E36 front wheel bearings

[e36bob]

Am now ( or more precisely, my wife) is a MB owner.
We bought the car from a friend who has had several MB,s.
The 1996 E36 AMG estate has full mb history with 161,000 miles on the clock. All the toys, and the walnut interior and steering wheel to match. full black leather trim, electric seats etc, my wife really loves this car!!!
Because I normally service our cars, with the mot coming up, I checked her over and found slight play in both front wheel bearings.
Question: normally this means replacement, but does MB allow this on this car? I doubt it , but no doubt someone will tell me yes or no.
As with so many MB owners on this site, I shall be using an independant MB service garage when the time comes.

 

[flyingtech55]

Hi e36bob

When you say 'her' do you mean the car or your wife.

If you mean the car, there will be some slight play in the front bearings. Jack the car up, spin the wheel and see if the bearings 'moan' while the wheel is rotating. If not, then submit the car for MOT and see if the inspector fails it on that point. If the bearings are worn then of course they can be renewed. Why do you think that they cannot be?

If however you are refering to your wife then, sorry, I cannot offer any assistance due to my lack of medical knowledge and suggest that you take her to an appropriate medically qualified person.

 

[Ade]

Gliderman/e36bob

I'm a practising amatuer gynaecologist if that helps.

ade

 

[e36bob]

I guess I should have elaborated a little.
Of course the bearings will have to be replaced if there is excessive play, but I was wondering whether the correct loading was acheived with a very small amount of "play" with the wheels off the ground.
Thanks for all replies.
I will have to save up and get a merc myself now.

 

[Barnie]

Hi
Wheel bearings, by the very nature of their design are required to have FREE PLAY in them, how else can the grease be allowed to flow around the BALLS & TRACKS??
So long as there is no noise being emmitted when wheel is rotated & what free play that exists is not excessive, then I would advise you to submit the car for its MOT.
BARNIE.
PS Sounds like a very nice car!!

 

[justin1820]

the front wheel bearings are taper bearings and adjustable, undo the 5mm allen key under the bearing dust cap and do the large like nut up finger tight, tighten the allen key, fit the cap, job done

 

[e36bob]

front wheel bearingadjustment

thanks Justin, I followed your advise and removed play from both sides.
Thanks again to all.

 

[flyingtech55]

e36bob

As Barnie and I said, there should be some play in a taper bearing. If there is no play the bearing will overheat and is liable to seize. At the MOT test the MOT inspector should fail the car if there is no play in the bearings. On lesser cars the play is set by a split pin and castellated nut arrangement. The result is a compromise setting which hardly ever gives exactly the correct amount of play and they often have to be set slightly slack, but never tight. My Spifire front bearings are like this. One side is pretty well spot on, the other side really needs a shim under the nut to be correct and has to be left slightly slack. However it is within acceptable limits and MOT inspectors understand this compromise.

On Mercedes however, the locknut with Allen key arrangement enables the play to be set exactly and Mercedes specify in their manual what the correct play should be. Removing all play is dangerous. The original advise remains sound. You should have submitted the car for MOT as it was and then adjusted the bearing/s if the inspector highlighted it/them as excessive. I would advise you to find out the correct setting and adjust them accordingly.

 

[e36bob]

Thanks for your note Flying tech55.
I shall reset both to allow for a small amount of "play" in the bearing.
The car will go for its MOT test, and then have the correct set up checked when the car goes for its next service which will be very soon.
With that matter closed, there a few thoughts which you might be able to enlighten me on.
I am somewhat confused by the acceptance of a small amount of free play allowed .
When I removed the free play, the wheel turned freely with no hint of tightness.
Q1: With no free play, and the wheel turning freely, would the bearing be capable of overheating ?
Q2:I once drove a Montego (yes go on, laugh), and the car failed its MOT test on a front wheel bearing because there was a small amount of free play. There was no bearing adjustment so the unit was replaced by a garage.
The bearing design was two tapered roller bearings which , when fitted, was tightened at the hub to the correct torque figure. There was no free play, and the car passed its MOT.
So why, when we have two similiar bearing arrangements, can one require a small amount of free play, and the other doesnt ?
Thanks again all.

 

[flyingtech55]

Hi e36bob

Good points raised which I'll do my best with. However, first re-adjust the bearings:

Jack corner of car up, secure it and then slacken locknut and hubnut. Grasp the wheel at the top and bottom of the tyre and rock the wheel in and out (not in direction of rotation but at 90 degrees) and hand tighten (no spanners!) hubnut until all play disappears. I know that by this time you've run out of hands but you'll get the hang of it. Back off the hub nut a little bit, typically half of one flat only, until you feel a very slight movement at the wheel. It should not in any way wobble but neither should it be solid. Its difficult to describe, but when its correct you can feel just discernable movement when you rock the wheel by grasping the tyre. You generally have to have two or three attempts at it until you get the feel for what you are trying to achieve. When you are satisfied with the result you can tighten the locknut and recheck the result.

It's possibly best if you get it done correctly and then feel to see what it feels like. I seem to remember Mercedes recommend the use of a clock gauge to set the endfloat but its terrifically fiddly even if you have a suitable clock gauge. All the mechanics I've seen (self included) do it by feel but Merc. dealers may have the correct gear.

Alternatively, do as you said, set it back to the original position, see what the MOT inspector says and then have it checked/reset at the next service.

Hope this helps

Gilderman

I'll send you a PM about your other points in due course 'cause although interesting, its probably off topic for this forum.

 

[e36bob]

E36 wheel bearings

Thanks again Flying tech55.
I shall take your advice and have a go at setting it myself .
The car will then go to MB and have it set by them, and I will be able to judge the difference as you suggested.
On a different note, and I guess I should post a new topic.
How easy is it to remove the nearside headlamp ?
I need access to the headlamp wiper motor as it appears to have become
detached from the wiper arm spindle.
Thanks again for all your help.