Fundamentally, wheel hubs have not changed in design for a hundred years, with some combination of tapered roller bearings (TRBs) taking axial and radial forces, and seals to keep lubricant in and water and dirt out. But there are developments even now, and it is useful to be aware of what these mean for inspection, maintenance and replacement."It's such a small area of the repair side of trucks, but with big consequences," says Paul Bodycot, product quality engineer for Volvo Group UK.Inspection can involve static testing using a dial test indicator (DTI) - in which case even a very small amount of play is unacceptable. But Alistair Baldwin, master technician at TruckEast Scania in Norwich, prefers to spin the wheel and listen to the hub bearings - a straightforward test which needs no specialist equipment. He says: "When we inspect [trucks and trailers] we always jack them up and spin them. You'll hear if it's gone, whether it's a tapered bearing or a cassette.
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