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Front Wheel Bearings

The front bearings on the Capri are adjustable. Check and adjust these every 12,000 miles. First check the bearing by grasping the wheel top and bottom and try to rock the wheel in and out.

You should feel a very slight movement only. Adjust the bearings if they are too slack or too tight. If too tight, the wheel will be very reluctant to spin freely.

Prise off the centre hub cap with a screwdriver. You will see a castellated nut retainer with a cotter pin holding it in place. Remove the cotter pin and retainer and unscrew the nut. Behind this nut you will find a washer and then the outer bearing itself.

When removed, you will see the small rollers that the entire weight of your car sits on! Give everything a generous dose of molybdenum di-sulphide grease and work it in to the moving parts of the bearing.

Replace the bearing, washer, nut and then finger tighten. To make sure the bearing is correctly adjusted, use a torque wrench set to 25 pounds foot and tighten the nut whilst spinning the wheel (this will encourage the bearing to seat itself properly). Once you feel the torque wrench 'click' then stop and loosen the nut off exactly 90 degrees (this will give the required amount of end-float). Replace the castellated retainer and fix in place with the cotter pin. If the pin and nut don't match exactly, then tighten the nut to the next available hole (don't loosen the nut to do this). Your bearings should be perfectly adjusted but check the free play just in case. See my work page on how to replace worn bearings.

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