Suzuki 4WD Club of Victoria

Hi all,

I'm just hoping someone can help me with this problem. I've got a 1989 Vitara and I'm finding I have to change my wheel bearings nearly twice a year! Even when they're torqued up to spec I'm still having the same problem. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same problem and if they are, how they rectified it?

Cheers in advance,
Ricky.

I'm still using the the same front wheel bearings I fitted 3 years ago.
Rear wheel bearings do seem to wear out a lot faster.
What sort of driving do you do?
What kind of distance do you cover in that time?
Do you drive a lot of deep mud, sand or salt water?

If you do your own mechanical work, check all seal surfaces for damage, it may be letting mud/water/dirt in.
Check all bearing surfaces for rust or damage.

The fronts are adjustable, and can be tightened up a little after a bit of use, if not damaged.
Good quality water resistant HTB grease is important, too

Also we get a lot of our info from http://auszookers.com/forum/index.php

Mine is the opposite, I've never had an issue with the rear
Most of the time is just to and from work which is only about 15km a day and overall I only do about 15000 kms a year.
I do a lot of river crossings and mud, never salt water though.

I've checked everything and there's never been any wear, obviously I change the seals every time I change the bearings and they're in good shape and I use good grease too.
I might see if I can torque them up a little more now but there's a lot of slop in them and I don't know if I'll get that much out of them. Do you happen to know the max they can be done up to? My workshop manual says something like 150ft/lb but I've read different things on other sites.

It's got me stuffed to the point that I'm considering sliding some solid hilux diffs under it and getting rid of the suzuki bearings and cv shafts ha.

I appreciate your help, cheers.

I never use a torque setting on mine, I adjust by feel, then adjust again a week later.
So no idea what proper setting is.
Never used a torque setting on any previous cars with tapered bearings.
Overtightening will stuff them pretty fast.

I'm a bit confused - you're torquing them to spec then say the manual says they can be torqued to 150ft/lb? I would be religiously following the steps outlined in the FSM - checking starting torque with a fish scale etc. I'm not specifically familiar with vitara bearings, but I am a firm believer in following the FSM. I'm surprised bearing life is that short. I thought Vitara fronts were pretty reliable. Out of interest, what tyre and rim size are you running? Are the spindles in good condition?

As for doing suzuki bearings by feel, I'm not good enough to judge 10-15Nm inner retaining nut) and then 80-90Nm (outer retaining nut) by feel, so I use a torque wrench as per the FSM. Considering the use my vehicle sees and its tyre and rim size, I'm pretty happy with my bearing life, but they do loosen off a bit. My car is a Sierra though, so it might not be directly comparable.

I'm pretty sure the cost and hassle of a hilux solid axle swap would make loose wheelbearings seem like a very minor hassle.

Steve.

The vitara workshop manual I have here says to torque to 170-250nm (123-180 ft/lb)

The vitara runs cassette type bearings so should not require any bearing adjustment, just torqued up to the above spec. It could be that the spindle or hub is damaged causing the bearing to not sit square in the hub/on the spindle which would cause early failure. I have a donor vitara that I'll be parting out in the next month or so could hold onto the spindles and hubs for you if your problem persists.

My apologies if I led you astray.
I thought the early ones were tapered adjustable bearings.
But apparently not.

The FSM I have here only deals with cassette type ones, which is what I have seen on Vit's I've worked on, the early ones may well be adjustable.

This listing shows all years as cassette http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Front-Wheel- ... fee&_uhb=1

Riiichie another important thing is what brand on bearings you are using, some brands are much better than others.

Very good point. Japanese bearings seem to last much longer.