ok, i dont know where to start. its been an ongoing problem for some time now. and so it goes like this.

the front right hand is the main problem. up until today, it has been coming and going, but i cant take it anymore. today, it was real bad, and i know there something thats not right.

it started off as a slight grinding noise, and i thought it could be the brake pads. nope, they are still new, with more than 75% pad left. same on the left hand side. sometimes the noise would be continuous, and other times, it seemed like the brake disc was warped, and touched a certain amount every revolution.

that would come and go. the wheel bearings were also loose, so i thought it could be that the bearing could give enough movement for the disc to touch and rub on the caliper. in a way i was right, as when i changed to new bearings, i could see a bit on the caliper where the brake had touched while driving.

now, with the new wheel bearing, i could see no way of adjusting it, other than doing it up bloody tight. on some cars, and trailer axles, where the stub is tapered, the more you tighted the locking nut, the more tighter the bearing will be, and would result in no free movement of the wheel. but when i was looking at the vit stubs, they're not tapered, but somehow, are designed that the locking nut is done up to a certain torque setting, and left the way it is, no adjusting. so it doesnt really matter how much you tighten the locking nut, the hub will always spin.

BUT after putting in new bearings, and a drive around the block, i come back to double check the locking nut, and the wheels. everything was good, but the wheels/bearings still had a lot of play in them. whats going on? took them apart again. i thought it could be the old bearings actually siezed a bit, and turned on the actual stub, wearing it down, but it doesnt seem so. the bearings fit on the stub very snug! no play, just a nice fit. i checked the hub and the outer bearing retainer. the old one i knocked out, and the new one i tapped in. i looked at the old one, and it seems like it goes all the way in until it cant anymore, and thats where it is. so i made sure it was the same as the old one in the same position. looking good.

put it all back together, tightened it all up, and put the wheel back on. but before i lowered the wheel onto the ground, i had a good shake, and the more i shook, the looser it would get until it was back to how it was, all sloppy joloppy. by now, i was WTF, took the wheel off, tightened the mofo back up as much as i could, with a flat head screw driver and a hammer, and it should be right.

so, new bearings fitted, and all was good for about a month or so until a couple of days ago. the noise comes back, and the wheels are loose again. the noise is real lound now, and it a combination or gringind, and squeeking, as if the disc rotor is rubbing again, and the actual bearings are binding and siezing up or something.

so guys, whats the go? when i first bought my vit, it had bad front wheel bearings, so i changed all four, including the back. the back are fine till this day, being 2 years now, but the front have never been any good. the second time i found some hubs and bearings from a wrecking yard, so i just swapped them over. that was all good for a while, until i changed the bearings about a month ago. now its back again?

the actual bearing have a bit of play in them from the shop, as in brand new ones, but there was 2 tapered bearings in kit, on in the front and one in the back of the hub. could it be this play that is causing all this?

what the hell could the grinding noise be? other than the disc on the caliper?
and what the heck squeeks?

another thing, when i'm turning left, and the front right tyre has a bit of force/weight on it, it doesnt make a noise, but when i turn right, and the front rigth tyre gets light, it makes the biggest noise now. in a straight line, it still makes noises, but not as lound.

when braking, it doesnt really change much. the noise is still there, sometimes worse, but not all the time.

guys, sorry for the long whinge (post) but i've sorta had enough with it.

i've already had to change the upper link on the rear diff, as the ball joint was about to pop out due to over flexy suspension and no spacer. the back is nice and tight now, and i am happy with it, but its just the front wheels and bearings or whatever now.

i've already had to change the idler arm on the front steering, as it was worn and there was a lot of play, but it wasnt BENT. i have a spare not, just in case.

thanks heaps
Steve

i had a similar problem, except my hub was shot. when i was putting the new one in i had a similar problem to yours with getting them tight. i would tighten it as tight as it would a guy would think it would need to be, and then i would put it down and shake and it would be loose. i think i had mine apart 4 or 5 times until i got the correct tightness. from the sound you are describing, your actual hub where the bearings ride may be pitted or scratched up.

is the snap ring on the back side of the hub worn or popping out of it's groove? otherwise you might ned to measure the hub and the stub against the other side with a digital caliper. it wont take much wear to cause what you are explaining.

derek

thanks for the input guys.

well, this arvo, i took both the front hubs off and basically stripped it all down.

the oil/grease/dust seal in the KNUCKLE where the actual drive shaft sits was well worn and dry, and didnt fit the shaft tight anymore. knocked that out, will try to get some new ones tomorrow.

in the actual hub, the brass fitting in the back side of the hub were also pretty worn, letting the axle shaft move around a lot.

now for the bearings! it turns out the after market bearing i got, were a little wide when measureing the inner race. this means that it doesnt matter how tight i do up the locking nut, the bearing will sandwhich up to the stub, but still leave the outer race with a lot of play. the suzuki ones are a bit narrower, and do not touch each other, and so you do not need to do them up tight for the wheel and bearings to be tight.

i only found out because i went to the wreckers today to get some hub assemblies off a 94 model vit. now, this vit was smashed and it had been rolled (hard top), but as soon as i pulled the free wheeling/locking hubs, i could tell it had never been off road. it waqs crisp and clean complete with factory suzuki grease. well, i would imagine.

and those 4 little phillips head screws, you know the ones that you can strip with out even touching them, well, they were brand new. basically, everything inside was prestine amd unmolested. it was cool, i wish my vit was always like that. anyway i took as much of it as i could, bar the caliper and rotor, as they were siezed and rusted.

so now i just gotta go and get a couple of these inner dust/grease seals, and i should be right to fit them all back up. i still don't knwo if this will fix the problem, but i guess i have to give it a go.


and another thing, i wish i had a replacement right hand side CV shaft to swap in. the current one is about to poo itself, and this would be the best time to change one in. darn. and i wish i had some longer coils to put in also, as it would also be a cinch to put in. oh well.

thanks again guys. will let you guys know how it all goes. and i'll try to get some pics. i forgot today.

cheers.

Hey I havn't posted for a long time but I have had this problem with both sides of my sidekick. for me it turned out to be that the Hubs were worn out. The Hubs are made of a softer metal then the bearing races. In my case when wheels were on you could move them. Almost like you didn't tighten the lugnuts.
Hope that helpls.

How difficult was it to get the bearing race 'tapped' out of the hub? I had to press mine out with a 20T press to get mine out. I could not budge it with a hammer and a press. If it came out easy it has brobably spun.

Zig