rear wheel bearings

[william]

I have be noticing a kinda humming noise from my rear tire for a few weeks and thought it might be the wheel bearings going bad or my tires just getting worn out.
right after i heard the sound i jacked up the car to check for wheel play to see if it was bearings or not. i didnt get any play out of the tire.
and usually with a bad bearing while truing to one side it will quiet up, and while turning there was no change.
So i just figured it was the tire and ran it, well on the way home from work tonight i seemed to be a hair louder and wile turning to the right is got quieter.
Jacked the car up and there is slight wheel play from the passenger side i only have 10-15xxx on the replaced wheel bearings and was wondering if these thing Just need packed and regresses or should i replace them?

also would like to add i have a aspire swap i know that really doesn't make a difference

[Bert]

Since they come apart in fairly short order you could simply re-grease the inners and outers without messing with the races and see how much difference that makes. Also while doing this you could also have a look for scoring or discolouration on the rollers and on the races. It seems to take a bit of practice to install bearings so that they last a long time. I went through quite a few in the early years while using a drift and a hammer.

[william]

Thanks that what ill do and i know what you mean about practice with putting in wheel bearings .
With my stock suspension and crush nuts i was lucky to get 5,000 miles out of them with timkins .
I used national bearings last time and like them

[WmWatt]

What criteria did you use to replace them before, ie at 5k mi? What's different now? You can twist the cones (bearing cage) in the cups (what you called "races", the tapered rings you tap into place in the drum) by hand and feel for rough play. If the hubs are warm after driving without braking much they may need replacing. After reinstalling the drum for any reason I feel the hubs next time I drive to make sure they aren't heating up. (technically races are just the surfaces the bearings roll on)

[GenevaDirt]

I have the same issue...but mine were LOUD...figured I would get it replaced eventually...well...I have to swap the wheels over on the car and decided to pop the bearing cap....well...the nut had backed off. I tightened it up, and all is quiet again. When I say I had the same issue. I mean the exact issue....symptoms...everything, except it was my drivers side.

[Bert]

The bearings make a faint humming noise initially and when they finally let go (some of the rollers score or chip) the hum becomes progressively louder and very fast. As GenevaDirt says; quite often it is a case of the spindle nut becoming loose. This is the very first thing to check for. Personally I hate the older stake nut system and was pleased to discover that later model Festys (93s and some of not all Aspires) use a castle nut and cotter pin. An older style Festy spindle is easily drilled for a cotter pin and I have switched the rears of all my cars over.
I used to seat bearing races with a brass drift and a hammer but have since then used old races and/or a snug-fit large socket as cushion for the hammer. The beauty of using a large 1/2" drive socket is you can mount the socket upside down and still fit an extension on it so that hammer strikes can be nicely centered, as opposed to having to tap from side to side as with a drift or only a socket. In my courier days I was burning through rear bearings bi-monthly and could ultimately replace them from start to finish in 20 minutes on the job. None of my cars has required rear bearings during the past 3 years so I must have learned to do something right.
Ruined bearings are easy to diagnose but worn ones are not obvious. If they're obviously or differentially discoloured at all I automatically change them; I notice up this way that there are 2 grades of bearings and that the price is almost double. Now it could be the Chinese can make equally good bearings for a fraction of the cost of a made in USA bearing and I am willing to take a chance on cheap rear bearings (since they're easy and fast to replace) but not on the front of my cars.

[william]

What criteria did you use to replace them before, ie at 5k mi? What's different now? You can twist the cones (bearing cage) in the cups (what you called "races", the tapered rings you tap into place in the drum) by hand and feel for rough play. If the hubs are warm after driving without braking much they may need replacing. After reinstalling the drum for any reason I feel the hubs next time I drive to make sure they aren't heating up. (technically races are just the surfaces the bearings roll on)

The reason i could only get 5,000 out of them before is because my spindles were trashed when i got the car it had 180,xxx on it and they had only been changed once
the spindles were worron so bad that the bearing would slip around the spindle and get the bearings very hot.

thanks everybody last night after work i pulled the outer bearing and inspected it for wear and heat also checked the races all was well so i re packet them and re-tightened them and there good as new nice and quiet.

[B3Festiva]

Re: rear wheel bearings

I need to do this to my passenger rear, popped the cap off today and it all looked fine to me honestly, ill try and pack some grease in there and re tighten the nut.

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[Bert]

I need to do this to my passenger rear, popped the cap off today and it all looked fine to me honestly, ill try and pack some grease in there and re tighten the nut.

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You will not be able to re-grease effectively via merely pulling the grease cap off. Undo the stake nut and washer and pull the drum off, making sure not to allow the outer bearing to fall on the ground. With a punch or some such it is not difficult to tap out the grease seal at the back. Now you have both sets of bearings in front of you and can clean up and inspect and then re-grease to your heart's content.

[WmWatt]

http://www.photobucket.com/Festiva-backwheel

[B3Festiva]

Re: rear wheel bearings

How tight should the rear hub nut be?

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[Bert]

There are probably specs for this but most folks (myself included) torque them on too tight and then back off the nut just enough that the wheel spins freely again. Whatever torque you do ultimately use won't be much.

[B3Festiva]

Re: rear wheel bearings

Well mine are loose enough to easily turn with a wrench, like very easily as in barely. But it seems like if i tighten it slightly more it doesnt want to roll too easy. It spins but stops itself.

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[B3Festiva]

Re: rear wheel bearings

This is the passenger rear wheel btw

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[rmoltis]

That sounds right. Just tighten it until there is resistance when you try and spin it. Then back off slightly until it rotates freely without resistance and you will be perfect.