Play in front wheel bearings?

[jamcamz]

Hello all,
I have an 02 Explorer XLT 4.0L SOHC ,2 WD, 163000 miles, that I picked up a few weeks ago. It has a vibration that can be felt when running between 55 and 65 mph but is pretty smooth above or below that range. Upon inspection of the front end everything seems to be in decent shape except that there is play in both front wheel bearings. With the tire off the ground and hands at 12 and 6 I can rock the tire and see, feel, and hear the play. The outside of the tires will move about 1/16th of an inch and will make a "clunking" sound. Both sides rotate smoothly (cant feel any grinding, or hear any noise while spinning). I assume there should be no play in the bearings but wanted to get reassurance before I spend the money to replace.

So after all that my questions are...
Is that play normal for the wheel bearings on these vehicles?
Can that be the cause of the vibration?

Thanks for reading.

 

[swshawaii]

Have you ruled out the ball joints?

 

[jamcamz]

The boot around the upper ball joints are toast but the ball joints themselves have no play in them (yet). They are on the list for replacement but I am more concerned with the wheel bearings? Should they have any play at all?

 

[Number4]

Along the lines of what swshawaii said. This type of hub bearing usually doesn't have noticeable play when bad. But your lower ball joint may.

 

[jamcamz]

I agree that it could be the ball joints causing the vibration but I can see the play when I rock the tire. The wheel bearing assembly moves before any of the suspension even has any pressure on it (probably not making much sense). Almost like a traditional wheel bearing with a center nut would be if it were too loose. It doesn't have any other symptoms of a bad wheel bearing - just the play.

 

[mez4406]

If this veh is two wheel drive it has old style rotors that ride on a spindle with an adjustment nut in the center under a dust cap. perfectly normal to have a small amount of play in it. you adjust it by tightening to zero lash and back off one notch of the cotter pin slot. not the source of your vibration. Usually at that speed it is a tire vibration. Ball joints dont cause vibrations if they were that bad to cause a vibration they probably fell out already. vibrations at that speed are caused by rotating components.

 

[jamcamz]

nope not the old type (no spindle). I was just making a comparison.
So nobody knows if the wheel bearings should have play in them??

 

[Number4]

If you have the hub assembly, the answer is no. I found the tolerance online at one point. It was minimal and if I remember correctly could only be checked with the tire off and with the use of a crowbar (or the like) to move the hub. So if you have visible movement I'd say its bad.

 

[jamcamz]

That's what i was leaning toward. I just found it odd (and was hoping it was normal) that both sides have roughly the same amount of play but no other signs of being bad.

Thanks for the reply.