outer front wheel bearing out of round???

[berettafan]

Diagnosing an inability to get a no-play front wheel (short of overtightening the bearing nut) and when i removed the hub i accidentally dropped the outer bearing about 1.5 to 2 feet to the garage floor. At first i was upset about possible grit but looking closer i noticed the bearing cage was WAY out of round (visibly and verified with digital calipers).

So did i find the source of my loose bearings or did the almost 2 foot fall to the concrete floor cause the cage to go out of round in which case i'm still trying to figure out the proble?

Appreciate any assistance. FYI struts are BRAND SPANKING NEW. (yup, this is a pisser!).

now wondering if i can't just order another front bearing and drop in the new piece without replacing the race.

[rnln]

1- Outer bearing. That is the easiest approach, why not?
2- outer bearing, inner bearing, seal.
Both are easy to do. The race is the hardest to do. Honestly, when I replaced the race, by looking at the race and the dificulty of replacing it, I would just replace bearing and seal without replacing the race. Unless, I can see that the race is obviously damaged.

[berettafan]

ok found another thread where it was stated that a bent cage is not a concern unless it's actually contacting the race.

my plan after reading this is to put it back together just short of overtightening and drive it 2.5 hrs to a pro to get to the bottom of my issue.

bummer is the car JUST got aligned and corner balanced after i treated it to 22/28 tbars and new rubber all around. it is just insane how much faster on/off ramps can be taken now. what required me paying attention at 60mph before is positively cake at 80 now.

[burgermeister]

60 to 80 in the same curve? That's like a factor of 1.7 greater lateral acceleration. Dilithium Torsion Bars?

My front wheels have a wee bit of play when I adjust the bearing to my interpretation of correctly (when I can fairly easily push the washer back & forth). They always mention it at every tech inspection ... but they say it's not a big issue either.

From experience on my beetle 20 years ago I can tell you if you get it too tight, a new bearing and possibly new spindle will be required after the seized bearing inner race friction-welds itself to the spindle.

[SteveinTO]

I think the bearing cage serves just to keep the roller bearings from falling out while you admire the ingeniousness of the design or while you pack them with grease. It's the nut that pulls the two (inner & outer) tapered roller bearings together.

On the issue of replacing the bearing and not the race.......everyone has done it, and everyone will recommend you don't. In theory, the two pieces "wear in" together and should be replaced as a set or you could experience premature wear on one or the other.

I read here recently a worn stub axle could cause your problem. Like if a previous bearing had seized, spun, and possibly been emoryed to clean it up so now the axle is slightly under-sized. Maybe check the axles and see if they both measure the same in the area where the bearings reside.

[berettafan]

Thanks all;

Struts are brand new so shouldn't be a spindle issue.

Burger the car just takes a 'set' instantly now and just doesn't wiggle. Really amazing.