Replacing hubs - did I find another problem?

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RedDwg

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2003 Dodge Ram 3500 4X4 diesel with 218K miles on it. Inherited it from my dad 18 months ago. Heard a road speed related hum/growl a little while back and started to diagnose. With the front end off the ground I could move the driver-side tire in and out when grasping at 12 and 6 but not when grasping at 3 and 9. I'm figuring wheel bearing/hub. Passenger side would also move but wasn't as bad. I got new hubs for both sides.

Started tearing the driver's side down. Got the caliper, caliper bracket and rotor off. When I grab the hub, I can make the steering knuckle/U-joint do the following where it meets the axle housing. (short video link shared from my OneDrive folder follows - you may need to click the Play button):

https://1drv.ms/v/s!ArymLYLa9vAzjtIECdQIjboidPOjeA?e=DmyFuJ

This is on the driver side. The passenger side doesn't do this.

I'm not sure if this much play is acceptable or not. I've got a second vehicle so I've got time to address this properly. Just hate to be this far in and not take care of all the problems. Is that amount of play acceptable or am I looking at replacing more parts? Thanks.

RedDawg
 

pacofortacos

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Any play in that u-joint?
I don't think that there is any support bearing in there, but am not positive. I think the axle is just between the diff and the wheel bearing - see if you can find a break down of the parts.

The passenger side may have a support bearing due to the length - but again I am not positive - it has been a long time since I had anything like that apart.
 

pacofortacos

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If it is like most of them - it will be much easier to do the u-joint now vs. tearing it all down again. Just buy the best u-joint you can if you decide to do it.
 

PhilW55

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If the big nut is loose it can move like that. Do you have the unit bearing off already?
Did you remove the 4 Allen head bolts from the backside of the unit bearing (might be what you refer to as the hub) and slide that off, with effort and maybe a hammer. If that piece is not off then I suspect the wheel bearings (sealed unit bearing) are bad.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
 
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RedDwg

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If the big nut is loose it can move like that. Do you have the unit bearing off already?
Did you remove the 4 Allen head bolts from the backside of the unit bearing (might be what you refer to as the hub) and slide that off, with effort and maybe a hammer. If that piece is not off then I suspect the wheel bearings (sealed unit bearing) are bad.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

The 1 11/16" castle nut has been removed. But the hub/bearing is still attached. I was just getting ready to remove those 4 bolts to get it off when I noticed the play in these parts and wondered if I should be concerned.
 

PhilW55

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That amount of play in the video may go away when the nut is tightened up. I can't recall on mine how tight it was with the nut removed.

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RedDwg

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I appreciate everyone's input. I knew the hub was bad as I said in the original post. I just didn't know if the movement I was seeing in the other non-hub parts (see the video) was cause for concern. Seem the consensus (in the places I've checked) is that a hub replacement will address this issue as well once the castle nut is properly torqued. And, since the rule is that 'a project is a reason to buy tools', Santa finally filled the gap in my cordless Milwaukee lineup with that high torque impact wrench he knew I always wanted. ;) I'll disassemble everything and it will be put back together with lots of anti-seize. upload_2020-12-26_6-51-54.gif Thanks everyone. Going to pull the old hubs today. Don't know if I'm going to have to use the power steering method or not.
 

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