When i hold at the 12 and 6 o'clock position on my front tire and pull back and forth, i can feel some bearing play. Is this normal, or should i replace the front bearings?

I would clean, repack you bearings. Then when you tighten the bearings up, keep the wheel on for final tightening. ONLY TIGHTEN THE NUT ENOUGH TO GET RID OF PLAY. Do not overtighten. If you have the bearings out, rotate them in your hand. Do they move smoothly or do they feel like there is debris in them. They should move smoothly. If not replace but I am going to say it is just a wheel bearing adjustment. Hope that helps. Also have someone go under the car with a light as you do your 12 and 6 pull. Make sure it isn't coming from the ball joints.

You need to make sure that it's bearings. Pull the bearings and inspect them. (This doesn't cost a penny to do.) You might want to check the preload before removing them. Proper bearing tension is: Tighten the castle nut with a few pounds of torque, and rotate the tire. This seats the bearings. Loosen the castle nut.

TIGHTEN THE CASTLE NUT FINGER TIGHT AND BACK OFF UNTIL THE FIRST SLOT YOU CAN INSERT THE COTTER PIN.

This is proper bearing tension and they'll last forever--mine have over 500,000 on them, and they are like brand new. If you tighten them beyond finger tight and backed off to the first slot you can insert the cotter pin in the castle nut, the bearings are too tight and will wear out prematurely.

I doubt very seriously, that the bearings are set too loose because many people cannot fathom the concept of correct bearing adjustment. As a result, the bearings may be shot.

I 3rd the previous posts. I had a bearing fry on me the other month and did just this.

I had the same problem for a year, did the proper adjustments and still had the problem. I discovered that I had the wrong outer bearing (bearing was for drum brakes). I bought the correct bearing and that correct the problem.

GM sent out a Dealer Tech Bulletin in 68 or 69 that clarified this. The reprints of GM Firebird maintenance manuals (even ones you buy brand new today) may still show the original (incorrect) procedure. I think Geoff has the bulletin somewhere on this website.

However, since you do back off a bit before lining up the pin, there sometimes IS a wee bit of play, barely felt when grabbing the tire.

When you are checking this type suspension for lower ball joint wear, you must support the vehicle at the lower control arm, under the ball joint.

I bet it's the upper ball joint.

It is better to have some play in the tapered wheel bearings than none. They last much longer. Spec is .003-.005" of play i believe. You can definitely feel that with the tire on while checking. You can feel it a little in the hub when the tire is off. On freshly packed bearings, you might not feel it in the hub.
But know for sure why and where the play is, and inspect.

Right on Scott! A few years ago, my drivers side had basically no play, while the pax side had what felt like a millionth of an inch. I replaced bearings, repacked numerous times, yet it always had that whisper of a click when grabbing the tire. Three years later, same thing but no issues.

ok - thanks, I'll send an update after I try this over the weekend

Greg,

What other symptoms would specifically indicate lower ball joint wear? Slight vibe in the steering assembly maybe? Vibration when taking a left or right turn? These answers might help chansen scratch some possibilities off the list.

I get some slop in direction while turning or hitting uneven road. I've inspected the whole steering assembly and everything is tight and (visibly)in good shape. I did replace the pitman arm. The ball joint on that was gone.

The body bushings and mounts look good. The only thing I've noticed is the play in the front bearings. Tomorrow I'm going check the bearings and the upper and lower ball joints as suggested. I have a set of spring compressors so I hope to take off the tension on the u/l ball joints to get a good look.

btw - i have front disc brakes.

Take your floor or bottle jack and place it under the lower control arm as near the ball joint you can. What you want is for it to be loaded, or the weight of the vehicle on that joint. Raise it just enough to get the tire off the ground about 1.5 to 2 inches. Then grab a prybar or long heavy screwdriver and slip it under the tire to pry up on the tire. Look for movement in the upper & lower ball joints as well as the upper and lower control arm bushings. You shouldn't need your spring compressor untill you determine they are bad.

Nash, loose ball joints may allow vibrations and the like, but I feel they would be really bad if they are to that point. You may hear a knock or a thunk when going over bumps, especially if you've got the wheels turned tight in either direction.
Odd tire wear patterns may also be an indication as the alignment would not be stable due to excessive play.

My '99 Durango was experiencing early upper ball joint failure at 30K, dealer said no way until they pulled it apart and found it so...on lock to lock turns there was an audible and tactile "clunk" which was also visible to someone in front of the vehicle as the wheel abrubtly twitched.

With weight on wheels and engine running, have a helper turn lock to lock, with the hood open, and watch for movement at upper and lower control arm bushings, upper and lower ball joints, pitman and idler, center link, and tie rods. If you can feel it, you should be able to see it.

Steering column bearings and races also fail and cause odd sensations.

Is that the vehicle which is known to suffer from sudden ball joint failure, Yellowbird?

There is a TSB now. It wasn't known then. The ball joints are a suitable size for a 3000 pound subcompact, not a midsize SUV.

I was under the impression that outer wheel bearings were the same for drum as for disc.
Right or wrong?

Robert

Same for disc as drum. Outer and inner.
I believe the seal is different for some early cars with the early drum hub.

YB, I remember hearing about this 2-3 years ago, maybe about the Durango. I think it was on the tv news. I mentioned it to my boss at the time who had one and his was supposedly not affected.