Front wheel bearing play?

[dustybarn]

How much play should I expect to see in the front wheel bearings? I have noticeable play when I rock the wheels 3-9 and 12-6, verified by removing the wheels and rocking the rotors. It's more pronounced on the driver's side, enough that if it was a car like my Triumph where the preload is adjustable I'd snug it up a twelfth-of-a-turn, but not more. I'm just not sure what is considered normal for a D and what is not.

[rdarlington]

How much play should I expect to see in the front wheel bearings?

None. Not on any car.

Make sure what you're seeing is in the bearings and not bushings, loose tie rod ends, etc.

[Mark D]

If not the wheel bearings I would suspect the lower ball joints as the source of your play, especially if they've been replaced in the past with the DMCH 'improved' balljoints of the mid 2000's era. Since then they have moved on to selling the DMC Club UK ball joints which are the best alternative out there IMO.

But if the source of your wobble is indeed bearings then it's a relatively simple task to press out the old ones and install new ones. If the old bearings are bad chances are if you remove the hub from the spindle the bearing will separate into two halves. Sometimes good bearings will do this too, but they're so cheap it makes sense to replace them anyway if you get to the point of pulling the hub/rotor assemblies off to inspect them.

[dustybarn]

If not the wheel bearings I would suspect the lower ball joints as the source of your play, especially if they've been replaced in the past with the DMCH 'improved' balljoints of the mid 2000's era. Since then they have moved on to selling the DMC Club UK ball joints which are the best alternative out there IMO.

But if the source of your wobble is indeed bearings then it's a relatively simple task to press out the old ones and install new ones. If the old bearings are bad chances are if you remove the hub from the spindle the bearing will separate into two halves. Sometimes good bearings will do this too, but they're so cheap it makes sense to replace them anyway if you get to the point of pulling the hub/rotor assemblies off to inspect them.

I'm certain the source of the wobble is the wheel bearings. I can remove the wheel and wobble the rotor and hub very slightly without anything else moving. My LBJ's are Club UK units, installed only a few hundred miles ago. Like you say, the bearings are cheap and easy enough to change.

[Mark D]

If you've narrowed it down that far then I'd suspect the bearings are shot and need to be replaced. You shouldn't have any off axis movement of the hub at all.

One other thing to double check is that the spindle is properly tightned down and isn't moving around in the steering knuckle. If the parts have never been removed before I'd say it's unlikely, but if the PO or someone else had ever removed the spindle it's possible for it to be loose. The large inner nut needs to be tightened down first to pull the spindle into the knuckle and fully engage the taper lock. If the outer nut is tightened first, or if both nuts are tightened at the same time everything can appear to be tight but there is the possibility that the spindle is not totally secured in place.