The grease that counts is whats in the bearing. It's not like oil that circulates. That big glob your indy is stuffing in there is just that... a big glob. As long as you have packed and coated the bearings, thats all you need. Im not one to speak ill of anothers workmanship, but if that is his practice I would sure like to see how he is packing the bearings? To re-pack correctly the bearings SHOULD be cleaned in solvent and packed in the manner described. Cleaning is not absolutely necessay but a good insurance. A correctly maintained bearing and associated parts, should outlast your car! That being said im sure the timkens will be fine. The cotter key is what you slip through the hole in the spindle to lockdown the castle nut that holds the spindle nut in place.

 

got you, perfect, i will be doinf this job myself this weekend, and i will follow your exact same instructions and hopefully this will be the end of all the bearing drama ive been having for the past almost 2 years. i will hand tighten them then roll them back and 8th of a turn and try the wheel on the hub and if everything rolls smooth then i will take off the wheel and put the rotor and caliper on and put everything back. any suggestions as a good way to remove the races if i dont have access to a press? thanks.

 

A drift with a ballpeen hammer for removal will work fine. just keep working it out in a circular motion, meaning dont pick one spot and go to town beating it out. Youll need a vise or something suitable to hold it steady also. When your all done and buttoned up there should be very very slight play in the wheel. Grab it at 12 and 6 and try rocking it back and forth. No play or it feels "loose", you'll need to tweak that nut to get it right. Oh and dont re-use a cotter key... they are cheap and you dont wanna go there if one fails by being reused!

 

I found this video to be pretty infomative as far as adjusting the bearings and the castle knot goes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iMyh...eature=channel

 

Bingo... The reason i said use the wheel to check for lash is because of leverage. With just the rotor it really is a "feel" and after doing a few you will get that. With the wheel... like I said.. you are shooting for a slight movement. Not a loose feeling but grab hold and and with pressure you are looking for a slight rocking action. Taper bearings can take a bit of slop but get em tight and they will drag in the race rather than roll. That dragging action means friction which means heat... you know the rest of that story!

 

will be doing that this weekend. and will keep you posted, thanks for all the great info. by the way since you are very knowledgable about the suspension on these cars, can you tell me how the inner tierod connects to the center link, because i know they sell them in seperate pieces (inner tie rod, center link and outer tie rods) my complete drag link assembly is brand new but i think i have a bit of viberation because where the inner tie rod connects to the center link there is a tiny play and i'm not sure how to tighten it, i took it to a shop and they said that that piece is suppose to be welded and mine is defective, but if the inner tie rod was welded to the center link then there would be no use of selling the inner tie rod seperate so i dont think they know what they are talking about and i'm pretty posetive that i have to use a algator wrench to tie it up, can you confirm that for me. thanks you very much.

 

I have a new extra draglink assembly at the house that Ill look at later for you. Ive seen the outer ends for sale but not the inner. To be honest I never looked either and have just replaced the entire assembly. Im not sure what they would be welding though? those links need to articulate in all directions. I know chasing those vibrations can be a beech. Did you get around to those LCA bushings?

 

The LCA bushings are fine they have no play in them, and also i figured that the day that i changed the drag link assembly my car was riding FANTASTIC, steering was nice and tight, but the next day i was driving down the hill and noticed it felt a bit sloppy again, so i went to the shop and thats what they mentioned is causing the problem, ive seen the inner tie rod links all over ebay, if you go on there and type clk inner tie rod they pop up, i attached a picture that i took yesterday, the area that is circled in yelleow is where the inner tie rod attaches to the center link and the arrow is showing the connect point, there is a minor play in that about 1 or 2 mm.

 

Ohhh.. Ic! I thought u meant the joint itself. Yes for that im sure a simple tack weld would work. Then a trip to the alignment shop of course. I believe that is a press fit so no way to tighten it...?

 

so when you change the inner tie rods only you have to have them pressed into the center link?

 

No I was referring to what you circled as being a press fit and that would not appear to be a servicable point. A picklefork and a few hammer blows will seperate your linkage once the castle nut is removed. Instalation is just a matter crankin down on the nut till it seats.

 

the part that i circled is the part that the inner tie rod attaches to the center link, isnt that correct?

 

Sorry.. been busy with work so havent had the chance to verify with the part as opposed to your pic. I know the outers are servicable but going by memory and your pic, I dont think the inners are. The norm would be to replace the center as a whole and reuse the outers IFthey were still good. Most case would just be better to swap out the entire link but since yours is new, that doesnt sound like a good option. With the play you are describing, it does sound like a defective part. Thoughts on warr replacement??

 

Ok... I think I see what you were getting at but but the inner link seperates at a different location than where you circircled as having movement. Still looks like a couple tacks at the spot and you should be good ta go. All the adjusting is done at the outter end so should not affect the function.

 

whatsup bobbyjo9, i just came back upstairs from working on the car, i too everything out and the i tried everything and the bearing races were just not having it. they didnt come out, so i just decided to take it to a shop on monday and make sure that once they are ready to install them back they do exactly what you told me to do.

 

Better safe than sorry I say! By having them pressed in, they should be fully seated and true, so you'll be able to end the headache of so many replacements. The fact they are tight is a good sign that the hub is still in good shape.

 

last minute i found a local shop that had the races removed and had a race driver tool and pressed them in with the race drive and hammer. they looked great and nice and tight. so i repacked the bearings with mobile 1 grease and made sure to push the grease from one side til it pops out the other side. then put a layer on the races and put a generouse amount on the outside the bearing and a layer on the spindle and put new rear seals and dust cups. once i installed them i put the rottor on and spun the rotter a few time and kep loosening and tightening the castle knot to make sure the bearings are seated right. and then i tightened the castle knot not with any pressure at all and just normal hand tight with a large plliar and then backed it an 1/8 of a turn and tighten the cotter lock. i checked the rottor s to see if they had any play and there was no play and when i spun them there was no noise and no play so put everything back on, and i made sure i clean everything during the install, so hopefully this will end all headaches. i also checked the spindle and i didnt notice any damage except the normal few scratches that happens when you slid the hob in and out but no surface damage or anything. although the problem was just with my driver side i figured that the guy that did my bearings last time probably tightened the castle knots too much and also i dont remember him doing the adjustments.

also when i was having the races removed the guy that pressed them out said there was nothing wrong with my races but i had him remove them and press the new ones in again just to be safe and he only charged me $20 and i found out that my bearings were under warranty from auto zone (timken bearing made in usa) so all this job cost me was about $35 for the seals, dust cups and the pressing. the only thing that sucked is that i did this job with a 100 fever since i got really sick but had no choice i haave to drive a long way this coming week so had to strapp on my boots and go to battle, lol.

i feel like absolute crap right now so i will take it for a test drive tomorrow and update you.