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  #1  
Old 08-14-2004, 10:41 PM
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C280 - New bearing - pulls to the left now

I replaced the front drivers side bearings - inner/outer/seal

Used ~60 grams of synthetic grease

Erred on the loose side - Made sure not to overtighten them.

Now the car pulls some to the left - i.e. after taking you hand off the wheel going 50 or so - about 4 seconds it starts to wonder left.




The bearings seem happy - No smell from the hub like burnt greese or anything

No grease leaking out.

Both rims by the hub feel as hot as each other after going 80 mph.

No hum/whine/vibes from 0-85mph

Now I'm wondering if I'm just being to paranoid and the car maybe did this before.

Or is this normal?

Thanks,

Chad.

96 C280 sport

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  #2  
Old 08-14-2004, 11:07 PM
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You may need an alignment if one was done with a bad wheel bearing in place.

Too much clearance will show up and wander and pull, though, until the bearing fries in service. You did pull it up TIGHT before setting the clearance, didn't you?

Peter
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  #3  
Old 08-14-2004, 11:27 PM
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You mean hold the hub tightly against the spindle - yes




The adjusting nut was just right before hand tight before I locked it.

After the tire was on I gave it a good spin and it spun forever.





When you measure the hub to adjust it - Is that by rocking the hub like push/pull on opposite sides - wiggle I'd guess you'd say - or is that measured when pushing and pulling the hub straight in/out.
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  #4  
Old 08-14-2004, 11:33 PM
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You need to tighten the nut until the wheel becomes significantly more difficult to turn -- this seats the bearings and races (if you replaced them, as I strongly recommend). Otherwise, the grease will hold the bearings off the races or the races themselves may not be all the way down. Loose bearings result.

Clearance can be set by either the "crapshoot" method -- when tight as above, back off the nut 1/3 turn, then lock -- or by using a dial indicator to get just at 0.001" clearance straight in and out.

It's normal to have a slight drag -- there is grease in there, after all!

I would suspect your bearing is still a bit loose.

Peter
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1972 220D ?? miles
1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
1972 280 SE 4.5 165, 000 - It runs!
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  #5  
Old 08-14-2004, 11:35 PM
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hmm - yeah I never tightened it so tight that it got hard to turn -

I assume I should use a wrench to do that?




Will it hurt those bearing to let my car sit overnight with them a little loose?

So when I measure the .001" - It should be with me pulling the hub straigh in and out correct?
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  #6  
Old 08-15-2004, 08:24 PM
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Yes, you must use a wrench.

Clearance is for straight in and out -- if you can feel the nub move, they are too loose.

Won't hurt to sit a day or two, but driving it much will cause excessive wear.

Peter
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1988 300E 200,012
1987 300D Turbo killed 9/25/07, 275,000 miles
1985 Volvo 740 GLE Turobodiesel 218,000
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  #7  
Old 08-15-2004, 10:06 PM
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Try swapping the tires side to side in the front and see if the condition reverses. If it does and the tires are similar all four, rotate front to back and see if it is the same.
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  #8  
Old 08-18-2004, 09:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psfred
You need to tighten the nut until the wheel becomes significantly more difficult to turn...Clearance can be set by either the "crapshoot" method -- when tight as above, back off the nut 1/3 turn, then lock -- or by using a dial indicator to get just at 0.001" clearance straight in and out...
According to the MB shop manual, clearance/play should be .01 - .02 millimeters. Conversion for a non-metric dial indicator is .01 millimeters equals 0.00039 inches, and .02 millimeters equals 0.00079 inches. You need to see the needle move between .0004 and .0008 inches. I watched for 1 graduation (.0005") on mine.
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  #9  
Old 08-18-2004, 07:33 PM
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OK - CAR STILL PULLS!

And now it shakes like a dump truck at 80mph.



So which is it? .001" or .0008" - no one seems to know the real value - I'm so pissed.
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  #10  
Old 08-19-2004, 08:13 AM
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I quoted the correct bearing play from the shop manual for a W126. I apologize for not being specific in citing the reference, but as I had researched this on the forum, many others were offering similar advice on setting bearings for many models/years. If this is not the right value for your car, someone else will have to provide it. But .001" is a LOT of play, unless Mercedes has radically redesigned the front axle/bearing assembly.
Did you try Stevebfl's suggestion, which should tell you whether the problem is axle/hub/bearing or wheel/tire?
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  #11  
Old 08-19-2004, 09:06 AM
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Unless you have severely overtightened the bearing or have the wrong ones in there it is almost inconcievable that the bearing has anything to do with the pull.

If it is shaking it sounds like you have a tire coming apart.
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  #12  
Old 08-19-2004, 12:16 PM
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Tires are fine


so which is it?

.001 or .0008?
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  #13  
Old 08-19-2004, 12:53 PM
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Like donbryce said, play should be set to 0.01 - 0.02 mm (0.0004 - 0.0008"). I wouldn't get too excited if it was set to 0.0010" -- after all, it's better than any shadetree method, plus the spec for checking the play during inspection is 0.01 - 0.05 mm (0.0004 - 0.0020").

Though your tires may look fine, the tread may be delaminating on the inside. This would cause tremendous shaking.
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  #14  
Old 08-19-2004, 01:45 PM
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I seriously doubt the tires - the car did neither two days ago - and started RIGHT after I changed the bearing - as in first test drive.
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  #15  
Old 08-19-2004, 02:08 PM
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The shaking and pulling to one side cannot be from the bearing, it has to be something else. If I remember correctly, the rotor and caliper have to come off to do the bearing. I recommend revisiting the rotors and calipers. Hopefully you'll find the cause of your problem there.

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