I rebuilt the entire front end w/ 4 new ball joints and new tie rod ends...I was able to re-use one axle and I bought another off Ebay which appeared in good cond w/ no tears in boots. The left side is fine and tight as a new one, but the right side still has some play. When I rock the machine side to side looking where the axle goes into the knuckle, there is a bit of movement. I realize the axle doesn't support any weight, but it seems like the axle is not a tight enough fit in the bearings. The left side doesn't share this problem. Any ideas? I may send the axle back and replace it w/ a new one just in case. The brake cover was quite difficult to work into place, but once in the axle nut tightened up just as far as the other side. Is it possible for the outer race on the used axle to be so warn that it won't fit tight and cause extra play? With the front end jacked off the ground, the axle doesn't fit squar in the bearings/knuckle. Any suggestions?

 

I forgot to mention, the bearings are new too. Any of the pros have a suggestion? I guess I'll take the axle out and inspect the bearings to make sure they are still in place.

 

well, a combination of the axle stub AND the wheel hub are what goes into the bearing, So the first thing I would check is the large nut that secures the hub to the axle, it could have got into a bind during assembly and now is free, you can just pull the rubber hubcap to access this nut, without removing the front tire. If thats not the problem You will just have to disassemble the front end and take measurements.
Good luck to you.

 

Alright, I took the front end apart, the axle nut was tight, all ball joints are tight, tie rod end is tight (though not aligned yet). The left side acts just like the right side did, but doesn't have the movement when put back together.
What about the shock absorber? it feels tight, but if it were bad, could that cause some extra play in the axle/front end? I'm out of ideas. I'll put it back together adn see how it works this time. I'll try to get the front end aligned and see if that helps. Anymore suggestions would be great!

 

I'm getting frustrated...I took the drum cover off and the tie rod end. For some reason I decided to switch the drum covers right to left. Thought it felt tighter, but once it was back together, it's still the same, on the same side.
It has to be the bearings! But Honda just pressed new ones into the knuckle. I did tap w/ a hammer to get the drum cover to seat, is it possible I messed up the bearings? maybe knocked something out of place? Please help! I'm about to dig into the rear drums, and would like to get this fixed first/.

 

Could possably be that the knuckle is worn where the bearing rests.
Myself I do not press old bearings out of the knuckle assembly. If a bearing has gone bad it can spin the outer race in the knuckle and cause the new bearing to feel loose as the inner diameter of the knuckle is too large where the bearing rests after the old bearing has spun. Myself, I knock the inner race out of the bearing then heat the outer race, thump the knuckle a few times until the bearings outer race falls out easily. When reinstalling front wheel bearings on older 300's I will take a small punch and knurl the inner knuckle bearing area to snug up the bearing when reinstalled.
I have seen it where techs with low experience with these units will pop the snap rings out to remove the bearing, tap the bearing out thinking to theirself "This one is easy" when in reality they do not know the knuckle is bad. and reinstall a new bearing.

Long winded, but just a thought.

-----gimpster-----

 

Makes sense to me...My local dealership did the bearing work, I wasn't able to inspect or rather didn't realize I needed to. The guy seemed to know what he was doing. The bearings were badly worn, but the ball bearings were still there. From what you're saying there is a chance of damaged knuckle as these were probably the original bearings. Could I have messed somthing up by hammering (lightly) the drum cover into the bearings? Is there enough room inside the knuckle to move a race out of position? I'll dig into it this week, I'm convinced that's where the problem is, all the rest of the joints/parts are new. Thanks for the help

 

All that you probably could have damaged when knocking the drums back on would have been the brake shoes if they were not backed way off before installing the drums. Bearings should have taken the punishment

-----gimpster-----

 

Thanks for all the help. I'll dig into it this week to see. The brakes were so far gone, I took the pads off, the piston's were froze up and would not budge, so I neutered the brakes. I'll fix that later. As for the axle, the "play" I'm seeing is the axle shaft moving up, down, and all around the inner bearing seal. The bearing seal doesn't appear to be moving, but I guess it's possible for the bearing race to have a bit of play, It just doesn't make sense for there to be that much play. I would think if it were that loose, Honda would have tried to sell me a new knuckle. Thanks again, I'll let you know what I find.

 

Problem solved!
well, almost. I took the knuckle back off (ruined a new ball joint) and found that the bearings move slightly inside the knuckle...slight movement there transfers to quite a bit of movement of the tire/wheel.
Gimpster,
can I knurl the inside like you mentioned? or should I replace the knuckle? I wonder if Honda will help me out w/ labor since the pressed the bearings into a bad knuckle? I asked them to do the labor, but I wish they had caught the problem and sold me a new knuckle at the time. Thanks