Sorry, I could have been more helpful before - the typical way to check is to get the wheel/tire off the floor, and to load it to one side at the very bottom, and then set a micrometer on one side of the lower tire edge, to zero. Next, unload the wheel and take a reading. Finally, opposite-load the wheel and read again. The sum of both readings is the total amount of play. If the tire wheel is heavy, you may have to pull at the bottom and push at the top at the same time to make full movement. Lock the wheel and use a pry bar if you're not hefty enough to persuade things to move.
An exact specification for
how much freeplay is too much is hard to agree on when it comes to this type of bearing design. A new bearing/hub assembly would not have any noticeable play. Thus, it follows that any noticeable play indicates wear.
I work from the point of view that if the freeplay can affect the toe, then it is too much. This means the car must be on a machine, and moves the check out of the realm of DIY at home.
So what do do...? The fallback metric then becomes mileage. How many miles are on the current hub/bearing assemblies?
- If known, and more than 80k miles...consider replacement (regardless of play) if a total frontend overhaul is being done.
- If not known, you, the owner of the car, have to make a judgment call based on budget, time and common sense.
Most alignment shops are happy to check the car if they think you'll eventually be back and willing to pay for an alignment. If the shop offers a warranty, it is in their interest to first make sure the car can take one, otherwise the odds are they'll being repeating the labor, at their expense, if you come back with a complaint.
Of course, some shops with less-than-admirable ethics can try to scare the owner by claiming such-and-such parts need replacing or an alignment won't help...this is one reason to go to a national chain or shop - and another reason to do your own checks at home first.
>What are the effects of bad wheel hubs? (I assume you mean hub/bearing assemblies)
- wandering
- pulling to one side when driving and/or braking
- unusual tire wear
- vibration
- heat
- noise
Note the above list can occur in various combinations and come /go depending on road surface, temperature, car load, driving style, etc. Some may not surface at all, yet bearing condition/wear could still be contributing to others.
Wheel hop in the rear (if deemed related) is usually a combination of bad bearings and worn suspension in general. I can imagine severely bad bearings causing dramatic results, but in this case, there would be no question about them being trashed.
>like this one?
Are you equipped to service your own bearings? Are your hubs still serviceable? Bearings come as an assembly with the hub for a reason. Don't forget fresh nuts
If the cost seems high, consider how long they last...the cost is less than a penny-per-mile over a normal service life.