front wheel movement, Thought it was the bearings, but they are new... Options

[Artfrombama]

Feeling stupid for not noticing this before. Blaming my bad eyesight. I didn’t see it until going through the photos I took while troubleshooting.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)
A safe bet that the abnormal wear is causing the issue. There are no such wear markings at the inboard side. What would cause this? Bearing originally set too tight? Too lose? Corrosion?

An outer bearing has previously “smoked” and spun on the journal. Always pack your wheel bearings!

[technicalninja]

That doesn't look ruined to me.

Clean that up with a bit of purple Scotchbrite and some WD40.

Take the bearing and slide it over the shaft. Wiggle it.

Floppy and loose? Could be new bearing, could be stub.

Take old bearing and do the same. Different results?

Change bearing manufacture.

Same results?
Replace strut housing.

You could also buy the mic that Superhawk posted.

If it has a "standard" included, it will be pretty accurate.

Under $50 for a mic is a giveaway price.

I just did a quicky search on Starrett mics.
Used ones are ALSO available for low prices.

Starrett and Brown& Sharp are the high end.

I really like the Japanese built Mitutoyo brand. They are close to Starrett quality at 40% of the cost.

[Superhawk996]

Yup that would do it.

Looks to me like bearing too tight leading to partial seizure and tearing off metal as the inner race began to rotate on the spindle.

Sorry that you’re just now finding this. Is the other side strut spindle the same?

No need to buy a micrometer - that is trashed. Per factory manual the tolerance on the outer journal is just 0.0004” (less than half of 0.001”) on what is a hardened and ground surface. It’s gone.

The good news is that now you know what needs to be addressed. Likewise - go to your car show - have a little fun before you have to swap struts. Now that you know how to do it - it will go way quicker the second time around.

[sixnotfour]

Now you know fresh bearings and grease,,Dirve On,,, add new struts to list..maybe 911/5lug..oops

[rjames]

They were definitely packed well with grease. That I know how to do. The old bearings came out with lots of grease on them still. I use red wheel bearing grease and the grease was mostly still red.
But I guess I had them too tight which is hard to believe because I know I was very meticulous when I put those bearings in. But the proof is in the photo.

[Artfrombama]

They were definitely packed well with grease. That I know how to do. The old bearings came out with lots of grease on them still. I use red wheel bearing grease and the grease was mostly still red.
But I guess I had them too tight which is hard to believe because I know I was very meticulous when I put those bearings in. But the proof is in the photo.

Prefer front wheel bearings a tad loose than tight.

[rjames]

Maybe others should check their bearings…
I’m still not sure I know how to install them correctly. Here’s no less than four different sets of instructions I’ve found for installing front bearings posted elsewhere on this site:

—
Take a large flat blade screw driver, insert it into the slot on the nut and give it a "whack" with your wrist in the direction of tightening the nut.

—
Spin the wheel then tighten the nut until it slows the spinning motion noticeably. Then back off just a hair. Drive it a couple of hundred miles then check to see if the nut could be tightened some more.

—
Install the wheel nut and torque down very tight while rotating wheel to seat the bearings
Loosen the wheel nut until you can just barely move the washer with the tip of a screwdriver. You should not be able (or barely able) to wiggle the rotor at all when torquing the rotor top & bottom.

—
It’s set correctly when you can just move the washer with a screwdriver when using the hub as leverage to move the washer.

[mepstein]

You never over tighten bearings. You can permanently damage bearings by making them too tight. You seat the races with the proper tool and then adjust the bearing until it’s smooth and without play. Then check it (no wiggle or play) after a good drive or two.

[rjames]

You never over tighten bearings. You can permanently damage bearings by making them too tight. You seat the races with the proper tool and then adjust the bearing until it’s smooth and without play. Then check it (no wiggle or play) after a good drive or two.

I hear you, I’m just pointing out that it’s not exactly straightforward to determine if you’re over tightening it. I forgot to add that Haynes manual says to tighten the nut until you can gently push the washer with a screwdriver. That sounds much different than anything quoted above, but that’s what I’ll start with going forward.

[mepstein]

You never over tighten bearings. You can permanently damage bearings by making them too tight. You seat the races with the proper tool and then adjust the bearing until it’s smooth and without play. Then check it (no wiggle or play) after a good drive or two.

I hear you, I’m just pointing out that it’s not exactly straightforward to determine if you’re over tightening it. I forgot to add that Haynes manual says to tighten the nut until you can gently push the washer with a screwdriver. That sounds much different than anything quoted above, but that’s what I’ll start with going forward.

Not a bad rule of thumb

[Superhawk996]

Maybe others should check their bearings…
I’m still not sure I know how to install them correctly. Here’s no less than four different sets of instructions I’ve found for installing front bearings posted elsewhere on this site:

—
Take a large flat blade screw driver, insert it into the slot on the nut and give it a "whack" with your wrist in the direction of tightening the nut.

—
Spin the wheel then tighten the nut until it slows the spinning motion noticeably. Then back off just a hair. Drive it a couple of hundred miles then check to see if the nut could be tightened some more.

—
Install the wheel nut and torque down very tight while rotating wheel to seat the bearings
Loosen the wheel nut until you can just barely move the washer with the tip of a screwdriver. You should not be able (or barely able) to wiggle the rotor at all when torquing the rotor top & bottom.

—
It’s set correctly when you can just move the washer with a screwdriver when using the hub as leverage to move the washer.

All four of these are contradictory in one way or another to what the factory manual says. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) gotta love the interwebz where people literally make up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stromberg.gif)

[rjames]

@Superhawk996 thanks for posting that. It's a good reminder that my default first step for info should be the factory manual.

[Superhawk996]

@Superhawk996 thanks for posting that. It's a good reminder that my default first step for info should be the factory manual.

The Haynes manual is pretty vague vs the factory manual.

Back in the day, it was hard and expensive to access the factory manual but no longer. As you state, it should be a 1st stop go-to.