I spent last night and this morning replacing the pads on my '98 because they were down to the warning spots, so I had the rotors checked out and turned to get a uniform flat surface back as well as installed new pads. After reading numerous online guides on wheel bearings I cleaned all the bearings and inspected them and they all looked to be in great condition. They were Timken so I am guessing they have been replaced already by a prior owner. I spent forever packing the bearings with brand new grease and got everything back together with no hassle at all.

The good...the brakes work great, no noise, pulling or anything.

The bad...I have a slight shimmy/stutter in the steering wheel when making a sharp left or U turn. It does it going right as well but not as much. Its not a bad shimmy, it almost feels like the truck bogging down in gear but I know that is not the case. Im sure it is related to the wheel bearings, but Im not sure how much more I can adjust them.

I read it is better to have them too snug than too loose but both wheels have no movement from top to bottom (when jacked up and grabbing at 6, 12).

What am I missing here, ive done wheel bearings before just never on the Ranger...how tight should the adjusting nut on the bearings be?? When I took both sides apart both adjusting nuts were loose and came off by hand and I had no shimmy before....any words of wisdom?

edit: I have found that the shimmy is in the steering, not the wheel bearings. I read elsewhere that on these trucks that turning the wheels with the engine off is bad and can introduce air into the system. I jacked the truck, pulled the fuel pump relay and turned the wheel lock to lock a few times while cranking the engine. There were some bubbles in the fluid but Im not sure if that was air coming to the surface or just bubbles from the fluid sloshing around while the truck was cranking over and over. It helped some, but the shimmy is there and you can see the tires pulsate (when jacked up off ground) as they move when the shimmy occurs.

 

Is your truck a 4x4?

 

Nope, just 2wd. It HAS to be air in the pump or something...its not related to the wheel bearings and its not like my ps pump just took a crap in the few hours it took me to change the brakes and pack the bearings. I did turn the wheel from lock to lock a few times while the engine was off to get better angle on the bolts, and Ive read a few posts on different boards that say this will introduce air into the system and cause a shimmy or stutter in the steering.

 

I agree there is prob air in the system. I go to a parking lot and do slow figure 8's. it seems to work for me.

 

So last night I jacked it up once again and pulled the fuel pump relay to give it one last bleed session. Cranked it continuously while turning from lock to lock a few times, and I did this a good 3-4 times only stopping to give the starter motor a break so I didnt burn it up.

Ive driven the truck for about 30 minutes today and *knock on wood* everything seems fine again and I didnt notice the shimmy at all, just smooth turning of the wheels...long left, sharp left and even a couple u-turns thrown in. So it seems the air is now out of the system, but it makes me wonder if the PS is sealed and under pressure then how can air be introduced into the system just by turning the wheels with the engine off??

Now all I need is a new IAC so the truck will stop revving on its own all the time and Im in business!!

 

When you turn the steering wheel without the engine running you force most of the fluid out of the steering gear pistons whether it is recirculating ball or rack and pinion. Most of the time if you turn it lock to lock without the engine running they will puke out fluid. So yes they can get air in them doing this. I would check the fluid level and make sure it is where it belongs.