Bad front wheel bearing? play even after tightening.

[vanis13]

Wondering what else to check before committing to a wheel bearing replacement.

Tightened wheel bearing.

replaced upper ball joint (tested fine but boot was cracked and part was under warranty)
lower ball joint shows no play (OEM it seems)

after that still play.

tested with helper moving wheel at 12/6 and determined there is play between the rotor and the spindle/ball joint assembly.

can retighten since I have the Mercedes nut but I've very sure I got it right.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=755355&highlight=mercedes

Anything else to check?
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83.5 Westy with Subaru 2.5, 4 spd manual, center seat, COLD A/C on 134a!, Winter camp heated with an Espar B4 gasoline furnace

www.SuperVanagon.com - some stuff I make

[Sodo]

Yikes if the nut doesn't take up the slop directly, immediately....
you gotta look inside before driving it.
Sounds like a worn out spindle 🙀
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[vanis13]

well, considering it could be really bad, I looked again at the tightness of the spindle nut and here is what I did - using the original pitted nut I tightened it until it was tight to seat the bearing and what ever else might be in there. Of course the rotor didn't turn. I took off that nut and put the Mercedes nut back on and put it on snug which was about 1/8 turn more than the last tightening. the play is gone. I'll monitor wheel/spindle/bearing temperature as I drive it in the next few days.
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83.5 Westy with Subaru 2.5, 4 spd manual, center seat, COLD A/C on 134a!, Winter camp heated with an Espar B4 gasoline furnace

www.SuperVanagon.com - some stuff I make

[old_man]

I have to ask, are you spinning the wheel as you are tightening the nut?

[vanis13]

yes, for the final tightening. the "set" tightening I mentioned above, the wheel didn't ultimately turn....then I loosed up and spun/tightened.
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83.5 Westy with Subaru 2.5, 4 spd manual, center seat, COLD A/C on 134a!, Winter camp heated with an Espar B4 gasoline furnace

www.SuperVanagon.com - some stuff I make

[the joker]

You should be able to move the "washer" with slight side pressure( screwdriver) and roll with a good push.

[Wildthings]

With everything cold you want to have a very slight bit of wobble in the tire. If after 20 miles of highway driving on a hot day the play is gone then that may well be okay. If the bearing it too tight it will run noticeable hotter, so compare hub temperatures side to side and front to back.

The washers that go under the nut are not very uniform in thickness across their surface and this can throw the feel off when adjusting the nut. I will sometimes adjust the nut while the wheel is on the ground as this seems to help make up for the discrepancies in the surface of the washers.

If you tightened the nut so tight your couldn't spin the wheel, I would be worried you might have harmed the bearings.

[DanHoug]

the Mercedes nut has a very flat thrust surface and Mercedes does NOT use a washer between the nut and bearing race.

i left it out on mine.
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-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[djkeev]

It is time for a front disc removal, remove the bearings, clean them well, examine for wear.

Also check the spindle where the bearing ride. The surface should be smooth and not burned or burred.
The bearings should be a snug fit on the spindle but not press on tight.
The races are a press fit in the brake disc.

With tapered bearings you should be able to tighten them absolutely too tight but wobble free.

Dave
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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

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