Rear Wheel Play

[LSolheim]

Gripping the RR tire and wiggling in and out, top to bottom & front to rear, I am finding excessive play (maybe 3/16"). Definitely not the swing arm pinch bolt attachment nor the arm pivot itself. Could not tighten the wheel nut any further, even with a 24" breaker bar, so I've concluded it is a wheel bearing issue (as I would I in a front tire).

Posting here to hopefully find I have overlooked something else, obvious and simple.

Thanks, --Larry

 

[Cameron in UK]

To be absolutely sure it's not the arm get someone to sit in the car and push the foot brake really hard - that should stop the movement.
Next remove grease cap and check there is no movement around the washer behind the nut, if there is it's the driveshaft spline/key.
After that it's bearings (or someone didn't put the cups that tension them together right in the hub !). There are some rubbish bearings about, be careful to get European ones from a trusted supplier (there are counterfeits out there) that meet the spec in the manual.

Cameron (with input from Dad !)

 

[LSolheim]

To be absolutely sure it's not the arm get someone to sit in the car and push the foot brake really hard - that should stop the movement.
Next remove grease cap and check there is no movement around the washer behind the nut, if there is it's the driveshaft spline/key.
After that it's bearings (or someone didn't put the cups that tension them together right in the hub !). There are some rubbish bearings about, be careful to get European ones from a trusted supplier (there are counterfeits out there) that meet the spec in the manual.

Cameron (with input from Dad !)

To be absolutely sure it's not the arm get someone to sit in the car and push the foot brake really hard - that should stop the movement.
Next remove grease cap and check there is no movement around the washer behind the nut, if there is it's the driveshaft spline/key.
After that it's bearings (or someone didn't put the cups that tension them together right in the hub !). There are some rubbish bearings about, be careful to get European ones from a trusted supplier (there are counterfeits out there) that meet the spec in the manual.

Cameron (with input from Dad !)

Thank you, Cam. Thinking about your response tho, how does applying the brakes (effectively locking the wheel & drum to the hub) stop potential movement from the swing arm, proving it is not the problem?
I appreciate your input!

 

[Cameron in UK]

That's easy, it doesn't !
Locking it all up with the hydraulic brake means if there is still movement it must be in the arm / swing axle. It really does take just the smallest bit of play there (measured in microns) to make a big difference at the edge of the tyre. If you have an old Amphicar wheel handy (without tyre) it's good to fit it for this test as you can get more force on the hub but still are able to see everything.

 

[LSolheim]

Ahh-ha! Thanks

 

[okey0]

soooo, wondering what the result was?
I had this same type of symptom, changed wheel bearing and problem was solved.

 

[LSolheim]

soooo, wondering what the result was?
I had this same type of symptom, changed wheel bearing and problem was solved.

Thanks for asking. Sure enough, when dis-assembling much to my surprise the outer bearing cage for one row of the 3206 bearing fell out as a separate piece, allowing those balls to free-float and allow the slop. Fortunately, everything was still in place and nothing was ground-up or damaged. With over 82,000 miles on the bearings and axles, it certainly could have been worse!

Amphi is now rolling on new bearings, seals and u-joints, so with some luck she'll enjoy another 80K!