1957 A coupe

[Thomas Baker]

Just had the front wheel bearings replaced in my '57 coupe and now I'm hearing a scraping sound when I'm going forward through a turn. I don't hear the sound when making the same turns while going backward or going forward in a straight line. Any ideas what could be causing this ?

[AlexFord]

There bearings retainer nut may have been over-torqued!!

[David Baugh]

Or under-torqued.

Jack the car up, and see if the wheel/hub is loose. Due to interference between the inner bearing inner race and the spindle, some (most?) of our cars require a significant amount of torque in order to seat the inner bearing inner race against the bearing spacer. If the mechanic is unaware of this, he may have simply set up the bearings as on a regular car or trailer, where the inner race is a slip-fit. If this was done, the 356 inner race will "walk" itself onto the spindle over time, leaving the bearings quite loose, and allowing the drum to scrape against the backing plate or the shoes when uneven lateral force is applied to the wheel while turning. Incidentally, this wouldn't be the first time I've seen this.

Dave