subject: Adjust Your Wheel Bearing To Prevent Premature Wear And Tear [print this page] A wheel bearing is a set of round ball bearings on the wheel of a car that help to support the wheel as they rest on a shaft known as an axle shaft. It is found at the hub of the wheel.
The wheel bearing is important to the wheel in that it allows the wheel to spin freely without friction.
Wheel bearings require to be tightened from time to time because they get loose due to the rotation of the wheel. So, how do you tighten a wheel bearing? Read on and know.
When wheel bearings become loose, they expose your wheels to premature inner wear and tear. You will notice loose bearings when you hear a noisy sound coming from the wheel. If this happens, detach the wheel from the car and shake it back and forth. If you feel the bearings playing more than supposed, it means that they are loose.
The adjustment process begins here.
First of all, you have to remove the bearing nut cup for you to reach the wheel bearing nut. Check whether the ball bearings have enough grease. If there is enough, you can proceed to the tightening process, if not, add some grease and then proceed. Take the wrench and use it to tighten the racing wheel bearing nut. Tighten it until it can move no more.
By the use of your hands and with the help of the wrench, loosen the nut again to a position where you can now rotate it using your own hands.
Once again, tighten the nut with the use of your hand and when your hand cannot move it anymore, use the wrench to rotate it until it is firm and can move no more.
Repeat step number two followed by step 3 for 5 more times. This is done to rest the bearing firmly on the axle shaft and ensure that all the air that might be trapped in the grease between the ball bearings is driven out. Trapped air means that the racing wheel bearing will get loose soon after this process and the whole process will go into waste.
On the fifth time tighten the racing wheel bearing nut right until it can rotate no more. Do not force it to move. When you feel that it can move no more, leave it at that. Do not over tighten it. The ball bearings need to have a small playing space. To know whether the tightened position is the right one, one of the notches on the nut should line up with the hole that goes through the axle.
Once you have done this, put the nut back into place, reinstall the nut cap, attach the wheel to the vehicle and you are good to go. Repeat this for all wheels with loose bearing.
You should check your racing Wheels bearing from time to time to prevent early wear and tear of your wheels. This will help you save a lot of money.
