Wheel slack.

[david_lowder]

First Post! Just replaced the front wheel bearings, rotor, caliper, and brakes on my '94 Navajo. This site was a great help. Thank you.

I still have some slack in the driver side. If I jack up the front end and grab the tire top and bottom I can feel some slack in the wheel. I removed the wheel and I can feel the slack by doing the same thing to the rotor, but the slack is not in the new bearings I just installed. The whole front assembly moves (caliper, and that shield that protects the inside of the rotor).

I can't tell if it's in that joint (is that the ball joint?) or not. Is there another bearing on the axle in close to the differential?

When I bought this a few years back I could tell the bushings in that joint on the passenger side were new, but couldn't tell what exactly had been done. Now I'm wondering if I need to replace the bushings on the driver side or pull the axle?

Appreciate any advice you can offer.

 

[Tbars4]

...You have an inner and outer wheel bearing inside of he rotor...

...If you have replaced both bearings and races in your rotor your problem could still exist in a bad/warn rotor..This is of course true if you have already verified the spindle nuts are properly tightened also...

..If these check out ok, a common sign of bad ball joints is to grab the wheel itself at 12 and 6 o'clock and if it wiggles a bit, you have a ball joint problem.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the stock 91-94 section. It sounds like it could have bad ball joints.

 

[92exp4x4]

My money is on the ball joints. If the person before you said they did bushings, chances are they replaced the radius arm bushings, as these are a commonly destroyed item on these aging suspentions.

 

[david_lowder]

Thanks. I appreciate the help. The radius arm bushings are next on my list after the ball joint. Then on to some of the other bushings...

 

[92exp4x4]

You may want to do the pivot bushings at the same time as the R/As. I think it is easier to remove the whole axle from the truck than it is to grind rivets on the brackets. Plus its all done at one time and its not coming apart twice. Although you may need to replace the brackets if the bushings are bad enough, and the hole is worn oblong.

 

[david_lowder]

Most of the bushings "look" OK. I can tell from the ride that they need to be replaced, but I'm hoping since they look OK that they have not worn so much as to let the hole in that bracket wear out.

Lot's of searching and reading to do now....