play in rear wheel

[hogan11]

I checked the rear wheel by placing my hands at the 12 & 3 o'clock position and wiggled the wheel back and forth. There was some very minor movement. I was told and have read there is not suppose to be any movement. The dealer checked it out and said it was within the limit. Oh it's an 00 R1100RT with 51,000 miles. I think the dealer just didn't want to deal with it. What do the great wrenchs of this site think?

[powerman]

see if you can see or tell if the play is in the rear wheel bearing or swiing arm, push pull in the 6 12 oclock positions, push pull swing arm etc.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

If the play is radial it is normal.

If you can detect any play around the veritcal or horizontal axes of the wheel it is not normal. Further inspection is required to determine where, exactly, the play exists. Potential places are the swing arm pivots, the rear drive pivots in the swingarm and finally the crown wheel support bearing in the rear drive. You have to look carefully at each of these interfaces while an assistant is providing the force to determine which is the culprit. After that, procedures for adjustment/replacement may be found in a service manual.

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

If you can detect any play around the veritcal or horizontal axes of the wheel it is not normal. Further inspection is required to determine where, exactly, the play exists. Potential places are the swing arm pivots, the rear drive pivots in the swingarm and finally the crown wheel support bearing in the rear drive.

 

More to the point: if it's the swingarm or final drive pivot bearings, you can replace them whenever it's convenient; they'll continue to get sloppier over time, but nothing truly awful will happen.

 

If OTOH it's the wheel crown bearing (and you're finding palpable chunks of metal on the final drive's magnetic drain plug), then you need to get that fixed ASAP. There have been several cases of at-speed failure of the wheel bearing, and at that point the wheel tilts to a very large angle, the gear oil drools out, and the wheel may or may not lock up.

[hogan11]

The wheel is moving horizontally, ever so slightly. I will bring it back to the dealer and ask them to tear it down and take a closer look. Thanks all!

[DEF]

I checked the rear wheel by placing my hands at the 12 & 3 o'clock position and wiggled the wheel back and forth. There was some very minor movement. I was told and have read there is not suppose to be any movement. The dealer checked it out and said it was within the limit. Oh it's an 00 R1100RT with 51,000 miles. I think the dealer just didn't want to deal with it. What do the great wrenchs of this site think?

 

It is difficult to determine the location of lash or excess clearance in the Paralever system on BMWs. This is due to the various areas where lash or clearance can occur. The front pivot bearings are usually NOT the source of excess lash or clearance unless the sealed bearings have worn or the adjustable bearing stub has not been adjusted correctly.

 

The rear Paralever pivot bearing are more likely to develop lash and require adjustment.

 

Finally, the rear drive bearings can wear requiring a rebuild of your rear drive and proper setup and shim/lash adjustment.

 

Wiggling the wheel will help determine if there is lash present but, it is difficult to pinpoint. Determining where the lash is occurring is reliably determined with a dial indicator.

 

Any perceptible lash is too much. There should be no perceptible lash during the wheel wiggle exercise.

 

As previously posted, lash in the rear drive case may pose a danger and should be repaired immediately.