 ·
Yep, that's what I have, the steel wheels with the plastic wheel covers. The shorty lug nuts make it impossible to get at with the breaker bar. And if you do get them off, they fall behind the plastic cover and become lost on the ground under the van somewhere on the side of the road.
 
owns 2006 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN SXE