If the Dakota had been equipped with traditional wheel bearings, they would
have needed packed as a course of regular maintenance. Forget to pack them
and they would have failed in under 50k miles. Sealed bearings do not need
repacked. This reduces maintenance costs during the normal life cycle of
the vehicle. Reduced projected maintenance equals more satisfied customer.
I am guessing at two things, one, that you are not the original owner, and
two, that the vehicle has in excess of 100k on the odometer. If both of
those things are correct, then the engineer made the proper decision
because: A) the NEW car buyer never had to have the wheel bearings packed,
and B) the vehicle has reached the end of it's design life. Those won't be
the ONLY things that need replacing if B is true. IF you are in fact the
first owner, keep in mind that you have saved cost of paying the dealership
$90 per hour to pack the wheel bearings every 15,000 miles, and apply that
savings to the current repair. The truck is between 6 and 7 years old. By
the time our Spridgets were 6 years old and had 130,000 miles on them they
probably already had gone through two sets of front wheel bearings, 3
clutches, 5 sets of brake pads, a pair of tie rods, and at least one full
engine rebuild. We don't call that poor engineering, we call it endearing.
David R.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brent Wolf" <wolf.brent@gmail.com>
To: "Spridgets" <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2008 2:37 PM
Subject: [Spridgets] Non LBC - Delete now - Dodge Dakota Question or the
fall of US Car Manufacturer's
>I am sorry about the Non LBC post.
>
> for What Stupid reason would any automotive engineer put sealed bearings
> on
> the front end of a 2 wd vehicle? Sealed bearings have a very limited life
> span and only for a very limited application - and neither one of those is
> the front end of a vehicle.
>
> Ask me if I care if Chrysler, Ford or Chevy survive?
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