k10 Wheel bearing play?

[swissarmychainsaw]

This is mostly for peace of mind, but I would like some advice.

I rebuilt the front end of my 1973 K10 Suburban (4x4) and I put new wheel bearings in it.
I assembled it exactly per the manual.
(from memory which is a poor witness: Torque the bearing nut to a larger number to seat the bearing (rotating the wheel); then loosen, then torque to lesser number; add locking washer with pin; then torque the locking nut to spec)

I'm the type of person who thinks to himself while going down the road at 70mph, "Did I torque that properly???"

The issue is when I jack up the wheel and grab it at say 9 and 3 o'clock, and do a little push-pull-wiggle, there is some movement!

Is this expected or should the wheel "feel tight"?

Thanks and happy new year!
Nick

[pat english]

I think there is supposed to be a little wiggle or the bearings will seize up.

[special-K]

You shouldn't feel any wiggle.

[swissarmychainsaw]

So what is the strategy?

Open it back up and repeat the procedure?

[The Blue Pig]

Swiss, before you tear everything apart again, make sure the play isn't coming from your upper ball joint. If your ball joints are good, I'd say tear it back down. At least it'll be lots faster now that you've just done it. Maybe you placed something wrong or perhaps forgot to do the second snug up?

[The Blue Pig]

Oops, didn't notice till now that you said 9 and 3, so I'm assuming you are feeling play from side to side instead of up and down? If that's the case, I'd say the same thing, just make sure both ball joints and your tie rod end are all tight.

[swissarmychainsaw]

Good point I should have mentioned this before, I just did a bunch of work on the front:
New Ball Joints; upper/lower
New Tie Rods (pitman arm to driver's side)
New front drive shaft u-joints and inner seals
New brake lines in front
New master cylinder
New Steering gearbox
(tomorrow gets a new Brake booster)

Tie rods are torqued to spec. Ball joints also to spec. I believe everything was done properly.

The good news is that you can re-torque the wheel bearings with out even removing the front wheels! Hey!

[special-K]

The 9 & 3 got past me,too. If there's play in the bearing you should feel play in all directions. Pivot parts (ball joints) will give play at 12 & 6 and steering links (tie rods. drag link) will give play at 9 & 3. I guess if you put all new stuff on you're looking in the right place. Not sure how you got play after torquing. I would normally suspect a race wasn't fully seated, but unless everything is put together right, you'll never get the C-clip in the spindle groove

[ryanroo]

Originally Posted by special-K

The 9 & 3 got past me,too. If there's play in the bearing you should feel play in all directions. Pivot parts (ball joints) will give play at 12 & 6 and steering links (tie rods. drag link) will give play at 9 & 3. I guess if you put all new stuff on you're looking in the right place. Not sure how you got play after torquing. I would normally suspect a race wasn't fully seated, but unless everything is put together right, you'll never get the C-clip in the spindle groove

the unseated races is the first thing i thought of too.

i would check to make double sure the hub is what is shifting on the spindle when you moved it. it is easier to narrow that down by attempting to wiggle from the 12 and 6 position with the weight off the front. it may be possible that you are just moving the steering system slightly when grabbing the front and back of the tire.

i have had new bearing sets loosen up a little after they have a few miles on them. i usually set brand new bearings up a little tighter than if i am re-assembling with existing bearings that were in good shape for that reason. seems like new ones relax a little after they get used some. perhaps a re torque and see what happens after that. if they get loose again i would definitely pull them and check that the races are set

[D.PASSMORE]

If the problem persists after driving, tear it back down and make sure everything is seated properly. Also, if the spindle is grooved, the bearing can/will get hung up and not settle against the inner race "square".