Itinerant Air-Cooled

Hi All,
A little while back I started getting noise from the rear of the bus so I jacked up and checked each wheel for noise and play. I found out it was the drivers rear that had both noise and play. The noise was kind of a grind grumble that seemed to happen through about half of the rotation, grr... grr...grr... and the play was consistent in any position. The big castle nut had not loosened or moved. From what I was told I figured new bearings were in order. So i got the proper bearings and looked at all the procedures I could find to make sure i didnt flub anything. Got It all back together and it sounded better but still had play. I asked around and did some more reading and decided to see if maybe the stub axle and hub had some play. They looked ok to me but what do I know? I found the axle and hub near by, they looked nicer than mine and weren't expensive so I got them and popped them in. No luck, still had that same play. Could the bearing housing be the issue? Everything seemed to fit tight. All parts are accounted for. I'm at a loss. Any ideas are appreciated!

Welcome to IAC! Thanks for joining us.

Do you have radial or axial play?




How much play do you have, by measurement? (Or comparison if you don't have a dial indicator…)

Did the sound go away with new greased bearings?

Robbie

Please tell us what brand bearings you installed. Also, did you fit in a new spacer between the bearings?
Colin

I believe you would call it axial? With a hand on either side of the wheel I can push with one side and pull with the other and feel movement. I don't think it actually moves in and out or side to side. I think the bearings were FAG and i used the vw stamped spacer that was already in there, not a new one. Oh and the sound did go away just not the play. Thanks!