Rear wheel bearings changed but still a little a bit of play

[chomerly]

Hi,

A couple of weekends ago i had changed both of my rear wheel bearings.

I started on the drivers side first and after getting off, cleaning the shaft and then refitting the new one, i re-assembled that corner and then fitted the wheel.
I gripped the wheel at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions and there was some play.
I tried the 12 & 6 o'clock positions and there was no play at all.

I had tightened up the nut using my mates torque bar which is designed for trucks. A proper hefty piece of kit.
I took it as far as i could possibly do it by myself and believe me. I put effort into it as though i was doing a dead lift.
I took the wheel back off and the brake disc and double checked everything but there was nothing out of the ordinary that i could see.

I decided to check the other side while the back if the car was in the air.
I hadn't even taken the wheel off of this side at this point but when i gripped the wheel at the the 9 & 3 o'clock positions there was the same level of play in this too.
When i did get around to changing the passenger side bearing i had made sure that everything was as it should be.
Once that corner was fully re-assembled i performed the check again and even though this bearing was new there was still the same amount of play.

I wanted to ask if this is normal.
I haven't damaged the new bearings when putting them on.
I greased the shaft and the inner bearing collar and used my 40mm socket with a rubber hammer to get it on until there was enough thread exposed on the shaft for the nut to do the rest.
Also, the Haynes manual states that the required torque level for the wheel bearing nut should be 202ft lbs but when i saw the dial on the wrench it was hitting the 600+ mark.

I don't get any abnormal road noise outside of that the tyres give off when driving.


Any ideas?

[jasper5]

It's possible to have damaged the new bearings by overtightening.

What I would do is to check whether the play is actually in the wheel bearing or somewhere else.

To check if the play is in the wheel bearing do your 6/12 check whilst someone presses the brake.....if the play is removed then the play is in the wheel bearing, if the play remains then the problem lays elsewhere.

[ally406]

Yep, there could be play in the horizontal link bar or the lower arm bush. Both of these items will cause play in the wheel and could appear as if the bearing is knackered.

Horizontal link bar is not too bad a job if it comes off without a fight. I'm going to guess that this is the problem given play at 9 and 3 o'clock.

The lower arm bush is a more serious bit or work. You can remove the hub assembly from the car and get a garage to remove and press in a new bush, or there is a special tool for the job that allows you to do it in situ (around £50 I think, Sealy make it).

In either case you should get 4 wheel alignment done after the job. Use decent quality parts or you'll be doing them again very soon (Motaquip or OE I would recommend).

[craigtd]

i agree, i would check for play in the rear links as this is a common fault,sometimes you will get rear trye ware if there is alot of play.

[Gary406]

i would also say its top links. very common on the 406's . as with the droplinks on the front.

[chomerly]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies.

Jasper:

There is no play in the wheels when gripping them at the 12 & 9 o'clock positions.
It is limited to 9 & 3 o'clock.

When I did the drivers side, I originally tightened up the nut to the torque settings as stated in the Haynes manual I have.
I didn't lock the nut by using a punch and hammer to mould it into the retention groove in the shaft straight away as I read somewhere to check for any play before doing so.
It was when I assembled that corner and put the wheel on that I did te checks and found the play.
This prompted me to test the other side and that wheel, even though I hadn't yet removed it, did the same and had the same amount of play.
This prompted me to take the wheel back off the drivers side and try to tighten it even more which I was able to do until there was no more movement.


Ally406:

I was thinking that the lower arm bush may be the cause as the rubber on each side for both corners look a little perished.

I know that this job will be a pain which is why I'm thinking that the garage can do them at the same time as the linkages are done.
I also have some brand new torsion bar bushes they can fit too.

For the lower arm bushes, are they the same as these?
http://www.euroautomotive.co.uk/peugeot ... 2004-p-681


Craigtd:

The drop links don't look bad if I'm honest.
I'm guessing they were changed not long before I had bought the car which has been a couple of years now.
I suppose it's best just to change them anyway as they are cheap enough to buy.

Gary406:

I do have new parts to fit anyway so I'll get them changes as soon as.

[Gary406]

make sure the inner bolt goes back the same way. the inner bolt adjusts the camber of the wheel. what i do is mark 3 lines with permanent marker across the bolt and onto the bracket. once new link fitted you need to line these 3 pen lines up and tighten in same way. other wise you will need to get a 4 wheel lazer tracking done to put all 4 wheels back in line

[chomerly]

Hi all,

Just to update this thread, the play in the rear wheels has now been solved.

Having changed the rear wheel linkages and struggling over two glorious sunny days in the process, the movement i was talking about in my first post has now been solved.
I'm amazed that i hadn't seen this when i changed the wheel bearing but the top linkages where in need of replacement as the ball joint moved around so easily.
the worst part was getting off the linkages that secure the hub to the torsion bar. In the end i had to use an angle grinder in order to cut through most of the nut and crack it with a cold chisel and they come off with a single hit.
Looking at the car now though, it seems to sit a little higher but it will need to have the wheels aligned prior to going for it's MOT which will be done first thing on Monday morning.

I've also done the front brake discs, pads and also changed the drop link while i was there.
The only thing i haven't done is change the lower ball joint but to be honest, they looked in pretty good condition.
They may be a job for another sunny weekend.

[ally406]

Top work mate I'm happy you didn't have to tackle to lower rose joint bush, what a sh*t. Make sure your wheel alignment place knows their onions. The 406 should be set to the Peugeot specified ride height before proceeding with 4 wheel alignment. Ideally see if you can find a place with the Hunter DSP system. http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/

[chomerly]

Hi Ally,

I'm glad that I didn't have to tackle that bush either.
The only bushes I do want to have a go at we're the ones for the torsion bar.

I do have some new ones but after the fun of doing the rear linkages it took all the ambition out of me.
I know they are not really a big job so I may just leave it for another day.

The place I go for my tyres also does wheel alignment and they use one of those 3D wheel alignment systems.
They're great bits of kit and shows you the exact alignment down to the millimetre.
The Porsche specialists down the road also use the same system.

Watching them do it was well interesting and it showed me how far out the alignment was.
Surprisingly the grin wheels were also well out and since having it done, in combination with all the bits I've done, the car now drives super smooth.

To say I'm happy is an understatement.
It's just a shame that I need to exchange her for an estate, 4x4 or van for work.