Wheel Bearing Temps & Test Drive

westend wrote:
IMO, shooting temps of bearings with an IR device to assess the alignment of wheel bearings is chancy at best. Shooting them through a rim and beauty cap is indicative of nothing. The problem I see is that the aluminum rim and cover will dissipate a lot of heat between he actual bearings and the point of measurement. I don't know how , with all the hub configurations and wheel choices, that a range of temps can be established to indicate bearing "wellness". The temp gun may turn up a failing bearing set, though.

The other part of this is that someone new to bearing service reads that there should be some "wiggle" in the rim after assembly. How much that runout is can mean the difference between failure and acceptable. It may also result in excessive tire wear. Myself, if I service axle bearings, I tend to go towards the tighter end of procedures, i.e. no "wiggle" at all from the hub/wheel. There is a fine line between over-tightening and acceptable load but I do not have any bearing failures or tire wear by using my methods.

Hopefully, this doesn't add to the OP's anxiety. Maybe an additional check of the bearings and the load of the axle nut would allay all fears and get the bearings loaded perfectly.