Front wheel bearing play

[bruceh]

How much ˜play' is normal for the front wheel bearings?

I ask because my handling has become very sloppy.

I raised the front wheels off the ground and there is about ¼ inch play on the top to bottom axis. The side to side axis seems to have no play.

The coach has about 40K miles on it. I had front brake work done this spring.

Do I have a wheel bearing problem or am I being paranoid?

[bruceh]

How much ˜play' is normal for the front wheel bearings?

I ask because my handling has become very sloppy.

I raised the front wheels off the ground and there is about ¼ inch play on the top to bottom axis. The side to side axis seems to have no play.

The coach has about 40K miles on it. I had front brake work done this spring.

Do I have a wheel bearing problem or am I being paranoid?

[Duner]

bruceh,
I just checked my front tire play. There is zero play that I can feel - up/down or in any direction. Yet the tire spins freely with no drag. I've got 36K miles on my rig and never had any work done on the bearings, brakes or axle.

I guess at this point you can tighten the bearing up to specs and hope that there is no permanent damage. Watch the bearings for excess heat and to see if they loosen up again. Either of these symptoms means you need new bearings.

The problem may not be the wheel bearings if the movement is just up/down (is that what you mean "top to bottom axis?). That could be the axle/steering joints.

Let us know what you find out.

Good luck,

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Duner:
Let us know what you find out. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>The spindles are mounted on king pins. If there was any type of play there is would be something wrong with the king pins themselves which is unlikely given the robustness of those units. That said a lifetime of no lubrication could wear on the kingpin.

If there is no movement side to side, this is where I would expect to see sloppiness because of the connections to the drag link and tie rods.

As you suggested if the wheel turns freely with no drag and there is fluid visible in the sight glass I would not suspect loose wheel bearings.

While the front end of the vehicle is elevated, play from top to bottom is checked using a long tire iron with force being intermittently applied at the bottom of the tire vertically and observing the wheel for any play. By laying your hand on the top of the sidewall of the tire you will be able to feel any movement while obseving the hub.

[bruceh]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Duner:

I guess at this point you can tighten the bearing up to specs and hope that there is no permanent damage. Watch the bearings for excess heat and to see if they loosen up again. Either of these symptoms means you need new bearings.

The problem may not be the wheel bearings if the movement is just up/down (is that what you mean "top to bottom axis?). That could be the axle/steering joints.

Let us know what you find out.

Good luck, </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just had a neighbor wiggle the tire/wheel while I was underneath. I had him pull the top of the tire toward him. None of the suspension pieces moved at all. The movement was all about the wheel bearings with the right (about 1/4 inch) being worse than the left (about 1/8 inch). There is oil in the sight glass above the minimum mark.

At this point, I will punt. I don't feel qualified to tighten/replace wheel bearings. Groan, off to my local Workhorse shop where I have had wildly variable results. Other methods of coping with this would be welcome.

[troth]

Does anyone know the size of the deep socket I need for the wheel bearing nuts?

[edgray]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Other methods of coping with this would be welcome. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Any good truck alignment shop should be able to confirm IF you have a bearing problem. IMO, bearing problems are very rare unless the lube fluid was lost.

Since you expressed little confidence in the local ASC, why not seek another qualified shop? ED

[Paul and Sue]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by edgray:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Other methods of coping with this would be welcome. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Any good truck alignment shop should be able to confirm IF you have a bearing problem. IMO, bearing problems are very rare unless the lube fluid was lost.

Since you expressed little confidence in the local ASC, why not seek another qualified shop? ED </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I took my W-22 in for a computor front wheel alignment and they found that the wheel bearing where loose. They fixed it(no extra charge) and alignment. As stated above take it to a qualified shop and you will not have to quess.

[John-D]

Due to the nature of bearings if the bearing is worn I would expect play both UP and Down and Side to Side, No play side to side indicates the problem is not the bearing but, ... Well, others have posted

(no play up and down would also indicate not the bearing, and again others have posted)

Noticeable play in the bearings is NOT normal.

[DriVer]

I would also suspect that if a bearing were loose for any time at all that it could be a problem. There really isn't a lot of room in there for wiggle and any is really too much.

[Full-Timers]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Paul and Sue:
I took my W-22 in for a computor front wheel alignment and they found that the wheel bearing where loose. They fixed it(no extra charge) and alignment. As stated above take it to a qualified shop and you will not have to quess. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Me too.

[bruceh]

I gave up and took it to the dealer. Luckily for me, the chassis tech was staning behind the service writer as we were discussing the problem. The service writer wanted to repack the front bearings and the chassis tech put him on the right path.

Bottom line, no more wiggle and it handles much better.

I probably should have done it myself but had a confidence problem.

[edgray]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Bottom line, no more wiggle and it handles much better. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
That is great, but you didn't say WHAT the tech did. Please tell us.
ED

[bruceh]

Good point! He simply tightened the wheel bearings, 3 turns on one side and 2 on the other..

I had a PM giving me the procedure but chose to have it done by an experienced hand.