Wheel bearing comes loose

Could they just have been repacked? Either way, I'm trying to figure out why the hub would need to be replaced since the outer races are replaceable.

I see that the washer is in fact there, Thanks for pointing that out. What I noticed while doing that is that the wall thickness of the bearing is different between the two photos. Could there be a POS bearing on one side?

If it were me I would replace the bearings and races and see what happens. Bearings are probably the cheapest finely engineered item you can buy today.

tuttebenne said:

I see that the washer is in fact there, Thanks for pointing that out. What I noticed while doing that is that the wall thickness of the bearing is different between the two photos. Could there be a POS bearing on one side?

If it were me I would replace the bearings and races and see what happens. Bearings are probably the cheapest finely engineered item you can buy today.

Click to expand...

Good catch. The outer race does look thinner than the other picture. Maybe the OP can let us know exactly what work he did. Maybe he swapped bearings without putting in new races?

Maybe the inner seal got dickered, or something got caught

Is the threads on bolt holding retaining nut loose/stripped? That is the only way the thing could come loose.

OP - are you saying that entire locking nut unwinds itself? if so the clamp is bad.
if something other than please clarify.

alt theory is the bearings are incorrect.

OP are you adjusting bearing with a dial indicator or just guessing? .01mm end play is very small....

rumb said:

Is the threads on bolt holding retaining nut loose/stripped? That is the only way the thing could come loose.

OP - are you saying that entire locking nut unwinds itself? if so the clamp is bad.
if something other than please clarify.

alt theory is the bearings are incorrect.

OP are you adjusting bearing with a dial indicator or just guessing? .01mm end play is very small....

Click to expand...

Good to know I'm not crazy. I asked all the same questions in post 5.

rumb said:

Is the threads on bolt holding retaining nut loose/stripped? That is the only way the thing could come loose.

OP - are you saying that entire locking nut unwinds itself? if so the clamp is bad.
if something other than please clarify.

alt theory is the bearings are incorrect.

OP are you adjusting bearing with a dial indicator or just guessing? .01mm end play is very small....

Click to expand...

The bolt holding retaining nut was not loose.
I think the whole locking nut comes loose, but not much, but enough to make noticeable play.

And I don't have a special tool to measure the play, so yeah, I`m just tightening on feeling...
Probably will go to some service, so they can check it more detailed.

The bolt holding retaining nut was not loose.
I think the whole locking nut comes loose

These two statements are incompatible with each other unless the entire part is bad is some fashion.

rumb said:

... unless the entire part is bad is some fashion.

Click to expand...

Hence why I recommend (for the 3rd time) to put in a entire hub assembly. No need to reinvent the wheel (pun intended).

sbaert said:

Hence why I recommend (for the 3rd time) to put in a entire hub assembly. No need to reinvent the wheel (pun intended).

Click to expand...

When you say hub assembly, do you mean the clamping nut and bolt?

Just remove the hub ,,clean it up inside and take a few picture for us to see the condition of it .

tuttebenne said:

If the OP wants to solve his problem he only needs this:

Magnetic Base with Fine Adjustment and SAE Dial Test Indicator with 0.0005: Resolution (half a thousandth), 1" Travel, Accuracy 0.001" per 1" Mag Base MBDI: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Magnetic Base with Fine Adjustment and SAE Dial Test Indicator with 0.0005: Resolution (half a thousandth), 1" Travel, Accuracy 0.001" per 1" Mag Base MBDI: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

and this:

Mercedes Wheel Bearing Service Kit - Timken 1409810305

Mercedes Wheel Bearing Service Kit - Timken 1409810305

www.fcpeuro.com

You can get cheaper dial indicators than the one shown but bottom line if the OP wants to resolve this for good all he needs to spend is about $100.

Buying only bearings for the one, problematic, side would be even less but would be the minimum replacement parts. None of us have seen the inner bearing on this car so that is why it would be dumb to think of this all in terms of just the bearing we can see in the photos, right?

Click to expand...

Do you think so .. Because if you do it you dont need all this equipment .

I have a dial indicator that has 0.001 inch increments. I use it to do the preload adjustment. The spec is something like 0.0005 IIRC and that is essentially half way between two 0.001 increments. So a dial indicator that displays to four decimals isn't really needed. But I don't want to guess on the preload since these cars can run 100s of thousands of miles on bearings that are set to factory spec. My '88 ran to 330k on the original bearings until it started rusting in places I didn't want to spend time on.

Bearing needs setting first . Lock up the adjuster until the disc is unable be move . And then undo it till it just turnable by hand ..I think the garage should have done this repair . We do not know what condition the hub , or bearings are like inside ..The thrust rings could be worn out, or parts in there wrong places. And yes a new hub would have solved it ,,,there now i have said it as well ..

Just put new bearings in the old hub.

rumb said:

Just put new bearings in the old hub.

Click to expand...

Agreed. Plus a new axle seal.

Or just drive the old races out and install new bearings and races.


Replace the *** with f a g.