Hello all,
Been awhile since I’ve posted but I need some help from the forum- I’ve created a front wheel bearing issue with my ’66 Mustang that I cannot figure out. I’ve made numerous attempts to repair as I will explain here and yes- I’ve searched but have been unable to resolve. So here goes… About 3 weeks ago, I had a soft brake pedal and decided to check it out. Expecting to find leaking wheel cylinders or other issue, everything looked good so I left untouched- the car sits around a lot these days and the fluid in the master cylinder was low. Topped it off and brakes are strong again. While I was in there, I notice crusty outer front wheel bearings and decided it was time to replace both front driver and passenger inner and outer wheel bearings. Mind you, the car was driving perfectly fine at the time- I could get it up to highway speeds with no sounds, wobble, etc. Just crusty old grease that hadn’t been changed in a long time was my decision to change them out. So I started the process- took off the drum-hub assembly, removed the inner oil seal, removed the bearings, tapped out the inner and outer races with a hammer and punch, tapped the new races in until they bottomed out, packed the new inner and outer bearings real good with grease and set them in the races, tapped in the new inner oil seal and reinstalled the drum-hub on the spindle, washer, bolted down the lock nut and set the preload to torque spec, backed it off and set it to final torque spec, castle nut, cotter pin, dust cap and wheels back on. I only did the passenger side then went for my test drive. At first, in reverse and low gear everything seems fine but then approaching 30mph there is a noticeable wobble and knocking sound coming from the front passenger wheel. After disassembling multiple times to inspect the wheel for any 12to6 or 9to3 movement (none), suspension components (newer and no play), spindle (looks good), make sure the races have bottomed out (sound), changing the new bearings & races out again with my other new set (not a new parts problem), resetting pre-load about ten different ways (high/low specs, hand tight), etc, etc… none of the normal problems were screaming at me. New bearings used were the same manufacturer as the old ones. So then I swapped the drum-hub assembly over to the driver’s side and with a test drive the problem has followed over. So my problem is inside the drum-hub-bearing assembly that I was working on. The process of swapping sides did involve me setting what was the untouched drivers side drum-hub assembly over on passenger side- I’m not sure if this eliminates an installer issue but I thought I’d mention it. All this being said, I’m now stuck on what the problem could be or what steps to take next…. I still feel like it’s got to be a bearing issue because of the knocking sound but cant find it. I’m open to any suggestions at this point… maybe an imbalance issue with the drum to hub? Any suggestions are appreciated in advance.
Thanks.
Been awhile since I’ve posted but I need some help from the forum- I’ve created a front wheel bearing issue with my ’66 Mustang that I cannot figure out. I’ve made numerous attempts to repair as I will explain here and yes- I’ve searched but have been unable to resolve. So here goes… About 3 weeks ago, I had a soft brake pedal and decided to check it out. Expecting to find leaking wheel cylinders or other issue, everything looked good so I left untouched- the car sits around a lot these days and the fluid in the master cylinder was low. Topped it off and brakes are strong again. While I was in there, I notice crusty outer front wheel bearings and decided it was time to replace both front driver and passenger inner and outer wheel bearings. Mind you, the car was driving perfectly fine at the time- I could get it up to highway speeds with no sounds, wobble, etc. Just crusty old grease that hadn’t been changed in a long time was my decision to change them out. So I started the process- took off the drum-hub assembly, removed the inner oil seal, removed the bearings, tapped out the inner and outer races with a hammer and punch, tapped the new races in until they bottomed out, packed the new inner and outer bearings real good with grease and set them in the races, tapped in the new inner oil seal and reinstalled the drum-hub on the spindle, washer, bolted down the lock nut and set the preload to torque spec, backed it off and set it to final torque spec, castle nut, cotter pin, dust cap and wheels back on. I only did the passenger side then went for my test drive. At first, in reverse and low gear everything seems fine but then approaching 30mph there is a noticeable wobble and knocking sound coming from the front passenger wheel. After disassembling multiple times to inspect the wheel for any 12to6 or 9to3 movement (none), suspension components (newer and no play), spindle (looks good), make sure the races have bottomed out (sound), changing the new bearings & races out again with my other new set (not a new parts problem), resetting pre-load about ten different ways (high/low specs, hand tight), etc, etc… none of the normal problems were screaming at me. New bearings used were the same manufacturer as the old ones. So then I swapped the drum-hub assembly over to the driver’s side and with a test drive the problem has followed over. So my problem is inside the drum-hub-bearing assembly that I was working on. The process of swapping sides did involve me setting what was the untouched drivers side drum-hub assembly over on passenger side- I’m not sure if this eliminates an installer issue but I thought I’d mention it. All this being said, I’m now stuck on what the problem could be or what steps to take next…. I still feel like it’s got to be a bearing issue because of the knocking sound but cant find it. I’m open to any suggestions at this point… maybe an imbalance issue with the drum to hub? Any suggestions are appreciated in advance.
Thanks.
