I have an '89 4wd pu, 6cyl. I just had front tires put on and asked for an allignment. I was told the left front bearing had play and the idler arm was bad, so no allignment was done. Idler arm doesn't seen too difficult to replace, but I'm not sure how to correctly repack the bearings. How do I know if they need to be replaced and is it something i can do myself? I thought I repacked them correctly when I replaced the front roters, but guess I didn't. Any suggestions?

 

play also can be caused by not adjusting them up correct, the wrong grease , not packed correct and the bearing being on the way out.

To tell if the bearing is bad once it is cleaned feel if there is any play or if it is noisy.

Just curious why you just didn`t have it all done while it was there at the shop.. If it was a labor and parts cost i under stand.

 

Have the wheel bearings ever been replaced ?, if there the original wheel bearings then replace them, after 20 years of use there shot. Its not hard to replace the bearings and races, you just remove the hub and rotor assembly, remove the old bearings and races, tap the new races back into place and pack the new bearings in grease and put it all back together.