I'd be interested to know from all of our resident mechanically inclined members info regarding wheel bearings .
I had our van in at a highly regarded repairer in melb , getting esc braking fitted .
While there it was suggested that they check out the brakes and bearings .
I agreed as we were heading up to Qld a short time later.
After we got back and 5000 klm on , I parked it up .
I was whipper snipping round the van a couple of weeks ago and kicked a tyre as it looked a little lower.
The wheel made a clunking sound , I jacked it up and the wheels ( twin axle) rocked slightly .
I pulled it apart and the hubs were a bit loose took them apart and removed the cotter pin , " I turned the nut 2 and a half turns to firm by hand ".( then nipped up with spanner and backed off a notch so spun freely )
My question is do they need readjusting after being fitted brand new , or was the installation not up to speed ( they are supposed to be high quality japanese bearings )
I have repacked wheel bearings for years on vans and boat trailers and reckon you were very lucky not to have had major problems with your axle and bearings.
How it didn't fail catastrophically and cause an accident. With two and a half turns to tighten the nut I agree with ants_oz, they look as though they didn't seat the bearing properly.
How it didn't overheat I don't know. Probably having twin axles helped by spreading the load.
I bought one of those infra red temp guns off evilbay to check bearing temps after a few miles and any stop on the way. Normally a high temp means bearing or brake problems.
I have repacked wheel bearings for years on vans and boat trailers and reckon you were very lucky not to have had major problems with your axle and bearings.
How it didn't fail catastrophically and cause an accident. With two and a half turns to tighten the nut I agree with ants_oz, they look as though they didn't seat the bearing properly.
How it didn't overheat I don't know. Probably having twin axles helped by spreading the load.
I bought one of those infra red temp guns off evilbay to check bearing temps after a few miles and any stop on the way. Normally a high temp means bearing or brake problems.
Lucky.
Hi Mark,
As Trevor said. I to have done all my Wheel bearings for my entire driving life. We tow our boat to WA and back to Sydney every few years.
Bearings take a terrible amount of stress. Because of our b/Trailer bearings being affected by salt water over a three month period.
I jack it, Clean & repack the bearings and /or replace total before each return trip. Towing at 102kmph all day every day across Australia 5400km in total each way. I have never had a bearing fail because of maintenance by myself.
You don't know what some people will do, or lack of doing that can bring you undone. Paying full wages to have an unsupervised apprentice do the job, time and time again.
You may as well just learn to do it yourself and have piece of mind. There is nothing better, then knowing your rig is good to go inside out.
Watch and learn. U tube. Live and Learn. Your never to old to learn. Knowledge is power.
Had the same problem after having our dual axle van serviced by a dealer in geelong. Needles to say thay will not be geting any more work from us. Landy
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In life it is important to know when to stop arguing with people
and simply let them be wrong.
I have been doing most of my own minor mechanical maintenance work since my first car more than 50 years ago. Except on the new under warranty cars.
I recently replaced all of my van wheel bearings for the first time.
I gave myself an update/education by watching a couple of utube videos and reading stuff on Aussie van spares sites.
On my first run I used a temp gun to keep an eye on my bearing temps & gave the wheels a good shake at each stop to check for slop. Looked for grease leaks from the bearing caps too. All good.
When I got home I lifted the van up as usual & checked each wheel for free play. A nip up of perhaps 1 or two notches at most on the castle nut required on each wheel.
I agree with the advice that you aught to check the bearings for damage/heating & repack with new grease. It's really an easy job that we should all be able to handle.
If you don't want to tackle that then there are plenty of mobile mechanics who will do the job at your home .. & you can look on and learn. A good one might even let you have a go under supervision.
Edit ... Might be a good idea to give the mob who did the job some feedback so that they can check their procedures .. some training for someone perhaps. Maybe they would be interested in checking all wheels. I know I would if it were my w/shop.
-- Edited by Cupie on Tuesday 29th of November 2016 10:57:00 PM
Definitely a shoddy job, as is the case with a lot of businesses nowadays you may find that the apprentice did the work and the job was not checked.
This is happening at all of the major car dealers too, I used to check what they did on car services (sometimes very expensive too) and on several occasions found items (like filters!) totally untouched.
I do everything myself now and feel far more confident that the job was done as it should.
I would be challenging the people who did your bearings and demand they put new ones in. (and check it yourself afterwards)
Cheers Vince
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"life is too short to spend it with people who suck the happiness out of you"
Just for clarity - I said the bearing CUPS were likely not pressed into the hubs correctly - not the bearing itself.
Also, when a tapered roller bearing (as fitted to van axles and hubs) is fitted loose it will seldom overheat - it will flog itself to death and disintegrate well before heat becomes an issue.
I have bearing buddies ( as often seen on boat trailers ) fitted to my camper trailer. I have found them to do a great job. They keep the grease under pressure.
Just for clarity - I said the bearing CUPS were likely not pressed into the hubs correctly - not the bearing itself.
Also, when a tapered roller bearing (as fitted to van axles and hubs) is fitted loose it will seldom overheat - it will flog itself to death and disintegrate well before heat becomes an issue.
I agree. If you are a bit timid in punching the cups into place there is the possibility of them not being seated correctly & gradually working themselves in a bit further leading to slop in the wheel.
I use a brass dolly to knock them in & use a torch to see if the cup is hard up against the base of the raised section of the drum. When I fit the bearing I tighten it up hard with a large spanner then back it off, spin the wheel & retighten as recommended.
edit .. I know that some recommend using the old cup as a spacer to allow you to use a clamp/press to force the cup into position ( then knock the old one out with a dolly) but I found my method OK for me as I don't have a suitable press.
-- Edited by Cupie on Wednesday 30th of November 2016 11:54:12 AM
When traveling my father had a row of wheel bearing failures, he submerged a new set of bearings in a tin of wheel bearing grease and carried that with him. He must have tricked the mischief gods or something, because; he never had a wheel bearing fail again, and its worked for me as well.
