Cutlass372 Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Hey everyone, I just replaced my ball joints and tie rod ends. When I shake the passanger wheel at 12 and 6 there is still a little play, but no movement in the ball joint. Would this be wheel bearings or something? I read about the spindle being worn or the hub out of round, but I'm not quite sure. It is only minimal play, but play none the less. What should I look into? I need to get this resolved before I go in for inspection. What do you think? Thanks, Elliot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 You said still. Was there play before? Are you sure it isnt the suspension slack being that its on jacks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cutlass372 Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 I mean I didn't check how it was before because they were bad, but.. the driver side wheel is pretty tight up and down, but the passanger feels like it has a little wiggle. I can see that the ball joint is not moving and it looks like just the wheel is the part that is moving back and forth. Everything is as tight as I thought it should be so I have no idea what is up. The car looks like it could use an alignment, but I don't think that would cause movement up and down.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7dfairladyz Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 now im new to Zs but i am a mechanic, and when you shake the wheel up and down and all ball joints are tight, youre probly looking at a wheel bearing. i would suggest taking the wheel off and inspect the wheel bearing and spindle, if the bearing looks ok the i would go ahead and re-pack it and tighten it down. and see where you are then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AkumaNoZeta Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 When the wheel bearings were bad, then the play would also be appearent when moving the wheel left to right. Correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakshow Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I just went through this on my 280zx, no left to right wobble/play, but noticeable up and down (12 and 6) play. The brake pads only just barely come off the rotor. The pads keep the wheel from moving when you wiggle it left to right. I checked my wheel bearings and sure enough, the P.O. hadnt torqued the wheel nut on, only made it tight enough to hold with the new bearings, I took it all apart, cleaned everything out, and put it back together and torqued it down, no more wobble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I just went through this on my 280zx, no left to right wobble/play, but noticeable up and down (12 and 6) play. The brake pads only just barely come off the rotor. The pads keep the wheel from moving when you wiggle it left to right. I checked my wheel bearings and sure enough, the P.O. hadnt torqued the wheel nut on, only made it tight enough to hold with the new bearings, I took it all apart, cleaned everything out, and put it back together and torqued it down, no more wobble. I'm afraid to ask, but what spec did you torque your bearings to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 95 ft/lbs... Isnt it around 17-20 ft/lbs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakshow Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Torqued to 20 ft/lbs, as per the manual. The bearings were in good shape, I cleaned them off, re greased them with some good grease. Just drove it to Traverse City this weekend, about 150 miles round trip, performed beautifully, got 22 miles to the gallon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 You can have movement up/down and not have it left/right. Left/right could be bearings, ball joints or tie rod ends. Up/down is most likely bearings. They can look good and still be bad. If you torque them properly and still have the movement then you need to check the spindle real closely for damage and, if you don't find any, put a new set of bearings in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Manual says 20 ft/lbs??? I wouldn't do that, despite what the manual says. I tighten them to about 20 ft/lbs, spin the hub, then back it off and tighten again just a hair past finger tight. You don't need/want a lot of preload on the bearings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingnothing616 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Yeah i usually do about 4-5 bearing packs a week, and i do it all by feel. Get the rotor spinning while tightening with pliers untill it slows down considerably, loosen untill it frees up againg, tighten about 1/8 turn, or untill your cotter hole lines up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 You are supposed to tighten them to 20 ft-lbs and then back the nut off 60 degrees per the FSM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kash Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 You are supposed to tighten them to 20 ft-lbs and then back the nut off 60 degrees per the FSM. Did not know this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X64v Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 KTM has it right (per the '73 FSM anyways) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakshow Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 I re-read my chiltons, and it says the same. I had just flipped through to get the torque value, didnt read the whole procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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