Help...! Front Bearing install: what am I doing wrong??
 

So I'm right in the middle of this w/my 300D w123 (1982), popped in the new bearing kit and tapped the seal in place. Lots of grease. Then, I can't get the wheel back full on the spindle. So I try and pull it off.... stuck... pull harder, and it leaves bearing and oil seal behind. Did I pop the bearing in bass-ackwards or is it at least facing the right direction?

Hard to tell from the shop manual. See below!

-Chuck

http://www.chuckwyatt.com/images/spindle.jpg

That is the inside bearing, correct?
If so, that is mounted in the hub off the car, and a sealed bearing gets tapped on to hold that one in.
The outside bearing goes on after you've got the hub assembly back on the car, then that spin on split nut, that you need to tighten just right.
Hope this helps.

Chuck,
Tap the bearing from the back side to get it off. Then see if it will fit onto the axle by itself (ie: not installed in the hub.) You may have had the hub somewhat misaligned and the bearing jammed as it tried to go on at an angle.

Exactly.

The fit between the bearing bore and the spindle is very tight..........001" or so. Any foreign material on the spindle.........or any burr.........will prevent the bearing from seating.

I've had the need to polish the spindle with 400 paper to remove the slight bit of surface corrosion to allow the bearing to seat easily.

I'd definitely use some Scotchbrite and/or 400 paper and spend 10 minutes or so to polish it very well.

Thanks Brian and TF! I had installed it into the wheel, off the spindle, but I guess I hadn't tapped the oil seal far enough in. All seems well now! Ready for a test drive.

That is one MESSY job! :rolleyes:

Hmmm... so I did my test run and seems like less noise. I did the passenger front side. Now after the test drive, about 6 miles or so, I touched both front grease caps. The drivers side one is HOT to the touch. Maybe that one needs a re-do as well???

Did you use a dial indicator to adjust the Wheel Bearing clearance/end play?
I thought I could adjust my Front Wheel Bearing by feel as I had done on all of my other vehicles.
I ended up overheating the grease in the hub and haveing to clean out the over heated grease and start again.
I now have a Dial Indicator and Magnetic base to hold it and do the job they way the Factory Manual wants me to.

You only have to use a dial indictor once to realize that there are no good substitutes.

I guess I'm off to get a dial indicator...

I use fine emery cloth tape- from the plumbing dept. to clean spindles. I like to touch up where the seal rides, too.

I also have thought that the dial indicator was not really needed- and have had to replace one set rear and one set front bearings because of this.:o

them German engineers mean business.

Whats this dial indicator business? I've never heard of using a dial indicator for a wheel bearing... or did I miss the joke?

..........you've been sleeping........;)

The dial indicator is used to set bearing clearance. You cannot do it accurately by feel. The specification is .0005" loose.

Make sure the caps are filled w/grease up to the lip of the cap before installing.

OK, so I've got the dial gauge and the magnetic stand for it. What's the process, somehow I mount it on the center of the hub, give a spin and measure (?).

-Chuck

Mount the stand somewhere on the hub/rotor. Dial gauge on the end of the axle. Don't spin anything. Pull on the rotor/hub, adjusting the axle nut until you get just .0005" (actually .0004-.0008") movement on the indicator. (Approx half way between zero and the first index marking.)

In simple terms, you want to adjust the axle nut to allow a very slight amount of axial movement.

It might be interesting to check your original adjustment before you loosen the nut.