Wheel bearings - old Dodge motorhome

Redrig

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Hello all ,

I would like to tackle greasing the front wheel bearings old my old motorhome .

It's a 78 Dodge with a 440 , 11500 gvwr and I am told as far as parts go , just assume it's a B300 which was their heavy duty truck / van chassis back then .

I am not finding much help as far as what is my front axle and how to grease / pull the wheel bearings .

Google and ai tell me it should be a dana 70 , but the only videos I can find are about a dana 70 are a rear diff .....not a front axle .

Can anyone tell by these pics and if indeed it's a 70 ?

I " think " that it's a dust cap in the center of the hub , would there be just a standard nut / cotter pin under this ?

Meaning just pull the caliper , remove nut and the hub assembly should slide right off , like lots of axles .

Thanks in advance for any thoughts
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Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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pull the wheel and look. pretty sure your rear is a dana 80, however could be the Rockwell FDS75 Axle from the D400/D450. the front would be from the commercial line of trucks. pretty sure thats a D400 or D450 front.
 

Redrig

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This is all I can find in the owners manual, which of course doesn't cover much..

It just mentions full floating vs semi floating and I've never messed with any kind of wild axles like that . So I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. 1000005478.jpg
 

dwco5051

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This is all I can find in the owners manual, which of course doesn't cover much..

It just mentions full floating vs semi floating and I've never messed with any kind of wild axles like that . So I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. View attachment 410326
3/4 or full floating only pertains to the drive axles. Front will be just like doing an older car except heavier. Remove dust cap. Either remove cotter pin or bend tab on locking washer (which I believe it will have), remove nut, and pull hub. Even if bearings all appear good I would still install new seals.
 

Redrig

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3/4 or full floating only pertains to the drive axles. Front will be just like doing an older car except heavier. Remove dust cap. Either remove cotter pin or bend tab on locking washer (which I believe it will have), remove nut, and pull hub. Even if bearings all appear good I would still install new seals.
I just crawled all over around the axle and can't find a tag any where . I would love to identify it ahead of time so that I can order seals before ripping it apart.
 

FLATHEAD

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I just crawled all over around the axle and can't find a tag any where . I would love to identify it ahead of time so that I can order seals before ripping it apart.
I think most dual wheel trucks use full floating rear because of the ability to load more weight.
I thought you were doing the front wheels?
 

dwco5051

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Just the day before this thread started I found a tool I made 40 or so years ago in the barn. It was for an axle nut but I don't remember on what. I do remember drilling a half inch hole and squaring it up with a triangular file on the piece I welded on one end of the pipe for a 1/2 inch drive. Whatever I used it for was one and done as I can't recall ever using it again.DSC05196.JPGDSC05195.JPGDSC05194.JPG
 

FLATHEAD

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Just the day before this thread started I found a tool I made 40 or so years ago in the barn. It was for an axle nut but I don't remember on what. I do remember drilling a half inch hole and squaring it up with a triangular file on the piece I welded on one end of the pipe for a 1/2 inch drive. Whatever I used it for was one and done as I can't recall ever using it again.View attachment 410350View attachment 410351View attachment 410352
Similar to a clutch hub nut tool for antique Harley Flathead 45” bikes. Definitely made to reach a recessed nut. The OP may very well need something like that, if ever pulls the wheel off.
 

Redrig

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I think most dual wheel trucks use full floating rear because of the ability to load more weight.
I thought you were doing the front wheels?
Yeah , I'm doing the front . Just can't find any info on it.
 

Redrig

Master Chief Petty Officer
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Oct 13, 2009
Messages
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Just the day before this thread started I found a tool I made 40 or so years ago in the barn. It was for an axle nut but I don't remember on what. I do remember drilling a half inch hole and squaring it up with a triangular file on the piece I welded on one end of the pipe for a 1/2 inch drive. Whatever I used it for was one and done as I can't recall ever using it again.View attachment 410350View attachment 410351View attachment 410352
Yeah , the need for a specialty socket like that scares me a bit.

The end of that looks very similar to the one for my bronco , the bronco one is just way shorter.
 
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