2001 Ram 2500 front brakes/whl bearings..??

From : gccsteve

Q: this truck has the cummins diesel and 96k miles second owner since 86k. rotors were obviously never turned just pads replaced since the 4 retaining sheet nuts were still on the studs and the bolts holding the shoe carrier still had the factory loctite on them. both rotors are scored but more on the drivers caliper side. pads are also worn 2 times as much on the caliper side versus outboard. i know this truck is real heavy on the front end due to the diesel but could there be another problem lurking and can the oem brakes be upgraded without spending a ton of money or is this common to the 2500 series with the cummins 2nd question.... i must also assume the sealed wheel bearings are original they dont rumble or have any end play but since ive got the rest apart should i replace them now or will they last another 50k. the bearings are not available from napa i was told you had to buy the complete hub assembly from dodge. has anyone got a source for the bearings only as i dont want to get raped from the dealer if i need to press new ones in thanks i love this truck. .

Replies:

From : tbone

if it aint broke dont fix it. as for the pad wear that may be due to the calipers not sliding properly due to lack of maintenance. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving this truck has the cummins diesel and 96k miles second owner since 86k. rotors were obviously never turned just pads replaced since the 4 retaining sheet nuts were still on the studs and the bolts holding the shoe carrier still had the factory loctite on them. both rotors are scored but more on the drivers caliper side. pads are also worn 2 times as much on the caliper side versus outboard. i know this truck is real heavy on the front end due to the diesel but could there be another problem lurking and can the oem brakes be upgraded without spending a ton of money or is this common to the 2500 series with the cummins 2nd question.... i must also assume the sealed wheel bearings are original they dont rumble or have any end play but since ive got the rest apart should i replace them now or will they last another 50k. the bearings are not available from napa i was told you had to buy the complete hub assembly from dodge. has anyone got a source for the bearings only as i dont want to get raped from the dealer if i need to press new ones in thanks i love this truck. .

From : gccsteve

on feb 19 608 pm tbone tbonenos...@nc.rr.com wrote if it aint broke dont fix it. as for the pad wear that may be due to the calipers not sliding properly due to lack of maintenance. -- this truck has the cummins diesel and 96k miles second owner since 86k. rotors were obviously never turned just pads replaced since the 4 retaining sheet nuts were still on the studs and the bolts holding the shoe carrier still had the factory loctite on them. both rotors are scored but more on the drivers caliper side. pads are also worn 2 times as much on the caliper side versus outboard. i know this truck is real heavy on the front end due to the diesel but could there be another problem lurking and can the oem brakes be upgraded without spending a ton of money or is this common to the 2500 series with the cummins 2nd question.... i must also assume the sealed wheel bearings are original they dont rumble or have any end play but since ive got the rest apart should i replace them now or will they last another 50k. the bearings are not available from napa i was told you had to buy the complete hub assembly from dodge. has anyone got a source for the bearings only as i dont want to get raped from the dealer if i need to press new ones in thanks i love this truck. thanks tbone the caliper sleeve was free and the boots and retaining bolts both had anti sieze on them. the anti rattle hardware for the pads did not have any kind of lube. could this be the cause .

From : roy

this truck has the cummins diesel and 96k miles second owner since 86k. rotors were obviously never turned just pads replaced since the 4 retaining sheet nuts were still on the studs and the bolts holding the shoe carrier still had the factory loctite on them. both rotors are scored but more on the drivers caliper side. pads are also worn 2 times as much on the caliper side versus outboard. i know this truck is real heavy on the front end due to the diesel but could there be another problem lurking and can the oem brakes be upgraded without spending a ton of money or is this common to the 2500 series with the cummins 2nd question.... i must also assume the sealed wheel bearings are original they dont rumble or have any end play but since ive got the rest apart should i replace them now or will they last another 50k. the bearings are not available from napa i was told you had to buy the complete hub assembly from dodge. has anyone got a source for the bearings only as i dont want to get raped from the dealer if i need to press new ones in thanks i love this truck. it is a dealer item and comes as a package. at least it did a year ago. .

From : tom lawrence

i know this truck is real heavy on the front end due to the diesel but could there be another problem lurking and can the oem brakes be upgraded without spending a ton of money or is this common to the 2500 series with the cummins the uneven wear could be the result of the pads hanging up grease the slide points for the pads the caliper hanging up clean inspect and re-grease the caliper slide pins or residual pressure being held in the caliper due to deteriorating brake lines replace the rubber brake lines. to determine which of the above pump the brakes several times release them then open up a caliper bleeder screw. if fluid dribbles out youre ok. if it shoots out like a squirt gun youve got bad brake lines. 2nd question.... i must also assume the sealed wheel bearings are original they dont rumble or have any end play but since ive got the rest apart should i replace them now or will they last another 50k. if youre not detecting any noise or play theyre most likely fine. the bearings are not available from napa i was told you had to buy the complete hub assembly from dodge. has anyone got a source for the bearings only as i dont want to get raped from the dealer if i need to press new ones in the bearings are in a sealed hub unit - you cant service them if you wanted to. and yes this is a dealer-only item 3/4 and 1-ton truck hub bearings arent available aftermarket only the 1/2-ton units are available. dealer msrp is $360 each. if your dealer wont do $250 on them order them from tenafly chrysler use a search engine to look them up - theyll sell them for $248.40 .

From : bigironram

the bearings are not available from napa i was told you had to buy the complete hub assembly from dodge. has anyone got a source for the bearings only as i dont want to get raped from the dealer if i need to press new ones in thanks i love this truck. a friend of mine has the timken number for the hub bearings. timken has them down as for oem or rebuilder only so were stuck paying big bucks for the time being. .

From : gccsteve

on feb 19 608 pm tbone tbonenos...@nc.rr.com wrote if it aint broke dont fix it. as for the pad wear that may be due to the calipers not sliding properly due to lack of maintenance. -- this truck has the cummins diesel and 96k miles second owner since 86k. rotors were obviously never turned just pads replaced since the 4 retaining sheet nuts were still on the studs and the bolts holding the shoe carrier still had the factory loctite on them. both rotors are scored but more on the drivers caliper side. pads are also worn 2 times as much on the caliper side versus outboard. i know this truck is real heavy on the front end due to the diesel but could there be another problem lurking and can the oem brakes be upgraded without spending a ton of money or is this common to the 2500 series with the cummins 2nd question.... i must also assume the sealed wheel bearings are original they dont rumble or have any end play but since ive got the rest apart should i replace them now or will they last another 50k. the bearings are not available from napa i was told you had to buy the complete hub assembly from dodge. has anyone got a source for the bearings only as i dont want to get raped from the dealer if i need to press new ones in thanks i love this truck. tbone is correct regarding the no maintenance thing or probably the midas or johny homeowner brake job. these dual piston calipers actually slide along the brake pad carrier as well as the retaining sleeves/bolts. yep i greased them up. a totally different braking setup than im used to. i cant point fingers at the previous owner; either a diy or where- ever he took the truck for a brake job; but somebody was not paying attention. new rotors and pads and done the right way = priceless. again thanks tbone and all that replied to my original post. .

From : tbone

the anti-rattle parts should not have any lube on them so that is not the problem. since they are the factory rotors and have never been turned it sounds more like normal wear to me as the piston side tends to wear more. if they are badly scored i would replace them without even bothering to get them turned as turning them makes them too thin. as for the bearings with the high cost i would leave well enough alone. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving on feb 19 608 pm tbone tbonenos...@nc.rr.com wrote if it aint broke dont fix it. as for the pad wear that may be due to the calipers not sliding properly due to lack of maintenance. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for this truck has the cummins diesel and 96k miles second owner since 86k. rotors were obviously never turned just pads replaced since the 4 retaining sheet nuts were still on the studs and the bolts holding the shoe carrier still had the factory loctite on them. both rotors are scored but more on the drivers caliper side. pads are also worn 2 times as much on the caliper side versus outboard. i know this truck is real heavy on the front end due to the diesel but could there be another problem lurking and can the oem brakes be upgraded without spending a ton of money or is this common to the 2500 series with the cummins 2nd question.... i must also assume the sealed wheel bearings are original they dont rumble or have any end play but since ive got the rest apart should i replace them now or will they last another 50k. the bearings are not available from napa i was told you had to buy the complete hub assembly from dodge. has anyone got a source for the bearings only as i dont want to get raped from the dealer if i need to press new ones in thanks i love this truck. thanks tbone the caliper sleeve was free and the boots and retaining bolts both had anti sieze on them. the anti rattle hardware for the pads did not have any kind of lube. could this be the cause .