Hi Folks
My 84 300D with 130K on it has a slight play in the rear wheels (when I wiggle the wheel back an forth by hand). I recently did the front brakes and bearings, and that seemed to go well. I am doing a lot of highway driving lately, and after about two hours on the road I felt my rear wheels and axles and the were somewhat hot. I don't know if this is normal or not. The rear end is cool. There is no noise or vibration. I am not quite prepared to do the rear bearings at this time. But I am wondering if I should take this on a 400 mi. round trip tomorrow.
Anyone with any experience on how long I can go before doing my rear bearings?
What would you do?

A little hot is probably normal. Signs of something about to fail are noise, leaking fluids, excessive play. If it is going to break down there are countless things that may fail.

if they are indeed failing, how long you can go is equal to something between 0 miles, and the distance at which they fail completely. your guess is as good as anyone elses, or even the magic eight ball. bearings usually get quite noisy as they're failing, making a loud howling at freeway speeds. if you continue to drive after receiving this audible warning, a bearing can eventually lock up solid, which results in loss of control of the vehicle, and if at freeway speeds, a serious collision is almost inevitable.

step one is to identify the source of the problem, if you indeed have one. bearings can be inspected, and if good, then cleaned, and repacked. shiny flakes and sparkles in the bearings grease = failed bearing. any pitting, scoring, or heat discoloration also = failed bearings.

Thanks for the input! I think I'll go ahead and do it. It has been driving very well over all. I just wasn't sure how hot those wheels and axles get. The front wheels felt much cooler to the touch. I'll just say a prayer and keep an eye on things. My next post might be from the passenger seat in a tow truck though. ( I hope not, it hasn't been towed yet)

Are you sure it is not your rear brakes or parking brake sticking and dragging?

No one to My knowlege has reported a problem with their Wheel Bearings front or rear after they adjusted the End Play properly with a Dial Indicator.
If you can wiggle the Rear Wheel/s it sound like at ther very least you need to check the Rear Bearing End Play; if you do that you might as well check the Fronts also.

Besides the normal heat that develop there is dragging Brakes.
Jack the Car up safely; start the Engine and have someone step on and release the Brake. Turn the Wheels by Hand and see if the Brake Calipers are sticking.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Agree; most likely sticking calipers.

Brake hoses of this age need to be replaced. They swell internally and will hold slight pressure on the calipers.
This acts like a check valve in worst case. Press the brake pedal and the brake hose expands. Release the brake pedal and the hose collapses holding the caliper pistons in the 'braking' position.

You have play in one rear wheel or both rear wheels? If you do have a bearing on it`s way out, it would only effect the one side and not both sides, unless they both got tired at the same time. the rears are long lived and haven`t read too much on them failing.

I thought my R/R bearing was starting to go, but this was around 360K miles. I just swapped in Trailing Arms from a lower milage W123 when I was replacing the Trailing Arm bushings and Sub Frame bushings.

The rear bearings are not like the fronts where they can be pulled out and repacked. the rears are a sealed bearing. here is a DIY.
PeachPartsWiki: Replacing the Rear Wheel Bearings

A failing master Cylinder can cause the Calipers to not fully release and let the brake pads drag and over heat.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Im guessing this is the case - bad/hard rubber in the hoses and in the seals in the calipers that pull the piston back.

I noted that my very low mileage 240D tires were a bit warm though the pressure is spec and the car runs great. Im wondering if this is related...

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Current Diesels:
1981 240D (73K)
1982 300CD (169k)
1985 190D (169k)
1991 350SD (113k)
1991 350SD (206k)
1991 300D (228k)
1993 300SD (291k)
1993 300D 2.5T (338k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (442k)
1996 Dodge Ram CTD (265k)

Past Diesels:
1983 300D (228K)
1985 300D (233K)