Looseness I noticed on the front axle shaft (w/ video)

[TorontoGuy]

While doing my shocks I noticed that there's a lot of play in my axle shaft. I can wiggle the u-joint from behind the rotor and watch the shaft move, as seen in the video. Something's telling me that's not normal. Is this a wheel bearing issue? I planned to do them anyway next weekend, but the hub/rotor are fairly tight and didn't wiggle or move when I tested with the tire on. This is on the drivers side but the passenger side is exactly the same. I also posted a thread last week about noticing some wheel bearing type noises, I'm betting its related to this.

Pardon the shaky video, but you can kind of see the shaft moving side to side while the rest of the hub is perfectly still

http://youtu.be/ghaCBwrHRSE

Let me know what's up.

Cheers!

 

[Anime]

That minor amount of movement is normal. When the hub is installed and the wheel is on, the splined end of the shaft is centered in the hub and doesn't have all that much movement. The passenger side axle also seems to have more play than the driver's side axle due to having two u-joints rather than one.

You would want to be concerned if the shaft didn't move like that, which would indicate the u-joint was seized.

 

[TorontoGuy]

Awesome, thanks for clearing that up. When I see any kind of play like that I get the feeling something is worn out and need replacing.

Another question I have is when I'm re-assembling the hub/rotor/wheel bearings, do I need to grease that shaft at all? Wipe it clean and dry without any grease? How about after everything is re-assembled, should anything there be greased? (Asidefrom the wheel bearings )

 

[Anime]

The entire shaft inside the spindle doesn't need to be greased, but I would say a thin film of grease along most of it, to prevent rust if nothing else, with a little bit more at the very end, just in case the axle end ever comes close to the spindle, would be the way to do it.

There's a good chance grease from the wheel bearings would make it's way there anyway, since it also gets flung into the hubs, but I'd rather have the new, fresh grease there already and prevent wear from the time of assembly. A little extra time and grease is worth it over having to find and buy another spindle or axle.

After it's all assembled, you don't need to grease anything else, otherwise it would just get into the hubs, which some of the grease from the wheel bearings will already do. Make sure you pack the wheel bearings, and put a glob of grease in the rotor, between the wheel bearings, so there is additional grease available.

 

[TorontoGuy]

Thank you very much Anime! You've been a huge help. If you ever find yourself this way, let me know. Cold beverages on me