New Front Wheel Bearing Inner Race Loose

[ian e30 318is]

I was installing new wheel bearings/hub assemblies tonight and the first side went smoothly. The bearing required a bit of force to work onto the spindle, but it pressed on nicely and the inner race did not move. The second was a little too easy when I took off the existing bearing. When I went to press the new hub on by hand, it just slid onto the spindle with little effort. The bearing spins relatively easily and the inner race spins with the whole bearing. Does the inner race load when the nut is tightened? If not, what are my options? Do I need to buy another strut assembly (I hope not)? Thanks for the help.

[TobyB]

Yes, it ought to clamp down very tightly. The outer nut squeezes the outer race against
the inner, and then against the spindle.

How does the spindle look? If it's not galled or discolored, I'd run it.
I've only taken 4 or 6 of those apart, but I remember that 2 had to have the inner
race cut off, and on 2 others, it just slid off like a normal RWD car would- no interference at all.

So yes, your mileage may vary.

hth

t

[Das Delfin]

I would run it. The 32mm nut is tight against the inner race (3 foot breaker bar tight). If it looks okay otherwise, don't worry about it.

[gearheadE30]

Bearings technically are supposed to be very close to a slip fit. An interference fit will expand the race, and if it is severe enough, it can actually accelerate bearing wear. As long as the spindle isn't galled, as others have said, you should be okay.

[ian e30 318is]

Awesome thanks for the confirmation guys. I'll go ahead and run the bearing/hub as is. The spindle looks fine and does not look galled or discolored. I'll just tighten down the nut the same as on the other side with a long breaker.