Play In Wheel Bolts

[Chris81]

I removed all my alloys to clean them yesterday and noticed that there is some play in the 4 bolts on one of the wheels. The holes in the hubs are a few mm wider than the bolts and on one of the wheels you could move the bolts from left to right in the hub (all 4 bolts moved together). On the other 3 wheels the bolts didn't move at all. Is something loose?

[cfc1]

You need to explain this a little bit better.. the Yaris should have wheel nuts, not bolts.

Do you mean, when you offer the wheel through the studs and onto the hub, that before you put the wheel nuts on there is a little play that enables you to turn the wheel a couple of mm before it stops against the stud?..

Or.. do you get the play AFTER you have put the nuts on and tightened them up?

[Chris81]

Ok.... This has nothing to do with the alloy wheel itself.

I have undone the wheel nuts, and removed the wheel from the car. This leaves 4 bolts sticking out through the wheel hub. The holes which these bolts come out of are wider by a few milimetres than the width of the bolts themselves. The bolts feel firmly in place, but they can be moved left to right (within the space of the holes). The side in question is the drivers front. This was noticable as I rotated the hub forward and backward with my hand.

On the other 3 wheels the bolts would not budge within the holes.

[T600]

Does the Yaris have shouldered nuts?

If so then yes there will be play when the wheel is first offered up to the studs on the hub, but once the nuts are correctly in place the shoulder will fit into the gap between the studs and the holes in the wheel.

[Chris81]

Cheers for the comments but this has nothing to do with the alloy wheel or offering the alloy wheel up to hub or putting the alloy wheel back on! Forget about the alloy wheel.

Its to do with the disc/hub itself.

[T600]

Cheers for the comments but this has nothing to do with the alloy wheel or offering the alloy wheel up to hub or putting the alloy wheel back on! Forget about the alloy wheel.

Its to do with the disc/hub itself.

As I see from your last post - which wasn't there when I pressed submit.

Having read that, it doesn't sound right to me - I'd expect the studs to be quite solid behind the hub.

[cfc1]

This is perfectly normal, don't worry about it. The reason the others aren't doing it could be down to the brakes being slightly tighter on the hub/discs.. again perfectly normal.

Once you put the wheel on and tighten it up, the whole assembly is held in place by the wheel nuts and won't move at all.

[Chris81]

Hmmm I know what you mean about the whole assembly being tight in place once the wheel and nuts are on. However I would have thought that the plate(?) that the bolts are attached to behind the hub would have been secured tightly in place.

[cfc1]

The studs are held in place on a spline.. if you ever had to replace one, you would put it through the hole and use a wheel nut to pull it fully into place.

The plate they are attached to should be firmly in place, there shouldn't be any play in that at all.. if this is the case, then go to a garage to get it checked out.. however, if it is your brake drum (the front section of the hub that the studs come through the back of) that is moving slightly.. it's normal... the drum is that part you take off to change the brake shoes (so you know what I'm on about)

[Chris81]

I appreciate your advice. Its the front wheel thats affected so its a disc rather than a drum. All 4 bolts move together left to right within the hub. I'm sure its the studs (or rather the plate they're attached to) that is moving rather than the disc/hub assembly itself but then again, how can I tell its that and not the disc itself?! The disc stayed in place and holding onto a couple of the studs I could move them side to side (as if to turn the assembly clockwise and counterclockwise).

This text from user 'dark andrew' in the Avensis forum explains perfectly what I've been trying to say:

"I've just changed my wheels and noticed that the discs on the rear wheels have about 4-5mm rotational play in them, this appears to be caused by having a 2mm (or there abouts) clearance around the wheel studs where the disc assembly fits over them. I thought maybe the wheel nuts would extend through the wheel and into this gap around the studs, and so lock the disc in place, but they aren't long enough. Is this normal or should the disc be locked onto the hub somehow?"

[cfc1]

!st of all, I've never changed pads on a Yaris, so this could be slightly different from what I've done in the past.

When you remove the calipers (which are obviously bolted on) you can then remove the disc as this isn't bolted on (there is sometimes a small grub screw).. the wheel nuts hold it in place.

Maybe what you have noticed is this..

With the wheel off and the car out of gear, you can (or should be able to) spin the wheel freely all the way round, If you only try to move the hub a little you might be finding that the brake pads are gripping the disc stopping it moving but the hub behind it still moves, until the stud hits the disc.

Can you apply a little more force and get the full hub to turn? if so this is normal.. it is also normal that the actual disc itself will feel loose as it is held by the wheel nuts.

OK.. after reading your edit...

The actual disc isn't held in place by anything other than the caliper and the wheel nuts (sometimes there is a small grub screw) with the wheel off the car there can be quite a lot of play in the disc.. this is normal... it all tightens up with the wheel nuts.

[Parts-King]

There are two threads running with the same question. The brake disc is free floating and is not held in place by anything, except when you tighten the wheel up. The wheel studs are an interference fit and and "pulled" in place to the hub and will not be loose, or at least shouldnt be or there is a fault. Kingo

[Chris81]

Think I'm finally getting a handle on how this works. Cheers guys. By the way, Parts-King where's the other thread on this topic?

[Parts-King]

The posting is here. Cheers Kingo

[Chris81]

Maybe what you have noticed is this..

With the wheel off and the car out of gear, you can (or should be able to) spin the wheel freely all the way round, If you only try to move the hub a little you might be finding that the brake pads are gripping the disc stopping it moving but the hub behind it still moves, until the stud hits the disc.

Can you apply a little more force and get the full hub to turn? if so this is normal.. it is also normal that the actual disc itself will feel loose as it is held by the wheel nuts.

Sorry didn't notice this post before. What you've described here is exactly it. The car was out of gear, the wheel was off, and I was trying to spin the hub/disc freely all the way round, in both directions. I got it to turn quite easily, gripped it by the studs. I noticed the movement within the disc when changing the direction, as you say the studs move first, then they hit the disc and the whole thing moves. The other 3 wheels span freely no problem, but the studs didn't move within the discs, maybe slightly rusted on or as you said a few posts up, just a tighter fit.

[cfc1]

Yes.. perfectly normal and nothing to worry about :)