I have the smallest bit of play in both my front wheels. They are aftermarket wheels that were on the truck when I bought it... they look like they typical 8-hole American Racing "Baja" model or Eagle "589"...

Anyway, I noticed the play in the passenger side first. I know, I know... bearings... That was my first suspicion too. Driver-side bearing has less than 10K on it and the passenger side has no more than 40K on it. Both are tight. The hub bolts are not loose either.

I can snug up the nuts and the wheel will tighten up, but they seem to loosen up after a drive.

Could it be an issue with the lug nuts? Or the studs? Or am I just being completely paranoid? It actually feels ok driving, although it felt a little "off" last time I towed my trailer... which is why I checked them in the first place. I have not looked at the trailer yet though so that may have been what felt "off"...

Thanks.
Russ

 

Are you using a torque wrench on the lugnuts? I have the Baja wheels and have no issues with them on my 95 4WD. If the slack goes away when you tighten down the lugnuts, there isn't a problem with the wheelbearings.

 

Yes, I'm using a torque wrench... 135 ft/lbs per the FSM.

 

Have you pulled the lug nuts off to see how bad the holes are? Surface tension with the wheel, and the stretch on the studs is what keeps the nuts tight. When they loosen they begin to wallow out the holes, and cause less surface for the lug nuts to touch, which may mean you need a new wheel.
You might also get in there and see if there is any grease in the holes or on the nuts (where they contact the wheel), as this will allow the nuts to turn easier. Also, make sure you tighten the lug nuts with very little weight on the wheels, jack it up just enough so the wheel doesn't turn when tightening, so you can be sure the entire 135 ft lbs goes into the nut.

Chris

 

If there is grease or anti-seize on the studs clean it off. you don't want any lube on these, believe me i know found out the hard way when my Jeep wheels almost fell off.

 

Really? I regularly put anti-seize on wheel studs and have never had one come loose. The only ones I ever had come loose was one wheel on my 82 F150, and I think someone "helped" those come loose, because it only happened once.

Chris

 

This is what I'm afraid of...

I just bought new tires (less than 5K)... After this set is done I was planning to move away from my current 16.5" wheels to 16" or 17" wheels (most likely OEM 17s). So if I do need to replace a wheel or two I have to decide whether I should just bite the bullet and buy 4 new wheels/tires (definitely not in the budget) or look for a 16.5" replacement for my current setup.

I need to first determine if the wheel is faulty...

 

If you decide that you need new wheels, check ebay. I bought 4 16" Baja's shipped to the door for $399 with center caps and lugnuts.

 

Do those wheels use a standard lug nut or a fully chromed nut that completely covers the stud? If it's the latter, you could be bottoming out the nut on the stud.

 

Yes. But I've put 45K miles on the truck and never noticed the loose wheels before...

 

Well it's just a thought but, back somewhere between now and 45K miles ago, if the nuts started to bottom out on the studs, over time you would start to wear out the seats (mating surfaces) of the wheel and the nuts and in turn the wheels would feel loose but the nuts would be tight. In the short run you might try putting on some regular lug nuts for a while and see if they also loosen. Don't forget to look in the nuts for signs of metal on metal contact from the stud in the top of the lug nuts.

 

Last night I swapped the front and rear wheels on the passenger side. There was no play in the rear wheel when it was on the rear axle. After the switch, the rear wheel snugged up fine on the front axle but after a test drive there is now the tiny amount of play that I was seeing with the original front wheel... which is now nice and tight on the rear axle (no play).

I checked the inside of the nuts and they are not bottoming out on the studs.

Any other ideas? I'll have to take a closer look at the studs themselves... maybe they have backed out a tiny bit although my initial inspection did not reveal any problem.

 

Ditto. anti-sieze is your friend. Never had an '82 F-150 though.

 

I'd be measuring the stud lengths. I wonder if they are pulled through the hub completely. I know it sounds odd, but I am trying to think of what it could be. The bright side is the studs will eventually bottom out if they aren't pulled completely through, and you keep tightening them.
What about the lug nuts, are they loose on the threads? I'm just thinking about the nuts not being right, or worn.
Another idea would be to mark the nuts it relationship to the rim, with a Sharpie or magic marker, when you have them tight, then after driving a while, see if the wheel is loose again, and if the nuts have moved. This will give you a clue whether it's the studs or the nuts moving.

Chris

 

CTD99, did you ever resolve this problem? Just curious.