I repacked my own front wheel bearings , but a muffler shop tech and a tire place both have mentioned that there is wheel play due to the bearings. Is this because I didn't use enough grease or did I not tighten the spindle nut tight enough? I'm chasing down a vibration problem at 55mph and I'm wondering if this is the cause.

Maybe you didnt tighten the nut enough.. or maybe they're wanting to make a few $$ off of you. I've been a professional mechanic since 93, but we don't have an alignment machine at work. So I have to go to another shop to have my rigs aligned, and I too have had the tech tell me that the bearings need to be packed because they are too loose. I know that if I tighten them to the next notch though they're too tight.

Tighten your bearings until all the slop comes out, and you feel a slight drag while spinning the hub. Then back them off to the next notch. After that don't worry bout it.

Jack the front end up and put one hand on top and on on the bottom of the tire and see if you can move it. If it moves a lot then you need to either adjust the wheel bearing or replace it. When you put the nut on you should have tightened it just enought to put the cotter key in and no tighter than that. Did you use the original bearings? If you got new ones make sure they are the correct ones... this is all I could think of for now...

I've seen it where the person is too afraid to over tighten that they don't quite get the excess grease squeezed out, which then results in a too loose adjustment.

Well I jacked up the passenger front tire and put my hands at the 12:00 and 6:00 positions and there is definitely tire movement. Not a ton, but I can feel it and hear it when I move it back and forth. I tightened the nut pretty snug and then backed it off. Put the tire back on and there's still movement. Would worn out bearings or races cause this as well? Thanks.

Maybe someone'll chime in, but in the 20+ years I've redone front brakes/wheel bearings this is the procedure I've followed:

Pack bearings by hand - blob of grease in the palm, and working/cutting the grease into the cage & rollers.
Light smear of the "leftovers" onto the spindle.
Mount the rotor/hub on the spindle, and while spinning the rotor/hub, tighten the nut to just past a "snug/tight" level (it's a feel thing).
Back the nut off to just the free point and re-tighten to snug.
If a cotter pin hole isn't lined up, always go tighter to line up - usually less than 1/16 turn.

From the service manual for '68 Chevy Chassis Service Manual.

Spindles are drilled both vertically and horizontally.

While rotating wheel, tighten spindle nut to 12 lbs. ft. torque. Back off adjusting nut one flat and insert cotter pin. If slot and pin hole do not line up, back off the adjusting nut an additional 1/2 flat or less as required to insert cotter pin.

Bearings should have zero preload and .001 to .008 end movement when properly adjusted.


How I do it: Spin hub as you tighten adjuster nut as tight as you can with your fingers. Back off only enough to get the cotter pin in. Done.

I've always hand packed the bearings, then tighten the nut with a socket while spinning the hub. Back it off, finger tighten it while spinning the hub again, and put the cotter pin in. Never had any problems that way.

The key to wheel bearing packing isnt how you do it. Its just to make sure you get the grease packed in the bearing. With that said. Im a mechanic by trade also and I do not pack wheel bearings by hand. Only because I have a bearing packer tool that you insert the bearing in upside down and step on the plunger which forces grease into the bearing via the wedge shaped cone portion of the tool. It works real slick, and packs grease right into the bearing.

When I tighten wheel bearings. I tighten the bearing until it is seated in the races with a wrench or adjustable pliers, and then back it off and tighten it by hand enough so its not loose. Then align the nut to insert the cotter pin. Done tons of wheel bearing re-packs and never ruined a bearing or had one come loose.

I've got one of those cone type wheel bearing packers in my box. The one you put the bearing in, and use a grease gun to fill it. I haven't used it for years, since I don't do brakes and bearings on a daily or weekly basis anymore. Quicker to use the hand, albiet a bit messier for a few minutes. I generally set up all the bearings, and do them all one time, then go back and install them. Works for me. :)

Well I jacked up the passenger front tire and put my hands at the 12:00 and 6:00 positions and there is definitely tire movement. Not a ton, but I can feel it and hear it when I move it back and forth. I tightened the nut pretty snug and then backed it off. Put the tire back on and there's still movement. Would worn out bearings or races cause this as well? Thanks.

Be sure to check the other components of your suspension, balljoints, bushings, etc. Could be some looseness from worn suspension parts.
Cheers
Steve

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm pretty confident now that I greased them properly, but what then could be the cause of the looseness? Could the bearings or hub be bad? I can put my hands at the 12:00 and 6:00 positions and feel movement. No movement in the 9:00 and 3:00 position so I'm told that the means the ball joint and tie rods are OK. Thanks.

Tighten the bearing nut, DON'T back it off. Is the play still there? If so, it ain't the bearings. Re-adjust the nut and install cotter pin before you drive the vehicle.

Movement at 12 & 6 could indicate ball joint play, movement at 3 & 9 could indicate steering system slop. Wheel bearing play should be noticable no matter which direction you pull on the wheel, particularly with drum brakes. Discs are touchier because the brake caliper will tend to hold the rotor, which can obscure excess play when moving the wheel by hand.

Ball joints and all front bushings were just replaced last year so I really hope its not the ball joints. What about the rotor/hub assembly? Could it be warped or just not the right fit for the bearings? The assembly is not oroginal and who knows what the previous owner put on there.

Like Shurkey said, remove the cotter pin and tighten the bearing nut and see if the play goes away. If so, you know what it is. If not, you keep looking.

Don't forget to back the nut off to align the cotter pin hole. There shouldn't be any pre-load on the wheel bearings.

OK, I pulled off the passenger front wheel and I could move that rotor/hub assembly back and forth just a fraction of an inch. I tightened the spindle nut one more notch which did require me to tighten it using pliers. Movement in rotor was gone. I checked the driver side and I could not move the rotor so I left it as is. Test drove the car and amazingly I'd say it was 75% better. The shake is still there but its much milder. Can I leave that nut slightly tight like that or should I just go ahead and replace all the bearings and hubs. Thanks

if bearings are to tight you will burn them up and cause them to spin in the hub and on the spindle. the bearing could weld to the spindle if it seizes you will turn violently very dangerous never run them tight Check to see if the bearing outer race spins or moves in the hub if so there is your problem
Curt

The key to wheel bearing packing isnt how you do it. Its just to make sure you get the grease packed in the bearing. With that said. Im a mechanic by trade also and I do not pack wheel bearings by hand. Only because I have a bearing packer tool that you insert the bearing in upside down and step on the plunger which forces grease into the bearing via the wedge shaped cone portion of the tool. It works real slick, and packs grease right into the bearing.

When I tighten wheel bearings. I tighten the bearing until it is seated in the races with a wrench or adjustable pliers, and then back it off and tighten it by hand enough so its not loose. Then align the nut to insert the cotter pin. Done tons of wheel bearing re-packs and never ruined a bearing or had one come loose.
Chris,
I just bought my '72 Malibu and found the outer bearing on the left front was starting to flake. I bought new bearings, and haven't had the time to replace them. The new set came with races, but I've never removed races from my previous hubs (I had a '70 Nova years ago). Are there removable races on a '72? If so, should I keep the bearings mated w/ the races they came with? Or can I just judge by the condition of the existing races?
Just looking for ideas. Thank you. Tim

The races are removeable. Pound them out with a punch, careful not to score the inside of the rotor. Work your way around the race to get them out. You may really have to smack them to get them moving.

Whenever I change a bearing, I change the race, whether it looks good or not. Only exception is brand new rotors that come with a race installed.

Chris,
I just bought my '72 Malibu and found the outer bearing on the left front was starting to flake. I bought new bearings, and haven't had the time to replace them. The new set came with races, but I've never removed races from my previous hubs (I had a '70 Nova years ago). Are there removable races on a '72? If so, should I keep the bearings mated w/ the races they came with? Or can I just judge by the condition of the existing races?
Just looking for ideas. Thank you. Tim

Im sorry im getting to this so late, very late.

Bearings and races are made as a matched set when new so if your going to replace the bearings its best to also replace the races too. You can remove the races normally with a punch but there is a bearing installer kit you can use to install the new bearings. All rotors that I have ever seen have removable races. I didnt install the new races in my 66 because I was buying new rotors at the same time as the wheel bearings so I kept the races in the new rotors, even though new bearing and races are a matched set. I have never had a problem with them and its now several years later.

OK, I pulled off the passenger front wheel and I could move that rotor/hub assembly back and forth just a fraction of an inch. I tightened the spindle nut one more notch which did require me to tighten it using pliers. Movement in rotor was gone. I checked the driver side and I could not move the rotor so I left it as is. Test drove the car and amazingly I'd say it was 75% better. The shake is still there but its much milder. Can I leave that nut slightly tight like that or should I just go ahead and replace all the bearings and hubs. Thanks

If running with no clearence in your bearings improved the vibration I would say your problem is in your tires being out of balance. Make sure you go back and reset the clearence properly, you don't want to run them tight.

I might have missed this in the above posts, but the biggest part of wheel bearing packing is inspection of the bearings for signs of failure, by cleaning and inspection of all race surfaces and roller bearings. If this is not part of your bearing packing process you are not doing it right.

Having done the inspection and repacking of the bearings and proper tightening technique it is time to move on and look at tire balance.

Good luck Bill

Update: I replaced both the bearings and the entire hub/rotor assembly and the tire movement is gone. The car brakes better as well, but I still have my vibration. I took the car to a place to get the front tires rebalanced and the guy pointed out that I didn't have the right lug nuts and washers on the tires. I have cragar SS's with the uni-lug design. I did some searching on this topic on the internet and it sounds like a common problem with these wheels. I purchased the correct lug nuts and washers and I now I think my rear rim might be wrong altogether as it doesn't match the front. The new lug nuts/washers helped, but I think I really just need to replace all 4 wheels. I'm debating now if I'm going with 4 new Cragar SS's which I really like the style and finish of, or go with something else.

I battled vibrations for years with the Cragar SS and uni-lug wheel mount. Went throught so many tires and wheels (I think that I drove Super Shops out of business). Finally installed wheels with conical seats and WOW, no more vibrations. That uni-lug mount is the biggest piece of Mickey Mouse engineering. The Cragar's are a great looking wheel, but if you want to drive your car you should look for something else.

I have cragar SS's with the uni-lug design.

There is only one place that is recommended for Uni-Lug wheels: The recycle bin. GET RID OF THOSE WHEELS. They should be illegal.