Was I about to die!? Bad wheel bearing/ shade tree nightmare

[Xscorex]

I work for a trucking company and had one of the diesel mechanics in the shop do my front brakes and rotors recently. Usually I would do this myself but I work so much I decided to pay someone. We'll everything was fine for about a month then I started hearing a grinding noise in the front , sounded like metal grinding, almost like scrubbing rotors. We'll after two weeks it finally got super loud so I jacked the front end up and shook the tire and found a good bit of up and down play. I'm guessing its a bad wheel bearing. I decided to go ahead and pull the wheel off to check it out and found the rotor didn't seem to be bolted to anything. I shot a youtube video you can see here

http://youtu.be/piubZ4XTCSU


i immediately stopped driving it. What happened? Shouldn't the rotor be secured? Is there a wheel bearing DIY or do I Need to do the whole hub assembly? What's the best place to get a hub assembly?

 

[Xscorex]

Also when I grab the studs I still get a lot of up and down play. Thoughts?

 

[Ghostbuster]

private video is private :sigh:

 

[Ghostbuster]

Look on ebay for the hub, I would go ahead and buy one for the other side too.

So basically you drove around with a loose hub/rotor? You heard grinding sounds... so check your new rotor and pads for damage

 

[Xscorex]

Ok set to public but I just watched a youtube video and looks like that's normal!? Looks sketchy to me and none of my German cars were set up like this. Freaked me out when I pulled the wheel off and the rotor was flopping around

 

[Ghostbuster]

Ok set to public but I just watched a youtube video and looks like that's normal!? Looks sketchy to me and none of my German cars were set up like this. Freaked me out when I pulled the wheel off and the rotor was flopping around

Yeah I would take the caliper off and inspect it.. because something was making a grinding sound right?

The rotor can move, but the hub should be solid I believe.

 

[Xscorex]

Yeah the hub moves up and down when I pull on it. It has play in it. The rotor freaked me out I thought the guy forgot to replace something as I've never had acar with rotors like that before. I've done brakes on a Nissan and my bmws, neither are like that. Guess you learn something new every day.

 

[Ghostbuster]

Yeah the hub moves up and down when I pull on it. It has play in it. The rotor freaked me out I thought the guy forgot to replace something as I've never had acar with rotors like that before. I've done brakes on a Nissan and my bmws, neither are like that. Guess you learn something new every day.

There should be a bolt in the middle of the hub. See if you can tighten it.

also: [video=youtube;5ybpuQTwoFg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ybpuQTwoFg[/video]

 

[MaxPF]

Ok set to public but I just watched a youtube video and looks like that's normal!? Looks sketchy to me and none of my German cars were set up like this. Freaked me out when I pulled the wheel off and the rotor was flopping around

More than likely the rotors were rusted in place on your German cars. Typically, on all vehicles, the rotors slide over the wheel studs and the rim (which is held in place by the lug nuts/bolts) holds the rotor tight. It is only loose when the tire is off. Some older vehicles had the rotors (and drums in some cases) on the back side of the hub, held in place by the studs. These rotors don't move when the tire is removed. The manufacturers got away from this setup because R&Ring the rotors meant removing the hub assembly, which is a PITA.

The factory usually installs small clips to hold the rotors in place on the assembly line. They are strictly for assembly purposes and are usually discarded when a rotor is subsequently removed during later brake servicing. Also, the two holes you noticed are threaded. Their purpose is to thread a pair of bolts in and use them to press the rotors off the hub when they become rusted/seized in place. In my experience it seldom works, and I have to resort to PB blaster and a BFH to free the rotor. The best method for removing a seized rotor is to assemble it with anti-seize so it doesn't become seized in the first place :wink:

Check to make sure your caliper bolts are tight. Make sure the pads are in place along with the pins that retain them. Finally, check your unit bearings (wheel bearings). There should be no play in them, and they should turn smoothly with no rumble or grinding. Go by feel as well as sound. If in doubt, have someone experienced check them out for you.

 

[Renagade132]

And like I believe someone mentioned, but just in case, check Both sides!

 

[Mr_Rich]

I work for a trucking company and had one of the diesel mechanics in the shop do my front brakes and rotors recently. Usually I would do this myself but I work so much I decided to pay someone. We'll everything was fine for about a month then I started hearing a grinding noise in the front , sounded like metal grinding, almost like scrubbing rotors. We'll after two weeks it finally got super loud so I jacked the front end up and shook the tire and found a good bit of up and down play. I'm guessing its a bad wheel bearing. I decided to go ahead and pull the wheel off to check it out and found the rotor didn't seem to be bolted to anything. I shot a youtube video you can see here

http://youtu.be/piubZ4XTCSU


i immediately stopped driving it. What happened? Shouldn't the rotor be secured? Is there a wheel bearing DIY or do I Need to do the whole hub assembly? What's the best place to get a hub assembly?

I'm not seeing anything abnormal in the video you present. The problem is that you're not testing the right way. Some of us could probably
tell what the problem is, but not the way you're doing it. I would suggest bolting the wheel back on and with that side of the truck jacked up spin
the wheel by hand rocking it back and forth to detect any lateral up and down freeplay. It should spin smooth and no trace of any wiggling.

Rich