Just repacted the front wheel bearings on my 86GT and had a tiny bit of play when you shook the tire. The way the procedures are written I don't see how you can avoid this from occurring. Turn the rotor and tighten the spindle nut to 12ftlbs, loosen nut and tighten by hand, and then back off the nut and insert cotter pin in closest hole in the spindle. Is is normal to have a little play in the bearings and hub. Thanks

When I did mine, I tightened the nut, while rotating the rotor, till I felt resistance turning it(the rotor). This will seat the bearings. I then released the nut till the rotor turned free again and put the cotter pin in the closest slot.

[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 09-14-2002).]

Just curious where you got that procedure from? I was taught that you torque the nut to spec, then tighten a wee bit more till you can insert the cotter pin.

Any play in the bearings is bad - and will lead to premature failure. With hub-in-rotor setups, the rotor should be solid once it's put together and the cotter pin is installed.

Thanks for the reply. I got the information from the Haynes and the Factory Fiero book. The Fiero book goes into a little more detail. It says tapered roller bearings have a slightly loose feel when properly adjusted. Measure movement of the hub assembly, movement should be from .025mm to .127mm. Page 3C-1. The same adjustment procedures is in both manuals. I just thought it was strange to have a little play in the hub bearings. I was always tought that there should not be any. What do you think?