Wheel bearing play

[Saab guy]

Hello all happy moms day I was putting new tires on the front of my 02 HR endeavor DP sat when I felt a little play in both front wheels felt like wheel bearing to me. But what do I know,is there a spec on how much is allowed or is it 0 tolerance they are the greased type 43K on motor home not sure when they were done if ever. I was thinking about going to wet bearings any thoughts?

Thanks for any help
Bill

[jacwjames]

I converted to wet bearings in 2013. My wife was in Florida at some dog shows so I had her run it by Josam's. The cost was ~$400 not much more then they would charge just for a bearing pack.

Here's a link to the Eaton Service manual
www.eaton.com/ecm/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dID=476707

page 34 has the torque spec show 2 different type of assemblies.

[ODLI BBQ]

[QUOTE=jacwjames;3059110]I converted to wet bearings in 2013. My wife was in Florida at some dog shows so I had her run it by Josam's. The cost was ~$400 not much more then they would charge just for a bearing pack.

What is a wet bearing and what chassis would they work on?

[scenic route]

Usually it's a specific torque value on the nut and then backed off to the nearest castle or locking mechanism. Should feel no play. You'd have to look up the correct values for your unit.

Had Josam take care of that little job and they replaced my wet bearing seals as well.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Saab guy

Hello all happy moms day I was putting new tires on the front of my 02 HR endeavor DP sat when I felt a little play in both front wheels felt like wheel bearing to me. But what do I know,is there a spec on how much is allowed or is it 0 tolerance they are the greased type 43K on motor home not sure when they were done if ever. I was thinking about going to wet bearings any thoughts?

Thanks for any help
Bill

Bill,
First off, you've got 43,000 miles on those bearings already and, since you've not confessed any issues with them up to now, I'm assuming that your "greased" versions are doing their job adequately and effectively. The benefit(s) of having wet bearings vs the greased ones is, the fact that they're bathed in oil, 24/7 which, extends service life and maintenance intervals. But, since you've got that many miles on it already, I'm not sure you'll get your monies worth out of the change-over cost. The greased versions don't have quite the film that oil versions do but, that grease does get warm and, it actually "flows" a tiny bit which, the grease manufacturers build into it. Its why the greased ones last as long as they do.

A wheel bearing re-pack, about ever two-three years, whatever the mileage would be in that span, would suffice just fine. I don't even know what the actual factory intervals for service on the ones I owned. I just did them on that kind of frequency and never had any issues. But, I do all my own work anyway so, it was no biggie to me to do things more frequent than what was required.

As for play in those bearings, NONE what so ever. They are designed to have a certain amount of "PRE-LOAD" on them. That is, as has beens stated, a certain tension/torque is applied when re-assembling them, then backed off to a specific point. The primary torque is to assure the races are all set in place and, any movement in any of them, is removed so that, when the final adjustment is set, there is no free-play.

I'm just not sure you'd get any real benefits from the change, if you choose to do so. Your choice.

[jacwjames]

The conversion is pretty straight forward. They pull the hub, clean the bearings, inspect & change if necessary. The replace the rear seal which is designed for oil, put the hub back on, torque as per spes's. The last thing is the install a oil hub cap, here is an Ebay listing of a typical one.
Stemco 340 4195 Hub Cap PSI Oil Cup | eBay

The advantages of the oil hub are you don't have to have the grease type repacked. My Roadmaster chassis maintenance guide says to repack every 30K miles or annually. Needless to say I doubt if anyone ever does this but that's what the book says.

I usually check the oil level prior to a trip and if is an extended trip I'll check every week. Simple, if oil is in the sight glass everything is OK.

I asked the service shop that did my conversion on when I should change oil, they said you don't have to worry about it, which is good since I worry about everything else.

[sjholt]

The bearings are not preloaded, they are adjusted to .001- .005 play

[CJ7365]

Originally Posted by scenic route

Usually it's a specific torque value on the nut and then backed off to the nearest castle or locking mechanism. Should feel no play. You'd have to look up the correct values for your unit.

Had Josam take care of that little job and they replaced my wet bearing seals as well.

Be careful what you say, because the P30 Chassis has a little play, cant remember the spec, but you can feel it

Absolutely NO preload on those bearings.

[CJ7365]

Originally Posted by Saab guy

Hello all happy moms day I was putting new tires on the front of my 02 HR endeavor DP sat when I felt a little play in both front wheels felt like wheel bearing to me. But what do I know,is there a spec on how much is allowed or is it 0 tolerance they are the greased type 43K on motor home not sure when they were done if ever. I was thinking about going to wet bearings any thoughts?

Thanks for any help
Bill

You will get a better and more accurate response if we new what chassis you have

[dix39]

Originally Posted by CJ7365

Be careful what you say, because the P30 Chassis has a little play, cant remember the spec, but you can feel it

Absolutely NO preload on those bearings.

Same here, and I just re-packed mine (P30) a few months ago. I do know that it is not 0, but more like .003" to .007".

Steve

[scenic route]

Originally Posted by CJ7365

Be careful what you say, because the P30 Chassis has a little play, cant remember the spec, but you can feel it

Absolutely NO preload on those bearings.

Agreed...that's why I used "Usually" and added "You'd have to look up the correct values for your unit" in my post... seems here's always going to be the likelihood of exceptions to most maintenance methods.

[FIRE UP]

Well,
My apologies for incorrect information. I have never left any play in any wheel bearings, ever. And, have never had any issues with them in hundreds of thousands of miles, on many, many vehicles, trucks, motor homes and more. I must say, trying to feel .001 play, in just about anything is pretty tough, much less a 50 lb. drum/hub. Works for me.
Scott

[Saab guy]

Just an update I had the wheel bearings checked and repacked. The price was 315.00 for the job and the front end ck thanks for all the help

[dix39]

Originally Posted by sjholt

The bearings are not preloaded, they are adjusted to .001- .005 play

I checked my manual and .001-.005 is the correct adjustment for my 93 P30. The "as I remember" adjustment stated earlier of .003-.007 is incorrect.

Sorry for trusting the sometimes poor memory.

Steve