Re: Wheel bearings on my Jimmy
This is caused iether by the spindle or the installation of the bearing. The spindle acts as the inner race for both the inner and outter bearings. If the diameter of the spindle in incorrect there could be excessive slop in the bearing from istallation that would be apparent as play in the wheel/tire, or insufficient clearance for the bearing that would cause lubrication problems and would show up as the tire being difficult to turn due to binding of the bearing after preload is applied to the assembly.<br /><br />If the spindles mic out to spec, my guess is that when the bearings are installed, improper preload is applied during final assembly. It is critical for the life of the bearing and the health of the spindle that an accurate torque wrench is used to set the bearing preload as prescribed by the shop manual. Do it in the proper steps and make sure nothing changes the preload during final assembly of the washers, castle nut, etc. After assembly, rotate tire and see if there is any resistance which may indicate bind on the bearing, or preload too tight. Then see if the tire has latera motion (grab tire on the top and bottom and attemp to rock the top of the tire in and out of the fender well) to see if the preload is too loose.<br /><br />Lastly, make SURE you high temp grease and get a bearing packer. They are cheap, ensure the bearing is well packed with grease, and the high temp grease will not break down under the extreame tempratures generated by disk brakes. This is very important!<br /><br />If you do all this and the problems persist, sell the truck and get a Toyota
