Wheels and Tyres Car Components 

Replacing wheel bearings on driven wheels

A front-wheel-drive system with the inner and outer wheel bearings inside a hollow hub carrier. They are separated by a short tubular spacer. The drive shaft runs through them into a splined drive flange, to which the wheels are bolted. Cars with front-wheel drive have front-wheel bearings that resemble closely those in the rear wheels of rear-wheel-drive cars which have independent suspension (See How car suspension works). The type of bearing used also has much in common with non-driven wheel bearings (See Checking the half shafts). However the bearings of…

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Car Components Wheels and Tyres 

Removing wheel bearings

The bearings are located in the wheel hub on disc-brake wheels, and inside the brake drum, which forms part of the hub, on drum-brake wheels. Non-driven wheel bearings – the front-wheel bearings of rear-wheel-drive cars and rear-wheel bearings of front-wheel-drive cars – are similar in design, differing only in detail. They may be either tapered roller bearings or ball bearings. Both types need regular adjustment (See Adjusting wheel bearings) and lubrication with grease. Routine lubrication intervals are normally given in the car service schedule. They are usually very long typically…

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Car Components Wheels and Tyres 

Adjusting wheel bearings

The same basic bearing layout is used on front and rear hubs, except for those of live axles; however inner details of driven hubs are different. Wheel bearings need periodic checking – and adjusting if necessary – usually at 12,000 mile service intervals. At longer intervals – usually of 36,000 miles – they need repacking with grease (See Removing wheel bearings). Bearings on the front wheels of rear-wheel-drive cars and the rear wheels of front-wheel-drive cars are of broadly similar design. However, driven front wheels and driven rear wheels on…

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Car Components Wheels and Tyres 

Checking, removing and refitting road wheels

Loosen the wheel nuts before jacking up the wheel. Use a large spanner and bar to get extra leverage on a crank-handled wheelbrace if necessary. When you take the wheels off to inspect the tyre walls, clean the wheels thoroughly and look closely for cracks starting around the stud holes, and at the joints between the rim and centre. Cracks may indicate structural weakness due to corrosion, or that the wheel nuts are either too loose or are over-tightened. Such damage means that the wheel should be replaced. Damage to…

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Car Components Wheels and Tyres 

Avoiding tyre wear

Caused by over-inflation. The tyre has been run at too low a pressure. Wheel misalignment such as excessive toe-in or toe-out. Constant hard cornering at high speeds. Different wear patterns are an indication of the cause of abnormal tyre wear. But the cause is not always obvious, and a tyre may have excessive wear from more than one fault. If a car is driven continually with the tyre pressures too high, most of its load is carried on the centre of the tread, which wears out faster than the shoulders.…

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Car Components Wheels and Tyres 

Avoiding tyre and wheel damage

Tyre penetration by a screw can cause irreparable damage. Striking a kerb could have caused this internal rupture. Kerbing will also damage and weaken the outer sidewall. Fitting too wide a tyre may cause bodywork interference. A nail or screw through a tyre not only causes gradual deflation, but the point may damage the interior wall as the tyre flexes against it, leading to eventual fracture of the carcass. A tyre with a sidewall penetration cannot be repaired satisfactorily. An internal rupture can result when a tyre hits a kerbstone…

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Car Components Wheels and Tyres 

Checking for wheel and tyre damage

Check the tread for abnormal wear patterns, cuts or embedded nails or stones. Check the sidewalls for cuts, cracks, abrasions or bulges. Tyres are put under tremendous strains when a car is being driven. There are only four relatively small areas of tyre tread in contact with the road. They carry the car’s total weight, and transmit to the road the power that drives and accelerates it over the many changes of surface and gradient encountered. They must also transmit the forces generated by braking and cornering. Because they are…

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Car Components Wheels and Tyres 

Lubricating and reassembling wheel bearings

Use a socket and extension bar to push out the inner races. Clean the hub and races well with paraffin or white spirit. Then drive the races away from each other. The inner and outer races may be of different sizes. If so, begin with the smaller one. When the races are the same size, push out one with a punch or chisel, push out the other with a socket. Use a socket as a ‘drift’ (pusher). Choose one which fits through the larger race to rest against the smaller…

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Signs of tyre wear and damage Wheels and Tyres Car Components 

How to check the wheel and tire is damaged

When the car tires will be under great pressure. Tread only four relatively small areas in contact with the road. They is bearing the weight of the total weight of the car and road transmission drive and accelerate its power, make it more than the surface of the encounter and gradient of many changes. They must also transmit the forces generated by braking and cornering. Because they are in constant contact with surfaces that are frequently abrasive, damaged and even broken, tyres are more liable to wear and physical damage…

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