wheel bearing question Options

[mightyohm]

I am having a front wheel bearing adjustment issue:

If I tighten my front wheel bearings to the point where I can just barely slide the thrust washer around with a screwdriver, and I still have a clunk when I rock the wheel back and forth, what does that mean?

If I tighten the clamp nut about 15 degrees more, the clunk disappears, but the thrust washer won't budge unless I pry against it. I have read this is a no-no - the thrust washer should slide around easily without prying.

Are my wheel bearings shot? The outer bearing looks fine and I repacked it with grease...

This is a 911 front suspension if it makes any difference.

[xsboost90]

hm, is the rotor seated all the way? The way i tighten them is to spin them while im turning the nut and when it starts to slow down- you feel some resistance is when you stop. Perhaps back off a touch even. I dont think the thrust washer should be moving around though.

[mightyohm]

The thrust washer thing is according to Haynes and I have seen it all over the place on the 911 forum over on PP. Seems to be the standard way to check adjustment. You tighten it until you can just nudge the washer around with some force, without having to pry against it to get it to move.

I think normally I would just run them a tad bit lose but the tech inspection guys always whine at you when you have loose wheel bearings. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/flipa.gif)

[Otmar]

Mine have the same problem, despite being new bearings. I think the spindles are undersize from years of bad bearings.

One thing to check is how snug the inner bearing races fit on the spindle. Any play there will still be there after a proper bearing adjustment. It's annoying.

Next time I plan to lightly knurl the spindle for a tighter fit. With a centerpunch. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smash.gif)

[brp914]

Your spindles are worn. Feel along the bottom - you will detect a groove. The bearings are designed to creep so as to even out wear, but in doing so wear out the spindle. If you do high performance driving this transfers shock loads to the bearing which could be bad. Time for new struts imho.

[TonyAKAVW]

Not only does this mean your bearings are shot, it means that your whole front suspension and wheels are shot too. i reccomend you take all of that off the car (rear wheels too while you are at it) and ship them down to me and I'll set you up with a real nice stock setup. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif)

Actually, I did my bearings by the factory manual and it does mention not to pry against the wheel. I had to re-tighten the nut a few times to get it right. I tightened it to the point where the washer would only move if I pried my hand against my other hand. If that makes any sense. I rotated the wheel before and after I tightened the nut to make sure the rollers distributed themselves evenly. I found it was a matter of just a few degrees to get it right.


-Tony

[mightyohm]

I will check out the spindles. What surprised me was that if I tighten the bearing a little more, the play does go away. I thought that with bad spindles I would have play that was impossible to get rid of. Am I just pushing the outer race of the inner bearing further onto the spindle to an unworn spot?

I didn't realize struts were a maintenance item. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sad.gif)

[Dave_Darling]

Try Tony's method. I think the main reason they don't want you to pry is because you can mar the race or some such.

No movement at all when you wiggle the top of the wheel is not good, IMHO. A little "click" is fine, a big "clunk" is not.

--DD

[mightyohm]

Thanks Dave, I will check it out.

[mightyohm]

I finally got around to checking out my spindles tonight. My brand new inner bearing race slides onto the spindle easily and has a tiny, tiny amount of play on the spindle. How tight of a fit is this supposed to be? Is this the source of my problems? The spindle surface is visibly worn in a couple spots and has the least bit of roughness to it.

Time for new struts? How much should I expect to pay for a pair of GOOD used 911 struts anyway?