wheel movement

[dpb]

I had the car up and tested the wheels for movement, holding top and bottom and rocking them. One wheel moved about 1/8th of an inch and I could definitely feel it rock. None of the others moved (although the rears need the brakes adjusting - hard to turn).

 

Is a small movement ok ? Or should I be tightening up the nut? Or is it indicative of a bigger problem - bearings etc?

 

 

Cheers
Dave

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[RogerH]

Hi Dave,

if the loose wheel was on the front then it is simple to tighten slightly - I would have thought 1/8 was a little too much.

 

The back wheels need the brakes slackened off to be able to feel any play or worse still an rumbling from the bearing.

Spin the wheel and listen for any odd rumbles etc. Then slowly rotate it with you hand on it and feel for any vibration/roughness.

 

Roger

[dpb]

Thank you Roger. I'll be doing those checks. It was the front wheel that moved.

 

Cheers
Dave

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[Geko]

2 mm movement is ok. Tighten the castel nut until it locks (one "umph" is good) and try again. If no movement then undo until you have a 1 mm movement and refit the pin. If you still have a movement after locking the castel nut then the problem is somewhere else i.e. trunion, ball joints etc... The facts that the movement occurs only on one side should raise an orange flag though....

[boxofbits]

Hi Dave

 

Just to add to the comments above, not sure if your car has wire wheels or steels.

 

I found similar movement in my N/S/F the other day and it appears to be coming from the splines on the hub for the wire wheel. It is not as easy to detect moving the wheel from 9 O'Clock to 3 O' Clock as you pick up movement in the steering rack. If you have steels obviously that won't apply.

 

Regards

 

Kevin

[dpb]

Steel Minilites (or possibly replicas), Sorry I should have mentioned that earlier!. Idiot!

 

Tightening the castle nut is a good idea.

 

Thanks
Dave

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[tim hunt]

Dave, I would lock the front wheel in question, either with the help of an assistant or by placing a suitably heavy weight on the brake pedal and then again feel for the movement you described. If it has disappeared this confirms the play was coming from the wheel bearing. If any play is still present then you need to look elsewhere in the suspension - top ball joint/trunnion? I am assuming of course that you checked the wheel nuts for tightness!

 

Tim

[dpb]

Hi Tim

 

I just did the brake test and the wheel movement disappeared. So definitely the wheel bearing then? Can it be adjusted by tightening up the castle nut?

 

Dave

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[Graze]

Tim

 

Yes it can

 

Just don't overtighten it. Back it off slightly with a LARGE spanner then let the spanner drop from say 2.00 o'clock position. That should tighten it sufficiently. Then re install the split pin

 

Graze

[dpb]

Adjusted this morning. The nut did seem too loose on dismantling. Have tightened up and backed off half a flat. Now no movement. Thank you.

 

Rear brake adjusters next.

Dave

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[tim hunt]

Glad you got it sorted Dave, good news. The 4A workshop manual was a bit convoluted on front hub adjustment. I preferred the guidelines in the TR6 manual, after all the design is identical -'Tighten the slotted nut to 5 lb ft and slacken the nut one flat to allow insertion of a new split pin. The required end float is 0.003 to 0.005" '. This is best described as just perceptible movement when the wheel is checked at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions. If in doubt it is far far better to have the bearings a little slack rather than too tight and risk overheating and subsequent failure since no allowance has been made for expansion. Some mechanics are unfamiliar with taper roller bearings and the requirement for some free play. This can lead to interesting discussions at MOT time. In the past I have found it useful to be armed with the workshop manual on these occasions.

 

Tim