Loose Front Wheels: Issue Narrowed Down; Need HELP!!!!!!

[mclarenf1kid]

So I recently purchased my 1992 Explorer XLT. It has 4x4 with the auto lock hubs.

I took it to my work so I could replace the tires. Jacked the front up.

Shook the front wheels only to find they had play in them. I knew something was wrong with the hubs by the irregular wear on the tires. Wheels move up/down and left/right

Now this is what I've narrowed down:

*Wheel bearings are fine. No roaring/whining during driving. No sound from hubs during steering left/right. Wheels spin freely with no grinding noise while jacked up.

*4x4 hub simply slides off once wheel is removed. I'm new to this vehicle, so excuse any "common sense" issues I may have lol! Not sure if this is normal. 4x4 hub does slide right on with no issues

*Once 4x4 hub is removed, axle shaft has about 1/4" of play up/down and left/right. Not sure what retains the axle's center.

*With wheel mounted, wheel/caliper/rotor/hub have play and move together. Is there a joint at that point that could be bad?

*No sound or issues from CV axles. Vehicle steering is responsive.

Any thoughts to my wheel play? Is there a common problem for this year Explorer that I should look into?

Let me know! Thanks

-Steven

 

[nooberiffic]

I think the hubs had a clip to hold them on from the factory, but I havent seen one with it still on yet (so yes, thats normal).

There are no CV axles (yay!) on these.

Perhaps you upper and lower ball joints are shot. Might be a good idea to check out the tie rods.

 

[mclarenf1kid]

Its definitely more of a "mechanical" looseness. Tie rods, bushings, and control arms are solid during wheel play.

I'll have to look into the ball joints the next time I have the chance to jack up the vehicle.

Needless to say if that's the issue, its not gonna be a fun fix!

 

[KobeJ05]

Its definitely more of a "mechanical" looseness. Tie rods, bushings, and control arms are solid during wheel play.

I'll have to look into the ball joints the next time I have the chance to jack up the vehicle.

Needless to say if that's the issue, its not gonna be a fun fix!

i have the same issue with mine. 12 to 6 has the most play 9 to 3 has less play.

 

[Willard]

Even if the bearings make no noise, they might be loose. All you have to do is tighten the hub nut and see if it fixes it.

 

[92exp4x4]

Check the ball joints. Make sure they are good, then as Willard said try to tighten the wheel bearings. If your ball joints are good then STOP driving the truck. Disassemble everything down to the spindle and check the spindle flange bolts and studs. These are what holds the spindle to the steering knuckle, and the rotor to the spindle yada yada yada....

Been in truck that became a tricycle once, not fun and don't recommend it.

 

[Tremblor]

spindle nuts

the outter spindle nut needs to be torqued to 150ft lbs. and the inner spindle nut needs to be torqued to 25ish ft lbs, then backed off to 16 ft lbs. or until the bearing is tight and the rotor spins freely without the calipar. if those are loose you will get a lot of play in the wheels.

 

[ronsaun]

the outter spindle nut needs to be torqued to 150ft lbs. and the inner spindle nut needs to be torqued to 25ish ft lbs, then backed off to 16 ft lbs. or until the bearing is tight and the rotor spins freely without the calipar. if those are loose you will get a lot of play in the wheels.

inner AND outer spindle nut? i only know of the 2-3/8" nut that pushes up against the bearing from the outside. where is the other nut? are you talking about a vehicle without 4wd?

 

[mclarenf1kid]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the inner and outer nuts. I know this vehicle has had previous work, so hopefully its something I can correct.

 

[Tremblor]

inner and outer spindle nuts

if we are talking about 91-94 explorers, they have an inner spindle nut that needs to be torqued then untorqued, then there should be a slide ring, then a C clip to hold it on, then there should be an outer spindle nut, same exsact thing, except needs to be tightened to minimum of 150ftlbs. they are famous for backing loose and creating a serious amount of wobble in the wheel. I managed to torque mine to 210 ft lbs and i have not had it back off. I do a lot of offroading too.

Oh and my explorer is 4x4.

 

[mclarenf1kid]

You guys rock!

 

[Tremblor]

why?

what was the issue?

 

[mclarenf1kid]

Haven't had a chance to check it out just yet. It's been raining all day today, and I've been sick for the past couple days.

I should have some time this weekend.

 

[nitro71]

This guy has auto hubs. You have one spindle nut with a locking key in it. Without the locking hub and tire on you will be able to move the rotor by hand and see if the play is in the bearings. If it's not the bearings then you need to keep looking. Easiest way is to have a friend pull the tire around while you watch under there with a flash light and see what's moving.

 

[mclarenf1kid]

It's fixed!!!!!

After much deliberation and examination, I came down to wheel bearings. Granted the wheels spun free with grinding, it was still the only component to cause the movement. I think the outer bearing disguised any issues since they were fine.

Once I had the rotor off, I noticed the inner bearing was in pretty bad shape. In went the new one and a new seal.

I also made an observation concerning the wheel bearing nut. I found a write up by Glacier991 which helped me tremendously. When getting to reassembly, he mentions finger tightening the bearing nut. With the nut finger tight, the rotor had play. I found tightening just slightly (I used an adjustable wrench) to the next keyway slot (keeping in mind not to over torque the nut) took care of ANY play in the rotor and assembly.

The combination of adjust the bearing nut and installing new bearings made her drive great on my test drive thereafter. She was smooth sailing at 80mph.

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Mettler]

You need to torque the spindle nut that holds the bearings in. If you dont, you will end up with loose bearings again. I did the same thing to my Sport and about 1500 miles down the road I discovered my rig wanting to wander around on the freeway. I went back in and torqued em down to 100ft lbs and then backed them off to the first notch for the keyway. No more problems. Technically the rotor should have some resistance when you spin it by hand. Not a ton but some.
To answer your question about what holds the end of the axle shaft stable when the hub is in, The hub does. In the hub you will see the splines that hold the axle. Those are held by a bearing in the hub. I had the same question and even tryed to replace the inner spindle bearings trying eliviate that "play" in the end of the axle. Theres nothing wrong with your axle. :

 

[mclarenf1kid]

I did torque the bearing, as stated on Glacier's write up. I'm talking about the finger tight part, which caused a little bit of play. Tightening the nut just sightly to the next keyway made for a nice, snug fit without beign overtorqued.

Nevertheless, its all fixed now, and I'm quite happy. Drove around all today and no problems; rides better than ever.