Dodge and Ram Wheel Bearings: The Corrosion Problem

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The short version

  • The Dodge wheel bearing problem people describe most is corrosion between two different metals.
  • A steel bearing sitting in an aluminum knuckle corrodes at the joint. That seizes the unit in and can enlarge the bore.
  • Four wheel drive and two wheel drive hubs are different parts. Ordering by model alone gets it wrong.
  • On 4×4 front hubs the axle nut is a single use item on many years. Reusing it is a documented way to lose the assembly.

Put a steel bearing into an aluminum housing, add road salt and water, and the two metals corrode at the joint between them. That reaction is behind most of what Ram owners report.

It explains both the removal difficulty and the repeat failures.

The dissimilar metals problem behind most Dodge wheel bearing failures

Steel bearing, aluminum knuckle

Corrosion products take up more space than the metal they came from, so the joint tightens and then seizes.

Worse, the corrosion eats the aluminum rather than the steel. The bore can end up oversize once it is cleaned out.

An oversize bore will not hold the next bearing either, which is how one corner ends up going through several parts.

The mechanism is on the spun bearing page, the measurement on the bore measurement page, and the repair options on the bore repair page.

Ordering the right part

Drivetrain decides the part, not the badge

Front hubs for four wheel drive differ from two wheel drive hubs, because one has to pass an axle shaft through the middle and the other does not.

Confirm drivetrain, year and stud count before ordering. A part that looks right and is not will not fit the knuckle correctly.

Cross referencing is on the cross reference page and sizing on the sizes page.

The nut on a four wheel drive front

Fit a new one

Many of these axle nuts are designed to be used once, whether staked or with a locking insert. Reusing one is reported as a route to a failed assembly.

They cost very little compared with the consequence of one backing off.

That is on the single use parts page, the staked nut page and the torque specs page.

Where the demand sits

The Dodge and Ram vehicles people ask about.
Vehicle Front Rear
Ram 1500 Bolt on hub unit Axle bearing in the housing
Ram 2500 and 3500 Bolt on hub unit Axle bearing in the housing
Durango Bolt on hub unit Bolt on hub unit
Grand Caravan, Journey Bolt on hub unit Bolt on hub unit
Charger, Challenger Bolt on hub unit Bolt on hub unit

The good news is consistency. Almost everything here is a bolt on unit, so there is no press work and no machine shop trip.

Heavier trucks pay a life penalty

Bearing life falls steeply with load rather than in proportion to it. A truck that tows or carries weight is much harder on bearings than the same truck empty.

Larger tires make it worse again by moving the contact patch outboard and lengthening the lever the bearing resists.

Those are on the load rating page, the towing page and the spacers page.

Doing a Dodge wheel bearing job well

  1. Soak the joint early, because corrosion rather than the bolts is usually what holds it.
  2. Pull rather than hammer, since force on the flange bends the parts you want to keep.
  3. Clean the bore to bare metal and then measure it before fitting anything.
  4. Leave the bore dry, because lubricating it removes the friction that resists creep.
  5. Use a new axle nut on four wheel drive, and torque it to the published figure.

Those are on the stuck removal page and the anti-seize page.

Common questions

Why is my Dodge wheel bearing seized into the knuckle?

Corrosion at the joint between a steel bearing and an aluminum knuckle. The products of that reaction expand and lock the two together.

Are 4×4 and 2wd hubs the same?

No. They are different parts, because one has to pass an axle shaft through the middle.

Do I need a new axle nut?

On many four wheel drive fronts, yes. Those nuts are single use, and reusing one is a documented cause of failure.

Why did the second bearing fail too?

Because the aluminum bore was probably left oversize. Measure it rather than fitting a third part.

Is a press needed?

Generally not. Most of these are bolt on units held by bolts through the knuckle.

Which Dodge models ask about this most?

Ram 1500 by a wide margin, then Durango, Grand Caravan and Journey.

Does towing shorten bearing life?

Considerably. Bearing life falls steeply with load rather than in proportion to it.

By model

About this page

Wheel Bearing Editorial Team The Wheel Bearing Editorial Team researches, builds and edits wheelbearing.net. Every part number on the site is transcribed from manufacturer and distributor catalogs (Moog, Timken, SKF, National, BCA/NTN) rather than generated, and every vehicle page is checked against the catalog rows before it goes live. When two catalogs disagree, the page shows both readings and tells you to match the old part or the VIN. More about how this site is built.