Front wheel bearings

[andy-w]

Think i know the answer to this one...if i tur the steering to full lock and move the car forwards i can feel the steering wheel wobble or vibrate as if i have a flat tyre...not had it up on jacks yet to check the wheel bearings but i think this is the most likely cause.

Does anyone know the part number or decent supplier?

i know it is not ball joints as i have recently replaced them all...well 1k miles ago...!

[Ribol]

It isn't one of the tyres rubbing is it?

[andy-w]

nah - sure its not...i reverse the car of the drive the same way every day and it has done it the past two mornings and then did it again this evening when i left the car park at work...

i think i might just change the front and rear bearings anyway just for the sake of it and know that they are all done.

[Barkychoc]

Its a bog standard Ford Sierra wheel bearing.
Buy one with a new hub nut included.

Near side Ebay Link
Off side Ebay Link

[Barkychoc]

andy-w said:

nah - sure its not...i reverse the car of the drive the same way every day and it has done it the past two mornings and then did it again this evening when i left the car park at work...

i think i might just change the front and rear bearings anyway just for the sake of it and know that they are all done.

Are you sure its not just down to less grip than normal due to the ice and its reacting differently?

[GreenV8S]

That's not at all uncommon and certainly not conclusive evidence of a wheel bearing problem. You could jack the corner up to find out for sure, but I think you're barking up the wrong tree here. The problem is that the front wheel geometry isn't perfect when you have a lot of lock on and this causes the front wheels to fight against each other slightly.

[Ribol]

andy-w said:

nah - sure its not...i reverse the car of the drive the same way every day and it has done it the past two mornings and then did it again this evening when i left the car park at work...

i think i might just change the front and rear bearings anyway just for the sake of it and know that they are all done.

Fair enough but a bearing won't make a car drive like it has a flat tyre.

[andy-w]

cheers guys...for the price of the bearings i think i might as well change the lot and get a full geo check done when i have finished.

It could just have been ice/cold conditions and maybe a bit of paranoia on my part but the rest of the suspension is new and its only the bearings i have not changed yet.

Any gotchas i should be aware of when changing...?

[Barkychoc]

Here's one I prepared earlier, its on my V8S but it is identical to the Chim / Griff front hub (Sierra).

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Edited by Barkychoc on Thursday 8th January 13:17

[andy-w]

Barkychoc said:

Here's one I prepared earlier.

That has got to be the worlds largest torque wrench ever...!!!

Good write up though and some handy pictures....the bearings have gone up to a whopping £12 though....still not bad and at least i will know they have all been changed and are in good nick...should have done them when i had the car stripped down but i was being lazy...!!!

[Barkychoc]

That torque wrench is needed.

According to the Sierra Manual I have its 229 to 258 lbft of torque - thats effin tight!

You need a 41mm socket as well - they can be bought as a sierra hub nut.

Edited by Barkychoc on Thursday 8th January 17:29

[VerySideways]

Yep - torque wrench and 41mm socket.

Write up here: http://www.verysideways.com/pages/g33_fwbr.htm

[Barkychoc]

Good write up there, I didn't have a huge problem getting the old bearing off the hub, but I can see that might be a problem.