Thread: Help - side to side wheel movement

Unlikely to be the swivel pin bearings, as they are located at 12 and 6 o'clock.
It is not uncommon for the inner wheel bearing to grab a little on the stub axle as you install them, so that the preload feels right when you install them but the bearing is not fully seated and will move further inboard when you drive the vehicle and preload is lost. I would recheck the hub bearing preload. It can be helpful to pull the hub nuts down fairly tight to ensure the bearings are seated, then back them off and adjust the preload from there.
If the bearing preload turns out to be okay, the easiest way to locate movement in the steering is to get under the vehicle and have someone else move the steering wheel back and forth through it's freeplay (one of the practical uses of a wife) while you watch to see where the slop is.

You can check whether it is in the wheel bearings quite easily - try the same test while someone pushes the brake pedal down hard, which will lock the hub to the stub axle.

If the movement disappears, it is wheel bearings. If it is unchanged, look for free play in the steering, most likely in the tie rod ends, but it can also reflect free play on either end of the panhard rod or in the steering box.

If it were swivels, it would be up and down movement, not removed by applying the brakes.

John

Originally Posted by Mr Ploppy

Hi all,

.........................., after I replaced the wheel bearings, I now seem to have excess side to side movement when I grab the tyre ......................
Any help much appreciated.

This is the clue here I reckon, presumably you didn't have this problem before hand ?

As POD says, it's important to ensure that wheel bearing 'cups' are firmly seated when installing them. It's easy to have a cup sitting proud of the rear surface it is supposed to be resting on. I always look for any gap with my smallest feeler gauge (2 thou). There should be no gap. It is quite easy to end up with a small gap if using a hammer to drive in the new cup. What can happen is the cup 'bounces' off its rear mating surface when driven in leaving a small gap. (You don't get this problem when using a press to install a cup). This can usually be fixed by making your last hammer blows 'gentle' ones to minimise 'bounce'.
When you go for a drive the cups are forced into position translating this gap into 'slack' in the wheel bearings. Easily fixed, just nip up the wheel bearings again.

Deano

There's a tsb some place for the bearing setting procedure do a search it should come up as I can't remember the torque setting involved but was dead simple

Thanks all. I found one of the tie rod ends was completely flogged out, should of noticed that before. Will replace that and see if that was the problem. I didn't notice any play before but it doesn't mean it wasn't there before .

My mechanic said for the bearings there should be slight movement of the tyre, otherwise it means it is too tight. Is that right?

Originally Posted by Mr Ploppy

.......................My mechanic said for the bearings there should be slight movement of the tyre, otherwise it means it is too tight. Is that right?

Can't argue with that. Theoretically no slack and 'binding' (pre load) a whisker is the correct answer but a whisker more and the bearing is ruined.
In the real world a whisker of movement, felt by rocking the wheel (with the wheel jacked up) assures that the bearing isn't over tightened.
I set mine by spinning the wheel and tightening the bearing to way overtight and then backing off and tightening to fingertight only.
Be careful, especially if using second hand lockwashers that they don't 'jag' and turn the inner nut when tightening the outer nut thus increasing the tension on the bearing.

Aah...............one problem fixed and skills gained, another opportunity comes along to learn some more.
Remember, when replacing the tie rod end that the overall length of the tie rod is critical for your steering 'toe in' adjustment.

Deano

Ok replaced both tie rod ends as one was trashed and the other had a small cut in the rubber boot. The movement in the wheel has reduced a lot in the drivers side but remains. Iterestingly the movement in both front tyres feels identical so I would doubt it is bearings, unless I stuffed up both sides, always possible though . Oh and when the brakes were applied movement did not change,so as per JD, not bearing related.

I'll have another look in the morning at panhard rod and steering box.

Totally unrelated but whilst I was at it today I also replaced the bonnet release cable with a TD5 model. The last owner had some dodgy cable in there, which always annoyed the hell out of me.

Re-adjust the wheel bearings and get back to us.