'97 base 6cyl 4wd Jeep Cherokee; front passenger tire sits cockeyed and lots of rumble noise when driving; jacked it up, thinking it was a wheel bearing assembly ($60 from Carquest) and when moving it one would think it was shot with all the play; but then if you look were the ujoint shaft goes into the casing that eventually connects to the front differential (hope I am accurately identifying the parts) right there where the plastic ring/cover is the whole shaft moves up/down/forward/back; hold it tight and the wheel hub seems okay. So what am I looking at here? Are there bearings in there somewhere? Is it safe to drive? Thanks, what a way to spend a Friday night, was supposed to use it to tow a car tomorrow.

 

If the whole wheel is moving about every which way then replace your hub assembly and you should be good. its really easy. and possibly your u joint on that side. I always do both at once but only that one if your in a rush. ive had this happen on the girls jeep and her wheel fell off in my drive way. so dont drive haha

 

so the wheel hub assembly being shot would cause the shaft to move up and down?

 

well answer me this... does the wheel shake about or just the shaft? thats the difference between driving it and parking it.. also about 80 bucks cheaper of a fix. if only the shaft moves it could be your u joint. if the whole wheel then its your hub assembly. look at where the u joint sits when you move it. watch and see if the whole shaft moves around or just the part that sits one the joint on the axle side.

 

the whole wheel when off the ground is very loose and moves about quite a bit; but what puzzles me is how the shaft moves up and down where it enters the housing and how that is controlled by the wheel bearing; but I am not an engineer and only know how to spell physics.

 

then replace the hub assembly. its really easy like i said just remove the breaks and its the the three bolts behind the wheel hub on the back side around the knuckle. its three 13mm 12 point bolts. lemme know if you need more help as ive done this countless times and know every possible way to get them off haha but yea that is what it definitely is from the sound of it. if you could post a pic or vid that would be better but for the details youve given me thats what i got

 

also that same thing has happened like i said so im pretty sure thats what you got.

 

Trashed ball joint. If the hub (bearing) is OK and the whole knuckle moves around, that will allow the inner axle shaft to move. If the knuckle does not move around, but the hub does, your axle shaft will too. Id bet you have a severely worn ball joint or 2.

 

thanks, I will keep posting as we move along but likely it won't be until tomorrow afternoon or even Sunday. The overall assembly that the caliper bolts to is solid, no movement; just the wheel and the shaft with the ujoints on it. Should be fun, will use some heat.

 

When I had to get the right front hub off my '92 Laredo last year, it so resisted coming off I felt like I was trying to pull the Titanic up from the ocean floor.

Some people say that their's practically fell off in the floor once they removed the caliper and the three bolts.

I hope you are lucky. I wasn't.

Now I have to do the left front soon. It's getting noisy.

 

Ive always had a pain removing the hub bearing, USE ANT-ISEIZE UPON RE-ASSEMBLY!!! you will thank me later if you ever have to removing it again.

The best method I found for removing hub (From MI so rust is my arch enemy) is to remove everything including the axle nut, 36mm, and use a 3 jaw puller to push on the axle and pull the hub out. Alittle heat around the knuckle to loosen things up, have a BFH and chisel ready, and just keep pressure on the hub with the puller while you work it loose. Dont be scared if you pull the hub in half since your replacing it anyways.

People always comments on turning the steering and other easy methods to get the hubs out, but they don't like in the rust belt where stuff never comes apart easily.

 

yea ive had to use a sledge hammer on mine before haha. its a pretty terrible deal that rust haha

 

I'm in Arkansas, where we have a lot of rain and humidity. They rust to the shaft here, too.

 

Thanks; not going to get to do it until tomorrow night; I am going to use some heat to help and hope all goes well, I need to haul a car Saturday and this is my tow vehicle. I will post the results. I love the idea of attaching the socket and wrench and leverage bar and then driving forward to break the nut loose.

 

EASIEST way to remove is to disassemble as prescribed. then reinstall the lower rear hub bolt (7:00 o'clock as you look at it on pass. side. 3:00 on drivers) about 2/3 back in. Put an old impact socket on it and move steering so socket is contacting the inner "C". Now go start the jeep up and turn the wheel slightly so the socket presses against the bolt. Voila' it will pop loose! I've done this several times never misses. Reassemble with lots of anti-seize. If I were you I would do the u-joint while you are there. If it's apart you might as well, save you taking it apart later.

BTW Jerm, No place with more rust than here! New cars come with it standard. I've been using this for the last 4 and each has popped right out.