wheel bearing still good but wheel klunks?

[gogogsr]

Hey guys, i've noticed a klunking noise on the my driver side front wheel, so i decided to inspect it. I jacked the truck and checked for play, it's not the ball joints or the tie rod, i believe it's the bearing. So i went on and unbolt the wheel and did a bearing adjustment, etc. I noticed there was alot of side to side play on the axle (when i grab the splines and move them side to side, up and down, etc). Is it possible that the spindle needle bearing might be shot and is the culprit of this wheel klunking noise??? Thanks guys. Just so you know, i've tighten the bearing nut (2-3/8 nut) all the way in with my breaker bar and retigthen the wheel, just to see if the slack was still there, and it was, so i believe the wheel bearings are fine. Thanks guys

 

[Anime]

A klunk can be anything from a bad radius arm bushing, to just a loose/bottomed out radius arm nut, worn shocks, seized brakes, broken caliper pins or anti-rattle clips, a single worn ball joint, or either the inner or outer bearing.

Overtightening the 2 3/8 nut will crush the bearing though, and give you big problems. The nut should only be torqued to spec, then turned counterclockwise 90 degrees and locked in place with the key.

If you can't find anything obvious, removal of the rotor and inspection of the seals and bearings should reveal the cause, possibly worn/loose bearings that weren't maintained with grease at the recommended intervals and need replacing.

 

[gogogsr]

i did replace both inner and outer wheel bearing last spring and ecverything was fine all winter long. I've just tigthen the nut all the way to check if the slack was still there, i've torqued them back to specs afterward. The slack was still noticeable with the nut tigten all the way in. Like i said earlier, if i hold the splines of the shaft in my hand, there's play on the the shaft from side to side. I guess i'll have to remove the disk and inspect the needle bearing. Thanks for the help ANIME.

 

[BWTGUY]

I just finished replacing both of mine. I used the TIMKEN Part # SBK4 kits purchased from Rock Auto. Cost was $ 9.72 ea (Two required) plus shipping. My cost was $31.44 to Cal. These are for the Dana 35 axle.

It took me 2 hours for the first one and 45 minutes for the second (I almost knew what I was doing by then). WARNING WILL ROBINSON! Make D***n sure the bearing is seated all the way to the bottom of the bearing socket in the carrier or the splined washer/spacer will not allow you to set the C clip (also fondly referred to as the JESUS! Clip as it flies off the axel shaft...somewhere).

Lots O’ luck.

This statement is about the front wheel spindle bearings. Sorry I was not more explicit.

 

[Anime]

The inspection should be with the wheel mounted, not just the nut on the axle shaft since the wheel on the lugs pulls the assembly together. If there's no play side to side/up and down with the wheel on tight and jacked up off the ground, there shouldn't be a problem. If you're getting a klunk but the wheel/tire has no play, I would suggest looking at the radius arm mounts/bushings, ball joints, and the rest of the suspension/driveline before redoing something there might not be an issue with.

If the assembly is loose with the wheel mounted though, and nothing is apparent, you should definitely check the bearings themselves, the bearing races in the disc, and the bearings and seals in the spindle. You should also inspect the U-joints in the drive axle, if they are the factory originals or were cheap replacements, they could be toast and have some serious slop in them.

You should probably not have tightened the bearings all the way in, and especially not with a breaker bar. They are strong but you can still do damage if you put such torque on it in a direction it's not designed to see such forces from. You might need to replace the bearings or other parts if overtightening caused anything beyond whatever the noise issue was.

If you don't find a problem with the bearings, and it all goes back together nice and there's no play once it's been torqued/driven/checked, you'll need to look at the other suggestions for the cause.

If it's still loose and has play and the noise but you can't pin down the bad/loose part, you might wind up having to replace parts until something works.