Wheel bearing adjustment - another mod?

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Most of the new cars today do not have adjustable wheel bearings. They are sealed units and much more expensive than the old ones.

regards
Mech

Leave the axle/spindle nut loose a little bit and find out how fast that "sealed unit" becomes a "grease bomb".

That's why I only leave it backed off by one tooth (castle nut) for no more than 100 miles.

[wagonman76]

GM has used sealed bearing cartridges on cars for at least the last 30 years. Probably longer. But sometimes the seal is separate so if you wanted you could flush out the old grease with some solvent and pack in the grease of your choice. But if you use a thinner grease it will likely just all run out.

I have heard the Aveo is geared pretty high numerically, so lazy folks don't have to shift as much. But it hurts what could be better mpg too.

[Superturnier]

Front wheel alignment could be one reason.
I have tried it with two cars. I adjusted the front wheel toe-in to zero and I really could feel noticeable coasting improvement in both cars.

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by Hankinator

I agree with the other posters and their suggestions with this addition. Could the something else causing less coasting be attributed to the vehicle weight? Your older/other vehicle is surely heavier than the Aveo. Less weight...less inertia...less coasting ability. Something to consider.

Nope, it's not what you expected. My other car is an '89 Mitsu Galant. It weighs approximately the same as the Aveo, although it is a bigger car with a larger engine (2 liter vs. 1.6) and has much better acceleration. Over the past two decades cars have gotten much heavier, which runs contrary to improving FE. I get 20 MPG in city driving in the Galant, and only a scant 2 MPG better in the smaller Aveo.

I have also wondered if it would be worth repacking wheel bearings with synthetic grease and "adjusting" the tightness of the spindle nut for better coasting.

I doubt that synthetic grease will improve FE much, but the adjustment of that spindle nut is what I am referring to. If the wheel doesn't turn freely, it may be too tight, and rolling resistance matters.

[user removed]

I look at this stuff almost every day at my friends body shop. The castellated nut that you adjust the bearing preload with is long gone.

Check on the rear axle on something like a 2000 Echo and you will see there is nothing available except a complete stub axle assembly. With ABS they go over $300.

No longer an inner and outer wheel bearing and race assembly you can replace. Now you have to buy the hub, stub axle, bearings, and even the star wheel for the ABS sensor as a unit, even the lug studs. Its not adjustable. The nut just locks the inner race to the stub axle.

regards
Mech

[thatguitarguy]

If it were me, I wouldn't do anything that would put the warranty into jeopardy, I'd take it to the dealer and talk to them about my concerns.

1000 miles may or may not be a good indicator of what it's going to do farther down the road. (Of course pun is intended!)

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by thatguitarguy

If it were me, I wouldn't do anything that would put the warranty into jeopardy, I'd take it to the dealer and talk to them about my concerns.

1000 miles may or may not be a good indicator of what it's going to do farther down the road. (Of course pun is intended!)

Oh, I don't intend to do anything with it or to it.

My other car, the 89 has the castellated nut adjustment. I'm just suggesting that if anyone has the same they should check it. Come to think of it, I remember once after an annual state inspection i found that the shop that did the work had reassembled the nut too tight. As someone else mentioned, the proper adjustment is to back it off one notch after tightening it and check to see that the wheel rotates freely.